Not all browsers are equal in bankers` eyes

The heady days of the Internet "democracy" are over, and if South African banks are anything to judge future trends by, the development of online banking services will be driven by a combination of client needs and commercial decisions rather than idealistic Internet standards.

And for better or worse, the "client" uses a combination of Microsoft Windows and Internet Explorer (IE), to the exclusion of all other operating systems and browsers, despite the vocal minority that touts their own favourites.

Developing interoperable technologies to lead the Web to its full potential as a forum for information, commerce, communication and collective understanding.

, , W3C

As a counterpoint to the ongoing commercialisation of the Internet are organisations such as the World Wide Consortium (W3C). Founded in the early days of the Internet, the W3C describes itself as developing "interoperable technologies to lead the Web to its full potential as a forum for information, commerce, communication and collective understanding". However, the lofty ideals of bodies such as the W3C seem to have been - and continue to be - sidelined in the race for online market share.

As South African banks, like their counterparts worldwide, look to move the bulk of their customers out of their banking halls and onto the Internet, it could be assumed that the issue of broad-ranging accessibility to its services would be of paramount importance. In reality, the demands of the customer base drive development forward with the, admittedly negligible, "non-standard" users being left to fend for themselves.

It is very much a case of going with the needs dictated by clients rather than being driven by international standards.

Adolph Kaestner, head of n-Solutions, FNB

"The development process is very much a case of going with the needs dictated by clients rather than being driven by international standards," says Adolph Kaestner, head of n-Solutions at FNB. "And in the case of FNB, the client base is primarily Windows-based and most use only Internet Explorer as their browser."

Kaestner says 98% of FNB`s clients currently use the Windows/IE combination. This figure has increased from around 92% since 2000, a point he sees as pivotal in the decline of the Netscape browser.

The fact that the IE dominance of the market continues to grow is backed up by most in the South African banking sector, including Herman Singh, director of online business at Standard Bank, who says "the Netscape share is starting to shrink significantly. This is a Microsoft-dominated market."

Christo Vrey, who heads up Absa`s portal strategy, agrees wholeheartedly. He says he has seen the gradual decline of Netscape Navigator over the past four years, with less than 1% of the client base using anything other than the standard Windows/IE combination today. However, unlike Kaestner, Vrey says "Windows 2000 had more of an impact on the market than did Y2K".

There are those, however, who see hope for a more diverse browser market. Roland le Sueur, webmaster at eBucks, says there has been a culture of South African consumers "slavishly" following products like IE, but he says he "does see open standards becoming increasingly important for banks as users diverge on what browsers they use".

So what of the standards and ideals so fiercely held by the W3C and its counterparts? It would appear that local banks are either largely ignorant to the aims of the W3C or see it as an insubstantial and not particularly relevant institution. Of the banks spoken to, only one replied with any certainty on the issue.

Angus Brown, head of E-financial services at eBucks.com, the Internet banking hub for FNB, says the standards set by groups such as the W3C are very important to the company and that its products have "good but not complete compliance with the W3C standards".

Henri Slabbert, GM at Absa Direct, acknowledges the importance of standards and says it is vital that standards are developed for the banking industry. After all, he says, the banking system by necessity relies on the interoperability offered by widely adopted standards. Slabbert notes that it is important to establish infrastructure standards, just as it is important to develop cross-technology standards to benefit commerce.

Most companies are aware of the need to be lean and mean.

Gordon Frazer, deputy MD, Microsoft SA

While banking industry insiders are generally united around the understanding that it is customers` habits that drive their development, opinions outside of the industry are more widely divergent.

People are coming to the realisation that they need to be increasingly cross-platform compliant, says Gordon Frazer, deputy MD of Microsoft South Africa. Given the bandwidth limitations that SA currently experiences, he says, "I think that most companies are aware of the need to be lean and mean. The end result may not be as aesthetically pleasing, but the results are generally better."

Others, however, don`t see it this way. Jay van Zyl, joint CEO of Rubico products division, calls it the "lowest common denominator approach", an approach that ensures that the service provider lacks the flexibility to deliver differentiation to the market. "We`re living in an era of differentiation, especially in financial services where it is the unique service that helps capture and keep new customers.

"Trying to base offerings on all the different platforms in a bid to widen the customer base simply kills differentiation," notes Van Zyl. "The `fancy bits` in the individual environments, be they MS Explorer or Netscape, are what enable differentiation and provide the exceptional customer experience."

This level of differentiation does carry with it a risk factor, as some of the banks will attest to, particularly Standard Bank.

When Standard Bank re-launched its online banking services earlier in the year, the response from customers was nowhere as positive as the bank expected. The intention, admits Standard`s Singh, was to replace the old banking engine with the new from the start. Customer response, however, resulted in a quick shift in plans and the bank currently runs two separate engines.

"Users were uncomfortable with the new site," says Singh, "and most of them didn`t need all the functionality of the new site." However, while the new design didn`t appeal to users, there was a little more at stake than just aesthetics. The new design was, for a period, unreachable for many users of Linux and Macintosh machines as well as those with `non-standard` browsers.

Of course, there`s a risk in using platform-specific versus cross-platform, but that`s okay if they [banks] have identified their target market.

Jay van Zyl, joint-CEO, Rubico

Nevertheless, Singh says the intention is still to introduce the new site in the near future. "More than a dozen changes have already been made to the site since it was launched." He adds that the old engine will be phased out as soon as there is a "high enough utilisation of the new site".

"Of course, there`s a risk in using platform-specific versus cross-platform, but that`s okay if they [banks] have identified their target market and the space in which they operate," says Rubico`s Van Zyl. "It becomes a percentage judgment."

Will online banking services ever be completely compatible with all operating systems and browsers? Most likely not, because, as Singh says, the process of testing all browser and operating systems combinations is arduous. "The process will always be heavily biased towards the market leaders, although we do run through a matrix of possibilities to ensure the widest range of users are catered for."

Van Zyl warns that while it is acceptable to use a technology to differentiate in these early days of virtual banking, it is more important for financial services providers to make their existing system "future proof". "What it boils down to is the selection of a decent architecture that can accommodate all the different solutions available. A service-based architecture, separating the technology from the functional allows the use of risk-free `fancy stuff` and secure non-visual processing," says Van Zyl.

Most banking representatives agree that the interface is becoming less important as users gradually move away from solely PC-based online services to a range of devices including handhelds and cellphones.

Supporting new platforms only becomes relevant when economies of scale make it feasible.

Christo Vrey, head: portal strategy, Absa

"The key challenge facing developers," says Frazer, "is to address the issue of multiple means of accessing the Internet. Currently it is safe to assume that most people will connect to the Internet with a browser on a PC. Soon, however, there will be multiple ways of connecting to the Internet." And it is in this context that XML becomes the topic of choice. As a widely held and open standard for exchanging information, irrespective of the client device used, XML is widely agreed upon as the path to follow.

Frazer says it is in this context that XML becomes "absolutely" paramount. He explains that Microsoft has already XML-enabled most of its server products and is well into doing the same for its client products. "With the release of Windows XP it will be even more so."

Vrey agrees: "XML is an integral part of our strategy at Absa. The PC is important as a market sector, but handhelds are convenient and people carry them with them all the time" making them an important part of future strategy.

As the range of devices increases over the coming years, the debate on what standards to support will not diminish to any degree. In fact, the debate is set to heat up, but until then it is clearly the perceived demands of the consumer that drive the market forward. Supporting new platforms, says Vrey, "is only relevant when economies of scale make it feasible".

Until then, the vocal minority will remain just that, and Microsoft will continue to eat into what market share the other vendors have managed to get their hands on.