September 15, 2009

IBM (NYSE: IBM) today unveiled the first unified software platform to help banks be more efficient, improve their flexibility and adapt more easily to new business challenges and regulatory requirements. Part of the IBM Smarter Planet strategy, the new platform enables banks to simplify the modernization, management and monitoring of their technology systems, while lowering risk by avoiding the disruptive business consequences that have characterized these activities in the past.

IBM's Banking Industry Framework gives banks an alternative to the traditional high-risk, rip-and-replace approach. The framework uses a progressive transition with industry proven data and process models already employed by more than 250 financial institutions. As a result, banks are now able to safely and securely upgrade their infrastructures on the fly.