Author: Rod Bungey, North America Sales Director

A recent article by ATM Marketplace's Amy Castor asked the following question in relation to ATM Outsourcing: “How do you not throw out the baby with the bathwater?”

On closer inspection, effective baby bathing applied to ATM management is a rare but remarkably worthy basis for comparison when it comes to looking after what’s important and preparing for the future.

This uncommon parallel – a baby, a bath, and an ATM – helps to illustrate the point that cloud technology is a far more effective way of managing a delicate and essential process than the traditional approach.

#1 Use an infant tub, save water.

The days of using an oversized bathtub are over. The same is true for the payments world. There is no need to procure a big piece of tin or an oversized container. Acquire only what you need now and let the cloud look after you as your ‘baby’ grows. 

#2 Use touch supervision.

Deploying in the cloud doesn’t mean you relinquish control. Modern cloud-native technology provides a wealth of data and dashboards helping you keep your finger on the pulse. Predictive AI also helps to alert you to issues before they happen, so when you can’t be present, real-time monitoring always keeps you up to date.

#3 Check the water temperature. 

In the old days, when you put your baby in the bath, you would find out pretty quickly if they didn't like the temperature of the water. Cue tears. The same principle applied in IT; test a little then you'd deploy. Often, you would only discover an issue when it’s too late. Modern agile technology allows for a continuous cycle of development, automated testing and deployment. You can fully test the water before you deploy and adjust, if required. Crisis and tears averted! 

#4 Keep baby warm. 

Babies, like ATM systems, need constant nurturing and attention to grow. Traditionally, upgrade cycles allowed little time for innovation and changes to the customer experience. They were slow and expensive. Not anymore! Cloud-native applications with server-based, vendor independent ATM applications are wrapped in secure containers that will have your baby walking well ahead of the rest. CI:CD practices keep that baby well-fed with new content and services.

#5 Use soap sparingly.

With apologies on this one - SOAP is going out of fashion. JSON/Restful services are far friendlier and easier to use, ensuring close integration with your core systems and enabling new and innovative business partnerships for both card-based and cardless ATM services. Move away from legacy and proprietary IT standards and join the new world of agile innovation.

#6 Cleanse gently. 

To keep those monolithic systems going you would have to plan long, complex upgrade cycles. Even the smallest change could impact the entire application. With a service-based architecture, changes can be isolated, tested and quickly deployed while the system still running. Cleaning little and often is the new mantra for keeping your baby happy.

#7 Have fun in the tub.

Babies love exploring new things but when you’re stuck with an old monolithic architecture or on a multi-user processor platform it’s hard to try new things. Modern cloud-native applications enable a plug-and-play mentality. You can try new things fast, and without wasting any resources: ‘The more fun you have, the more they’ll like the water’.

#8 Get out and dry off. 

With a cloud-based deployment, you can afford to take a step back and review what you’ve achieved. You aren’t locked into a multi-year agreement. You aren’t left with a heap of ageing, depreciating tin in your computer rooms. You haven’t had to employ expensive resources with a narrow set of proprietary IT skills. Rather, you’ve become innovative and agile parents.

Dry off, step back and start planning the next little project. Let Renovite help you take care of your ‘baby’ and let the cloud take care of the bathwater!

[Baby bathing tips courtesy of: healthychildren.org]