Bank of America



Bank of America Creates a Streamlined, Collaborative Environment with Tablet PCs

Published: November 2002

Bank of America is a leading financial services company that places an emphasis on enabling a streamlined, efficient work environment. The project and technology analysts in the Application Software Engineering department spend much of their day collaborating on the review of business requirements and processes that become the underlying design for application solutions. Bank of America deployed Tablet PCs to those analysts to help them become more productive throughout their workweek. The efficiency gains resulting from the deployment are considerable, with the average user saving up to four hours a week, primarily because of the Tablet PCs’ capabilities that enable a paperless and collaborative work environment.

Situation

As one of the world’s leading financial services companies, Bank of America is increasingly committed to making banking work for customers and clients. Through innovative technologies and the ingenuity of its people, Bank of America provides individuals; small businesses; and commercial, corporate, and institutional clients across the United States and around the world new and better ways to manage their financial lives.

Bank of America’s Application Software Engineering department has teams who spend their time identifying requirements and processes from the bank’s line of businesses, which become incorporated into the final design of the application solution. Other teams collaborate in the review of those preliminary designs and, through an iterative process, finalize the requirements before the actual coding of the final solution takes place. Those teams spend much of their workday onsite, but not at their desks. These Bank of America analysts collaborate in project meetings, reviewing business processes and requirements, taking and publishing notes, reviewing and editing design documents, and fielding e-mail queries about the projects and initiatives that they manage. These analysts rely heavily on paper—paper notebooks for note taking, design documents printed for review and editing, and paper folders for holding more paper.

Bank of America wanted a solution that would facilitate efficient team collaboration and reduce the paper that filled analysts’ workspaces, thus streamlining their day-to-day responsibilities and improving the timeliness by which information was distributed. The need for paper documents could be eliminated and the costs associated with the generation and storage of those documents could be reduced if there were a computing tool that enabled a natural yet digital way to collect project information and to review and annotate documents. In addition, such a tool would do away with the need to rekey handwritten notes, improving the speed with which pertinent project information was shared with team members.

Solution

To address the issues at hand, Bank of America deployed Tablet PCs to several members of those teams within the department. The Tablet PC runs Microsoft® Windows® XP Tablet PC Edition—the most advanced operating system to date that includes the full functionality of Windows XP Professional, plus additional enhancements to enable pen-based computing. Consequently, users ended up with more than just a computing tool; they ended up with a powerful, mobile, and versatile computer.

Using the Tablet PC as their primary business computer changed how analysts progressed through their workweek. The sleek, portable Tablet PC replaced the stacks of paper and notebooks that analysts once carried to design review meetings. Instead of using traditional pen and paper to collect information, analysts used the Windows Journal utility and the Tablet PC’s natural handwriting capabilities to digitally write notes, or sketch diagrams and charts directly on the screen. Information was saved in its native format and was easily accessible or searchable at a later time. Some members also used the voice recognition capability to input text notes and use software without ever touching a keyboard.

[pic]

Employees use NetMeeting on the Tablet PC to collaborate with offsite teams.

After downloading Microsoft Office XP Pack for Tablet PC, analysts also reaped the benefits of using the Tablet PC’s pen technology in the regular Office environment. Documents were comfortably reviewed online because analysts could seamlessly mark up and edit the document by writing directly on the screen. The same held true for meeting presentations, which were annotated directly on the screen during a presentation. The drawing capability of the Tablet PC was also used with the NetMeeting® conferencing software to illustrate and review process flows with team members located remotely. This interactive white-boarding capability fostered effective team collaboration and accelerated the transfer of knowledge between team members.

Steve Curtis, Senior Vice President of Bank of America, particularly appreciates the pen feature used with NetMeeting, which provides him with an interactive white board to share with remote team members. “The Tablet PC completely transformed the way I work with my remote teammates,” says Curtis. “I use it like an interactive whiteboard, so all of my teammates can see what we’re designing as we design it.”

Curtis continues, “In innovative design, a picture isn’t only worth a thousand words, it’s sometimes the only way to communicate a new idea at all.”

Benefits

Implementing the Tablet PC in their work environment has allowed the project and technology analysts in the Application Software Engineering department to become more productive. It streamlines their workweek by creating a paperless work environment and fostering a collaborative team environment.

Creates a Paperless Office

Since implementing the Tablet PC, the paper that once cluttered analysts’ workweek has been eliminated. Instead of spending their time flipping through pages of notebooks, searching for information about a meeting that happened weeks ago, they quickly access this information with the click of a button. The Windows Journal utility is perfect for analysts’ note-taking needs, whether they’re in a meeting, in a hall, or on the phone. The Tablet PC is as easy to hold as a paper notebook, and the pen technology makes note-taking in their natural handwriting a breeze. At the end of the day, all of their notes are centrally stored on their primary computer, in a searchable and accessible format. Important information is also available for immediate distribution, because analysts don’t have to rekey their handwritten notes.

Document review is another task that once introduced an added burden to an analyst’s day. The majority of the analyst’s day is spent away from the desk, and reviews are often completed during spare moments throughout the day. But the convertible form factor and the pen capabilities of the Tablet PC make reviewing documents a less tedious job. The screen can be rotated to allow documents to be viewed in their original portrait mode, and reviewers can mark up documents directly on the screen. This process streamlines analysts’ workweek because they aren’t responsible for carrying around loads of paper. Without the paper, it’s easier to review documents from multiple locations, and an easier review process makes for more timely responses to review requests.

“We review hundreds of pages of documents, and using the Tablet PC lets us review and make comments wherever we go, whenever the opportunity arises,” explains Brian Borders, Team Leader of the Business Analysis group at Bank of America. “We no longer have tons of paper weighing us down and taking up space.”

Fosters a Collaborative Work Environment

The Tablet PC does more than just reduce the need for paper; it also improves collaboration in a team environment. The sleek and versatile design of the Tablet PC makes it portable, so the information that analysts need is always on hand. Having anytime, anywhere access to calendars, project information, e-mail contacts, and more makes it easy for analysts to stay in continuous contact with team members and to have access to information at the most crucial moments.

“The Tablet PC saves steps—literally—but more importantly, time. Meetings can be delayed or need to be rescheduled while someone goes to find a piece of critical information stored somewhere else. Explains Brian Borders, Team Leader of the Business Analysis group at Bank of America, “With the Tablet PC, information is accessible on the spot, which keeps us on task and saves valuable time.”

They also found that group collaboration during impromptu or small team meetings is also enhanced because of the convertible form factor of the Tablet PC. Instead of having people huddle around a laptop trying to see the screen, colleagues can just turn the Tablet PC’s screen to effortlessly show a document or presentation to a group of people.

Streamlines a User’s Workweek, Increasing Productivity

The Tablet PC has improved the efficiency with which employees at Bank of America move through their workweek; the average user is saving approximately four hours a week. Analysts can now spend less time rekeying minutes or searching through stacks of notebooks for project information. Using the Tablet PC, analysts have ready access to the information and tools that they need to get their jobs done. This in turn improves the speed with which they share information with project team members and helps to build a cohesive and efficient team environment. Improved team collaboration and productivity are a few of the benefits Curtis has seen with the Tablet PC. Other benefits, such as the reduction in use of paper and the capability of collaborating interactively with remote team members, make the need for the Tablet PC even more convincing.

Microsoft Windows Tablet PC Edition provides a more versatile computing experience, enabling you to use your PC in more places and more ways.

For more information about Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, go to:



For More Information

For more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (800) 568-2495. Customers who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234 in the United States or (905) 568-9641 in Canada. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to:



For more information about Bank of America products and services, visit the Web site at:



© 2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Microsoft, NetMeeting, Windows, and the Windows logo are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

-----------------------

Solution Overview

Customer Profile

Bank of America customers can do their banking and investing whenever they choose through the nation's largest financial services network, including approximately 4,200 banking centers and 12,500 ATMs, as well as 30 international offices serving clients in more than 150 countries and an Internet Web site that provides online banking to 4 million active users.

Business Situation

Bank of America wanted to enable increased productivity for its workers who spend the majority of their day away from their desks collaborating on the review of business requirements and processes to finalize the design of business applications.

Solution

Bank of America deployed Acer TravelMate 100 Tablet PCs to project and technology analysts in its Application Software Engineering department.

Benefits

▪ Increases productivity by an average of four hours a week.

▪ Fosters a collaborative work environment.

▪ Enables a paperless workday.

Software and Services

Microsoft® Windows® XP Tablet PC Edition

Microsoft Office XP

Microsoft Consulting Services

Hardware

Acer TravelMate 100

[pic]

“With the Tablet PC, information is accessible on the spot, which keeps us on task and saves valuable time.”

Brian Borders

Team Leader, Business Analysis group

Bank of America

Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition Customer Solution

“The Tablet PC completely transformed the way I work with my remote teammates.”

Steve Curtis

Senior Vice President

Bank of America

[pic]

[pic]

-----------------------

[pic]

[pic]

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download