NCR, a manufacturer of hardware and software for consumer monetary transactions, recently announced the continuation an ongoing partnership. It will provide Akbank, a prominent bank in Turkey, with the NCR Predictive Services technology to enhance Akbank's network of automated teller machines and continue to improve the uptime of its ATM services.
The announcement notes that, in 2013, Predictive Services recovered 32,000 hours of uptime for Akbank across its established network of 4,200 ATMs and 13 million customers. NCR has made this possible through consistent monitoring of those machines and through the scheduling of maintenance that seeks to be proactive rather than reactive. In addition, remote services allow NCR technicians to solve problems within minutes rather than hours.
Yesukan Ak nt, the head of Alternative Deliver Channels Operation at Akbank, indicated in a statement that the translation of proactive maintenance to uptime for customers is a key benefit of the continuing partnership.
“At the heart of our ongoing strategy lies providing the ultimate experience for our customers when they seek financial solutions,” Yesukan Ak nt said. “Part of this strategy is to ensure that our significant ATM real-estate is available for our customers to access whenever they need it. Reducing down-time is therefore a priority. NCR has helped us achieve this by identifying faults before they happen and reducing the time that our ATMs are unavailable by over fifty percent.”
NCR says there are four distinct ways in which it can use Predictive Services to manage the health of ATMs. First, it can predict the imminent failure of individual ATM components before they break and repair them before an entire unit becomes dysfunctional. Second, the use of detailed and intelligent repair logs and advice helps NCR deploy engineers to fix problems when needed and make sure the correct engineers are sent for specialized operation.
As mentioned earlier, remote fixes can replace the need for on-site repairs which can save OSN, Akbank, and their customers time and money. Finally, Predictive Services can monitor the lifespan of individual components and repair or replace them before they create problems. With all the above methods, Akbank can be assured that its ATMs will remain operational for longer periods of time to better service its customers. Improved uptime over the past year as a result of the partnership is apparently evidence enough to keep the relationship going strong for their mutual benefit.