Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Tech basics ...

Technology in use in the countries where we operate ...
  • Yes, we do operate with PC's, printers, etc
  • Yes, we do have a LAN (local area network) in the HQ office in each country;
  • Yes, we do have branches in each of the countries; and they in turn will have a PC or two and either a dial-up / DSL/ VPN type Internet connection
  • Yes, we also have what we call "satellite" branches or "point-of-sale" branches which are branches with no Internet connection, just a small place or stall in a market or something akin to that ... allowing us to meet our prospective and/or existing customers;
  • Yes, we do have e-mail and Internet when the Internet connectivity is up and running;

All of the above are up and running when we have "street" power running; in most places power goes up and down multiple times during the course of the day;

  • And yes, we do have a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) just for the servers in HQ office.
  • Yes, we do have a knowledgeable IT person at each HQ office in each country.
  • Yes, IT resources are very limited
  • Yes, IT vendors in most of these places are also few and far between, and so getting good support is an issue.
  • Yes, we for the most part use "homegrown" lending software, and for lending it works okay; however beyond lending, i.e. broader banking capabilities, it does not offer much; and as our business demands change and evolve we are beginning to migrate towards this off-the-shelf community banking software from 3rd parties.

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