Consulting
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We understand that each of our consulting tasks is different. Our consulting services are flexible and tailored to meet your needs. We create the relationship you want. We are dedicated to meeting your needs, being your reliable partner and trusted advisor. Each of our consultants were previously employed within the financial services industry in senior technical and business positions. Each understands the technology and understands the financial services business. Our consultants are known for their hands-on approach and working effectively and non-intrusively in our client's environment. They have a "get the job done" approach to your problems. Business StrategiesWe believe that the real Internet financial services marketplace is only now just emerging. The initial Internet rush focused on using the Internet to improve efficiency while largely retaining traditional business models. Today new Internet business strategies are emerging that go beyond efficiency to redefine financial service business models. Ideas such as exception based banking redefine the relationship between financial service institutions and their customers. Internet technologies used pervasively within financial service institutions fundamentally redefine the way institutions operate and interact with their customers. The Internet as both a delivery channel and an operational technology are creating fundamental changes in financial services business strategies. Keeping up with those changes is a critical challenge for financial service institutions today. At Bell Curve Group we've been involved with Internet technology since the very beginning. We have been working with leading financial services institutions for over seven years to help them understand the impact this technology has on their businesses. Our more than 50 research reports speak to our understanding of the financial services industry and business strategies. Our record of anticipating key developments and trends is outstanding. Our consultants can help you with your business strategy needs. Internet InitiativesReal world Internet initiatives and projects are anything but simple. While your 12 year old may be able to bring up a simple personal Internet site, having a competitive Internet financial services site is not the same thing. While you can easily setup a home network, setting up an effective corporate Internet infrastructure is not nearly as simple. The Internet is no longer a novelty. Today it's an essential part of your business that you need to treat seriously. To succeed with your Internet initiatives you need serious technologist committed to helping you succeed. You need outstanding functional design so that your Internet site meets your customer's needs. You need a site that is current and offers contemporary functionality and content. Your implementation architecture and technology must support your site and business today and be able to grow to support it tomorrow. The technologies you use on your Web pages, servers, and middleware must be flexible and scaleable. Your initiatives must meet ever higher quality standards. At Bell Curve Group our experienced consultants have been there and done that. We've done functional designs for multi-state loan origination systems, developed overall architectures for integrated multi-channel delivery environments, helped select implementation technologies, and implemented Web sites and distributed Internet systems. Our Monitor and Auditor services provide comprehensive ongoing quality assurance. Our consultants can help you with your Internet initiatives from inception to deployment. Vendor SelectionChoosing the right vendors for technology and services is never easy. It's particularly difficult when it comes to Internet technology and services. The average financial services institution has anywhere from a few dozen to well over one hundred technology vendors and business partners involved in their Internet initiatives. Even the smallest institution will have links to a dozen business partner sites, outsource their online banking service to a business partner, use still another to host their site, and use multiple Internet technologies and services within the institution. Getting vendor and technology choices right is a critical business decision for all institutions, but particularly smaller institutions. Choose the wrong online banking vendor and your transactional Internet site will be slow and not functionally competitive. Choose the wrong ad-server and your home page will be slow and inconsistent. Choose the wrong check-reorder service and your customers will have difficulty returning to your site. Use the wrong Web page composer and your Web pages will not show up in search engines. We've seen all these and many other mistakes in sites we've worked with, sites where poor partner and technology choices lead to real business problems. Since we've studied many vendors, heard their sales pitches, visited with their customers, and kicked the tires we can help you select technology and service vendors well matched to your needs. Competitive AnalysisThe financial services industry is highly competitive. In most urban and suburban locations there are often 5 to 10 direct competitors within a 5 minute drive. The Internet is even more competitive. There is an Internet saying that "all URLs are created equal." While it is certainly true that some URLs are better known than others, they are all more or less equally available to your customers and prospects. On the Internet you do not compete just with geographically local financial service providers, you compete with thousands of providers across the country. Internet financial services are rapidly evolving. With seven Internet years to one calendar year, a site whose functionality and content were OK yesterday, can be dated and noncompetitive tomorrow. If you want to stay competitive, you need to keep up. To keep up, you need to know what your competitors are doing. You need to know when new Internet financial services begin to become common and expected as part of being an Internet financial institution. At Bell Curve Group we work with Internet financial services sites every day. We analyze literally hundreds of sites, looking for evolving and new content and functionality. We can help you compete by analyzing your site and comparing it to your competitors and broad Internet financial services best practices. Advisory ServicesWhether you are a financial service institution or a vendor doing business with institutions, an independent perspective is often very helpful. Our consultants have conducted many research studies for leading institutions and vendors. We are experienced at working with our customers to create marketing materials, comprehensive case studies, performance analysis reports, and a variety of white papers. |
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