Monday, February 28, 2011

Radio Shack Returns Without Reciept

Manilla, single portal for all accounts, bills, loyalty programs ...

Presented at the DEMO conference Spring 2011, the platform Manilla , unveiled (in private beta) by the media group Hearst Corporation, offers a new perspective on PFM (Personal Finance Management or "personal finance"), in a market always is bubbling with creativity.

Rather than develop, like other actors, functions becoming more sophisticated, which may only appeal to the technophiles, its designers chose to make a Manilla portal "universal" management of all " accounts " the average American household, without frills.

In its current version, the dashboard that serves as home page includes four areas: Accounts banks, invoices, loyalty programs (in the travel industry) and subscriptions (press group requires Hearst). If partners are currently present are still few (but already includes the most important, for example Citi and Comcast), the objective is to bring together all service providers in this space.


The benefit for users is the simplicity . Once their individual "accounts" integrated, they have a single space (and behind a single password) access to all their banking services, consultation and to pay their bills, the receipt of tenders and other letters from their suppliers ... Manilla is especially available to registered unlimited space and permanent storage of all documents they receive. The

dematerialization is also central to the strategy of the platform, constituting its main selling point for providers. Indeed, access is free for consumers and what are the partners that fund platform. Besides the savings they can generate in relation to items of print, they also have the freedom to disseminate offers or advertisements in public areas reserved for them on the portal.

While in France, the PFM is still in its infancy and no serious platform for comprehensive management of invoices has emerged Manilla would tend to dream ...

Ultrasonic Fogger Schematics

MDM strategy at BNP Paribas

With what seems to be the strangest press releases I have ever read in a long time, BNP Paribas outlines its strategy in the field of MDM ( Master Data Management or reference data management).

strange because the MDM is not a normal part of the priority topics of corporate communications of a bank. This does not, however, withdraw its interest, at least for me (and hopefully some readers).

Like all companies that seized on the topic, the MDM is considered by the bank as a transverse approach that allows reliable, secure and more effective collection, validation, administration and distribution of baseline in (computer) systems that operate them.

To address these issues, BNP Paribas has set up a Shared Service Center (PSC) whose role is to provide support to all the group entities that wish to establish a new repository (or, can we assume, use, and possibly expand an existing repository). As befits any viable approach to MDM ( cf. a previous article on this topic ), the CSP is not only a vision "technical" and he also has the burden of hosting a community representatives of project management and project owners concerned.

tooling side, BNP Paribas has selected the solution " MDM Server PIM for "IBM, but also and above all, the platform more generic" EBX.Platform "of young French company Orchestra Networks. This choice comes from a partnership" active " between teams of the bank and those of the publisher, allowing both parties to advance the solution together. It is now used for 7 benchmarks in areas as diverse as risk, human resources, real estate, suppliers ...

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Airplane Initialization Failure

PEMCO, insurance 2.0

companies have realized the importance of social media in their relationships with their customers, present or future. An article of "Insurance & Technology" gives us the example of PEMCO Insurance, a small insurance companies in the northwestern United States who has embarked on an initiative "intelligent" to remain faithful to its strategy based on customer relations.

Before acting, the insurer began with " listen" to what was said about its brand. Unlike other sectors, including banking, customers of insurance products have only very rarely contact with their company, only for contract changes or claims. More "serious" yet, they do not want to talk about insurance, would never have to take out a policy and prefer never to "use" those they have ... The context is rather difficult to start a conversation ...

PEMCO started his project with the opening of a micro-site, PEMCO Wally ("We're a Lot Like You, a Little Different"), which are presented on the "profile types" ( somewhat caricatured) by area residents. The idea was to attract the public on a subject likely to interest them: their neighbors and local stereotypes. Visitors can also submit their own models and are invited to share these profiles on Facebook or Twitter. According to the director of marketing, it was enough to initiate discussions around the brand on social networks.

Various tools have been implemented to analyze interactions thus generated, including those of Radian6 to measure the "feeling" on social networks or Omniture to determine the cause of visits to the site of insurer. These tests will allow progressively refine its strategy and improve its image. After all, data processing and statistics are just the core business of insurance ...

In the opening exchanges with others, PEMCO does not limit itself to social networks. Another of his initiatives was the establishment of a rating system and rating (with the Bazaarvoice solution ) on his site, open to all customers or not. The initial fear of seeing an excess of negative views were quickly swept away. Not only the majority of comments it is positive but the content is generated and also invaluable in identifying the difficulties faced by consumers and can best meet them.

Companies Insurance may legitimately question the relevance of a presence in social media. But the example shows that PEMCO some original approaches may make sense and provide significant value in the customer relationship. And, anyway, openness and transparency are good value for all companies in the "web 2.0" ...

Harris Flote Boat Accessaries

comScore: 2010 Side Rails

The research specialist comScore Marketing publish a full report on the state of the market mobile United States, Japan and five European countries (including France). This document will be essential reading for all businesses that carry a mobile strategy, providing all information necessary to know the preferences of equipment and consumer use. Here are some salient data.

first observation, the use of "media" Mobile is still growing: In December 2010, nearly half the European subscribers adopted 3G services, almost one third have a smartphone ( model equipped with a system RIM, Apple, Microsoft, Google, Palm or Symbian ) and 61% of them have a phone with a web browser "Complete". In France, comScore estimated that more than 12 million the number of owners of smartphones .

Overall, the trends among mobile operating systems are no surprise: in Europe, Symbian (Nokia) continues to dominate but saw its market share fall dramatically to less than 50%, IOS (Apple ) and Android (Google) are in progress at 20% and 12%, respectively. Microsoft, despite the launch of its new "Windows Phone" still losing ground, while RIM (BlackBerry) remains stable.

The consumption of "media" mobile for 41% European users with a near balance between access to web and application use. More generally, the main uses are for sending SMS (to over 80% of consumers) access to social networks (still more than 18%, with a high prevalence of Facebook), to access information (32%), web browsing and application use (28%), games (24%) or mail (only 22%). At the bottom of rankings, are still 8% of mobile users who access services online banking and all who seek financial information.

The first conclusion from these data is that the frenzy around the iPhone apps should be tempered. Even if the success of its iPhone and AppStore is confirmed, it should not neglect or other systems or consumers of mobile web, which remain a majority.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Spells About Becoming Popular

The second search syntax ()

search function () original pose problems for many users of Excel. Some had trouble understanding it was in the rightmost column, or the lowest line of the matrix that we took the result. Others complained that - with its algorithm - we had to find the right result (vertical array) or bottom (horizontal array): they wanted to find a result to the left or above ...

So a dozen years later, Microsoft added a second syntax for this function: = search (value, vector research; result vector) .

In the example below, compared to that presented four days ago, we switched the blocks A2: A10 and B2: B10, with rates before the weights.

The formula in cell B13 shows the direct application of the new syntax to the two vectors of the vertical array. The new algorithm is as follows: we identify in the search vector position of the last value less than or equal to the value sought (see route in blue), then there is the position of this value, then the vector result, we identify (See red line) the value of having this position.

Nothing prevents then, if one has the spirit a bit twisted - would it be me? - To as B13, which we conduct research in the vertical vector B3: B10 and find the result in the horizontal vector A17: H17!

This works perfectly well, but it's not really recommended for readability of your models:)

Pokemon Soul Silver Cheat Anti Freeze

Viva el Pacifico!

The adventure of crossing the Panama Canal is as it was the idea: impressive and special, because this channel is obviously made for the huge cargo ships and not for sailboats! In fact, 44 cargo ships (22 in one direction, 22 in another) pass each day. The canal employs 9,000 people, working 24 to 24. We have gone with our friends Mojito and a catamaran Estonian (crew not nice at all for that matter). To access the Gatun Lake, one must spend 3 locks us up by 9 meters each time. Right out of the third lock, we moored on a mooring for the night: us it was 1:30 in the morning ... another pilot returned at 06:30 at night so short! At 07:00 in the morning, we resumed the navigation on the lake for a period of about 5:00 to be at noon in front of the locks, they will allow us to get down ... the Pacific Ocean! We are currently moored next to Isla Flamenco, which is connected to the mainland and we can see the skyscrapers of Panama City.


Arrival of the first pilot - Finally ... entering the lock

The doors close on the Atlantic! - Exit on Lake Gatun


Navigation on Lake Gatun

Miguel Lock ... I smell the Pacific!


Bridge of the Americas, which connects North America with the South - Important excavation, because in 2014 the expansion of the canal and locks must be finished





Miraflores Lock: the output of the ocean the world's largest

Driver Ct 4780 For Windows 7

3 days in payments

The news is always so frenetic in the field of payments, especially mobile. Over the last 3 days, and 7 are ads that have caught my attention. Bids are increasing, competition becomes fierce between players, new opportunities open up ... Overview.

The World Bank launches a new program (" Fellowship"), inviting leading experts to share their experience, knowledge and vision with the organization and the participating governments.

The first guest of this initiative is none other than Michael Joseph, former CEO of telecommunications provider Safaricom , credited the tremendous success of M-Pesa , the mobile payment solution that already attracted 15 million Kenyans (about 21 million mobile phone users). Its mission is to World Bank will guide strategies in Africa and beyond, for the development of banking and mobile payments.

M-Pesa is also a key player in an ad of OpenWay, the payment solution WAY4 just been adopted by one of the largest financial institutions in Kenya , Equity Bank.

The bank will thus have an offer allowing it to integrate card payments but also (and especially) the interactions with the M-Pesa accounts. The information is especially significant that Equity Bank is the banking partner with whom operator Orange has launched (late 2010) its own mobile payment solution Orange Money (which one may suspect that it does not meet the expected success ...).

Let then quickly on the "startup mobile payment" of the week: Paydiant raised funds to accelerate development of its solution, which we know nothing yet, if is that it should be available later this year.

eBillme system and its online payment "invoice" gain visibility with the announcement its integration into the platform for merchant sites Discover Network, which makes it immediately accessible to all e-tailers that have adopted it.

For the record, when the consumer chooses the eBillme payment method to pay for purchases on the Internet, an electronic invoice is sent by courier. It can then settle the transaction on its online banking site (via bill payment services are widespread in the U.S.) or in cash, in one of 75 000 points of sale "natural" partners of the startup .

In France, Orange entering a new phase in its investment strategy by providing payments for the first time in Europe, the regulation on the telephone bill applications downloaded on the "Windows Phone MarketPlace.

Like all telecommunications operators, the French will benefit from the commercial bonanza that represent new uses of mobile phones. In the applications area, we had seen so far attempts to create "AppStore" dedicated ( doomed to failure, in my opinion ). Orange tent is a much simpler approach to implement, it will take a revenue share of the download almost effortlessly ...

the midst of this turmoil, Paypal continues to expand its offerings, particularly on mobile.

Without this constitutes a very important step forward, the announces the integration of the function "call for entries" from FundRazer (itself connected to Facebook) in its application for the iPhone demonstrates the the specialist will address all market segments and remain on the front of the stage payments.

Terminons, provisoirement, avec Visa et le lancement , en Russie et en Ukraine (dans un premier temps), d'une fonction de paiement P2P (de pair à pair) exploitant son réseau d'échanges VisaNet.

Ce système permet à tous les porteurs de carte de transférer des fonds, en fournissant simplement le numéro de carte du bénéficiaire.

Outre la facilité d'utilisation, Visa met en avant la quasi-instantanéité de ce mode d'échange d'argent, par rapport aux virements interbancaires classiques. Avec ce nouveau système, le spécialiste des cartes tente visiblement de concurrencer PayPal on its site.

Walking this news of payments, a question arises: where are the banks ? Indeed, only one is present among these 7 listing. If she does not want to fall behind in the current wave of innovation, it is time they react ...

Announcement: I am 17 and March 18 next, the show e-Commerce One-to-One in Monaco, with Mobino for a presentation on online payments and mobile, which will aim to summarize the major industry trends and give some clues to identify leaders of tomorrow.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

How Does Chris Brown Bedroom Look

news agency that never closes, through videoconferencing

So I just discovered the ATMs of Citibank Japan, it's Russia that we arrived [1] a new original application of videoconferencing in the banking sector. The "Банк Москвы " (Bank of Moscow) recently opened a "digital agency" in which customers can perform all the operations, 24 hours on 24 and 7 / 7 by contacting the center Appeal multimedia ATMs that are available to them provision.

Consultation accounts, payments, transfers, and even subscription products and services, and are now permanently available in Moscow, that advisers are present or not.


The bank says the project took only four months , to prepare for the inauguration, and it already provides the generalization of videoconferencing in all its branches in the capital and in areas where implementation is possible (the restriction is probably related to the availability of an adequate network connectivity).

At a time when video conferencing is available on all PCs (which benefits Monabanq example) and even, increasingly, on mobile phones, appeared on ATMs can raise the skepticism . Nevertheless, this initiative is not totally meaningless, because it provides a new point of contact between the bank and its customers (especially one that is not a fan of online services) and could also inspire institutions located in emerging countries where rates remain low personal technology equipment.

[1] Link to the press in Russia. See also the Avaya, provider of the bank.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Virtual Wedding Dresses

WeBank embarks a perilous exercise of open innovation

" 6 weeks, 6 experts, one application " is the subtitle of " WePad Project" launched by the online bank in Italy WeBank past few weeks. The principle of operation is to collect six figures to ask them to imagine an application (banking) revolution for the iPad in 6 weeks. With the help of a seventh expert, represented by the "crowd" of Internet users.

To a large extent, the approach WebBank respects the "golden rules" of the kind : a clearly established (to avoid dispersion of efforts), a limited duration (to maintain the commitment of participants ), awards (as iPad offered to contributors the most "deserving"), the involvement of persons outside the core business of the bank (openness) and public participation (for wealth of viewpoints).

Yet surprise some choices, justifying the label "dangerous" that I adopt The title of this article. For example, the presence of a small team dedicated to "brainstorm " combined with an open approach to the public seems to say the least ambiguous, that might create an imbalance in the contributions, which might frustrate users.

Meanwhile, the selection of "experts" all more or less specialists in Internet risk as a "sclerotic" creativity, while radically different response profiles (eg imagine the participation of a socioloque or an astronaut!) would be more likely to produce revolutionary ideas expected.

Among the regrets, also include public opening limited to the publication of ideas, suggestions or comments (which lead to some discussion), without giving him the opportunity to invest more in the process of innovation (eg by offering them the opportunity to "vote" for the best deals). In addition, the criteria for selecting ideas of Internet users are not very explicit and may seem arbitrary (depending on the preferences of the "experts").

Finally, the bet becomes extremely WeBank bold when you consider that once the completed phase of creativity, it will achieve the result, within a reasonable time and with an application that is truly revolutionary!

Despite the doubts I express, I'm looking forward discover more: what solution will emerge from the "pot"? When will there be on the AppStore? Does she respond to the expectations of bank customers? Will it really different from existing solutions? The good news is that we can have concrete and objective answers to these questions ... Stay tuned for the Final!

Thanks to Christophe Langlois ( Visible Banking ) for introducing me to this initiative (to follow)!

Rent Houses Prom Hamptons



Well now, after three days running in all directions tonight we have an appointment at 19:00 with the pilot ... and after it moves to the first lock. We will be in couples with Mojito to pass the 3 locks. You must climb to reach the Gatun Lake, where we anchor for the night. Tomorrow morning at 06:00, the pilot went on board to accompany us on the lake within a marked channel for 25 nautical miles to reach the 3 locks on the Pacific side to back down. Normally, tomorrow evening we anchored in Isla Flamingo!
You can see us crossing Thursday, 24/02, the last lock, "Miraflores". Indeed, there are surveillance cameras and we spend between 11 and 14:00, local time, between 17 and 20h French time. We will try to prevent the blog from our theoretical time of passage, the pilot from Thursday morning will tell us what time our passage is expected.
The website is pancanal.com. Hasta luego amigos
, the "other side"!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Dutch Wholesale Cigar

Citibank Japan brings videoconferencing over ATM

For Citi, the Japan is a land of innovation: after the opening of two high-tech agency in central Tokyo and Osaka, the bank is continuing to roll of ATM ("ATMs") original, most recently just opened at the luxury hotel "The Peninsula Tokyo.

These new aircraft, dubbed "Citi Station 360" combine the traditional functions of ATM with the consultation of the range of products and services of the bank, while taking a touch interface and a large wall screen (for information). But their real specialty is to offer customers a videoconference support, 24 hours over 24 in English and Japanese.


Without details, it is assumed that this function is (unfortunately) limited to requests for assistance in using the ATM. However, one could easily imagine to use videoconferencing to contact a counselor bank and thus be able to handle more complex operations than those proposed by the camera or even purchase one of the products presented on the screen, as seen currently appear in several banks, a different scale ...

Can Gastritis Go Away

Open an account in 15 minutes? Welcome to Metro Bank!

When " Metro Bank" opened in London last July, boasting of being the first UK retail bank opened in 100 years, it has also created a sensation with some Disruptive ideas: agency open 7 days on 7 and 8 to 20 hours (weekdays), online banking and call center available permanently, water bowls and biscuits for dogs clients (!)... and account opening 15 minutes, with immediate delivery of checkbooks and credit cards! An article

of Bank Systems & Technology, based on an interview CEO of the bank, Craig Donaldson, tells us more about the underbelly of this feat, made possible by modern technology . It is indeed the adoption of STP ("Straight-Through Processing ", a concept difficult to translate: real-time processing?) In all computer systems allowing reactivity unknown in other institutions.

When a new customer opens account as and as the advisor enters the information on the various applications perform the necessary checks in the background: rules against money laundering, KYC (know your customer) , credit checks from special schools ... Once the entry is completed, the application is ready to be validated and there remains only print the checkbook and the customer's card in two minutes. The heart

systems is based Metro Bank on the bid package Temenos and hosted by a specialized service provider. The engine decision FICO Blaze manages the rules of real-time decision. Scanning tools can take a picture of the customer and record (electronically) all supporting documentation provided. And all the bank's computer, almost completely outsourced, is managed by ... 4 people, who care to "assemble" the process and oversee the technology providers.

In a world where consumers expect instant results, the technology of Metro Bank gives it an incomparable competitive advantage, while providing tremendous efficiency. The adoption of modern tools is certainly easier for a new facility for those who have built applications and software aging, difficult to replace. but it would still be time for our "old" banks also spend the 21st century !

Monday, February 21, 2011

Muskoka Desktop Backgrounds

Tweeter fees, an original application by ING Canada

Discovered by chance, this "application" designed by ING Canada and launched in June 2009 was deserted since early 2010. But " Tweeter Costs" ("Tweeter Fee" in English) still retains my attention for its original use (and banking) from Twitter.

component of the 'Righteous Costs "(" Fair Fees "in English) of the bank to greater" justice in bank charges, "the proposed application to all Internet tweeter, at the account opened for the occasion (@ FeeTweeter ), fees are charged by their establishment.

The main objective of the operation was to organize a sort of "event" public "ras-le-bol" by collecting a maximum of participants and demonstrate the commitment of ING to costs " fairer. " But it was also for the bank to raise consumer awareness about, highlighting the amounts, sometimes extravagant, paid for financial services and regularly providing all users a summary of their expenses (the better to perceive the impact).

"Tweeter Fresh" is obviously a failure, but the idea of using Twitter for targeted use, appealing to a wide audience, deserves not to be forgotten. When will the next experiment of a bank with all the web talk?

Best Printer Forinvitation Business

What applications for the analysis of feelings?

The combination of a volume of information exponential growth in online and exploration tools, analysis and processing of mass data, structured or not, pushes the emergence of a new class of solutions of "feelings analysis. Seth Grimes, a specialist subject, gives us, in an article InformationWeek, some keys to understanding the uses possible.

start by illuminating what the "sentiment analysis", in proposing this definition (adapted from that proposed on the site of " Sentiment Analysis Symposium"): the automated study feelings and opinions expressed in unstructured documents . To achieve this goal, several techniques are put to: exploration and information retrieval, semantic analysis and filtering concepts to identify and filter the relevant content (or remove the "noise"), categorization and consolidation of results ...

Intuitively, one understands the importance of this discipline, which promises to extract the "essence" of the web today, with its countless blogs, social networks, forums ... where surfers from around the world express their views and influence their peers. When current study skills (particularly surveys or focus groups ), timely, require significant resources, "analysis of feelings" to measure in quasi-real time and effortlessly opinions floating around, a sector a product, brand ... The

uses the most obvious interest to marketing departments naturally or those (if any) that focus on "customer experience" to listen to the market (think that all actors concerned to an industry, competition ...) or listen to customers (more focused on the perception of the company and its products or services). But the "analysis of feelings" may also be involved in the measurement of employee satisfaction (not least by automating the study of responses to internal investigations) or become a tool for decision support on capital markets (where the "feeling" naturally plays an important role in guiding the way).

Let us not however believe that the "analysis of feelings" is a universal solution! It must be used wisely as part of a set tools and techniques. For example, detecting a negative trend should be depth, in consultation with specialists who will highlight the causes of this development and will help make an effective response.

conclude this overview of the topic with some examples of market offerings : French Digimind (sector analysis, competitive), Clarabridge (customer focus), RavenPack (news analysis for financial professionals). And do not forget that there are dozens more ...

Convertire Ipa In Jar

Tutorial on the search function ()

We had already submitted the search function () in a series of articles commencing on 18 March 2006, so within six first months of this blog. This shows the importance of this function, which was one of 32 functions Visicalc (cons about 347 for Excel 2007), the ancestor of all spreadsheets, born in 1979.

It is time to propose a new tutorial for this basic function. We will resume the same example, discounted at current postal rate. You must mail a letter of 116 grams, using the rate in A2: B10.

course, you could use the formula in B13:

It can work, but this solution has three drawbacks: ●

can not nest more than 7 functions;

● if we create a new category, for example per 160 grams, the formula must be changed: it is not flexible;

a formula like this is particularly indigestible: it is hardly auditable.

The solution is to use the formula displayed in cell A13 commentary. But you can also use the formula in A14, which itself refers to Table transposed A16: B17. The syntax of the search function () is: search = (value, matrix) . We shall see in another article, a second form - added in later years - is also possible.

The algorithm of the search function ()

The algorithm used by the search function () is shown by the arrow lines plotted in blue. Excel compares 116 gr. 0 gr. then 20 gr. and then to 50 gr. until stumbling to a value greater than the reference value (in our case, we run on 250 gr.). When it finds the first value higher, it goes back a line followed by the far right in this line until the end of the reference matrix.

If the array is horizontal, Excel goes to the right until you find the first value above the reference value and then returns a column on the left and descends to the bottom of the matrix to find the result.

Note 1 - If the matrix is square, it is considered "vertical".

Note 2 - This algorithm assumes that the first column (vertical array) or the first line (horizontal array) consists of increasing values.

Note 3 - Warning! If you insert columns within the matrix, a matrix " vertical " can become "horizontal " , in which case the search sets will no longer give good results ...

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Third Party Sick Pay Pennsylvania

PlanBig, the social network of Bendigo and Adelaide Bank

Among the finalists in the Financial Insights Innovation Awards than prepares IDC Asia, an initiative has caught my attention: PlanBig , designed by the Australian bank Bendigo and Adelaide Bank , whose objective is to assist the project development "community" via a flat social networking platform dedicated.

Open to all, free PlanBig offers its users to publish ideas they would like to see happen or participate in the implementation of projects other participants. Two "areas" can describe several relatively ambitious projects (eg creation of a system Bike sharing) or simple requests for assistance (eg storage space).

In most cases, the themes have a local dimension , corresponding to the primary target site of "extend" the efforts of the real world community on the web. But the social network is not exclusive, counting the "members" from around the world and welcoming all the commercial projects (including research funding) association.

few months after its launch (late 2010), PlanBig remains very active with a large number of ideas submitted, sustained participation, projects that result ... Finally, an initiative which has no direct effect on the activity of the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank but has the merit of demonstrating its commitment to "community" which is one of its values.