Today, Infosys announced the launch of Finacle 11E, touted as an advanced universal banking solution to simplify banking transformation. Infosys is hoping to see this version jump into the US market. Finacle, the product, functions as a bank’s nerve center, enabling all branches of a bank to access applications from a centralized location.

The company is putting a lot of significance behind the announcement, it being made by chairman N.R. Narayana Murthy at an annual banking and financial conference in Dubai.

The US represents only 12 percent of Finacle’s business though more than 60 percent of Infosys’ service-related business is American. The global head of Finacle, Haragopal M, explained the difficulty surrounding US banking for Finacle is the extensive legacy technology employed by the banks. He says that the complex IT systems developed over decades cannot be replaced with the flip of a switch. “So one of the big things we have done with the new Finacle version is to componentize its structure so that banks can choose the components they need and replace their existing systems one step at a time. They can progressively modernize their business.”

Finacle, originally launched in 2000, has witnessed success in delivering benefits to global banks, resulting in an annual rate of return of more than 55 percent on core banking transformation investments, according to a client case study by independent research firm Aite, as reported in the Infosys press release.

Early wins were found in countries with banking that was slower to adopt technologies. Finacle operates in 168 banks across 81 countries mostly in India, larger Asia and Africa.

Finacle was recognized last week—for the second time in a row—by the Innovation in Technology and Transaction Banking Awards sponsored by The Banker journal. The product was awarded Best Core Banking Technology. A panel of 20 technology leaders from global banks selected Finacle for its rich functionality and advanced service-oriented architecture.

[Image via Wikimedia Commons.]