IBM has announced new solutions to allow financial services and banking customers to centralize operations and reduce overhead costs. The new IBM Systems Solutions for Branch Banking leverages IBM's growing ecosystem of partners, and also adds another option to the IBM Virtualized Hosted Client Infrastructure solution portfolio.

Systems Solutions for Branch Banking is designed to serve as a secure and stable platform for branch growth, as banks continue to evolve and redevelop their traditional network of branch sites, seeking to transform them into outlets for personalized selling and highly-focused service.

"IBM brings significant value to the table -- expertise from other engagements and a deep understanding for our support needs," said Luis Francisco Rivas Dueñas, Chief Information Officer of Banco de la República, the Central Bank of Colombia. "We can capitalize on IBM's expertise to further collapse multiple tiers of our computing operations into a more efficient, less complex infrastructure. This solution includes tailored features such extra security and networking applications that meet our specific needs as a financial institution."

Designed specifically for the banking industry, the new Systems Solutions for Branch Banking offers banking customers a pre-configured, pre-tested, scalable and easy to maintain platform that can be used to consolidate branch infrastructure. The new banking solutions -- built on powerful Intel Xeon-based IBM BladeCenter and xSeries platforms -- include software, networking and security features so that administrators can monitor operations and centrally deploy software to branch locations.