S1 Platform Unifies Banking Software

Internet banking software pioneer S1 Corp. is readying a J2EE-based application server platform that improves the interoperability of its software.

S1 Enterprise Platform 1.0 will be the foundation for S1s transactional, collaborative, sales and service applications for the financial services industry, officials said.

The platform, due Nov. 30, will provide the presentation layer for S1s applications—many of which S1 added through acquisitions—as well as for data access services for transactional, enhanced customer and analytic data.

Through Simple Object Access Protocol and Extensible Markup Language, S1 Enterprise Platform 1.0 will also be able to integrate non-S1 applications, company officials said.

In addition, Atlanta-based S1 is readying two applications with S1 Enterprise Platform 1.0: Personal Banking 1.0 and Small Business 1.0, consumer and small-business banking applications, respectively. They will be the first S1 applications designed in J2EE (Java 2 Enterprise Edition).

S1 officials said the company will migrate its customers to S1 Enterprise Platform 1.0. Most of the migration issues will be felt by customers that have highly customized apps, they said.

S1s interoperability platform makes sense in light of the dismantling of regulatory hurdles that previously blocked financial services companies from expanding into one anothers businesses, said Ray Graber, an analyst at Tower Group Inc., in Needham, Mass.

“Eighteen months ago, [S1 was] discombobulated, but if they can come through with Enterprise, theyll be an 800-pound gorilla in the industry,” Graber said. “It remains to be seen if itll work; what theyve said has been positive.”