KAL introduces alternative to ATM upgrades

KAL ATM Software has announced an innovative solution to the banking industry's long-standing dilemma of endless ATM hardware upgrades required to support new versions of Microsoft Windows.

According to a company press release, this new approach has the potential to save banks huge sums of money as they migrate their ATM networks to Windows 10 in advance of the end of support for Windows 7 on Jan. 14, 2020.

The solution, OS-Virtualization, was developed by KAL in coordination with Red Hat, VMware and Wind River. OS-Virtualization applies hypervisor, a technology widely used in data centers, to uncouple the hardware from the ATM operating environment. This separation means that software drivers no longer supported by Microsoft can continue to receive support instead from the hypervisor supplier.

Linux-based hypervisor serves as the «host» operating environment supporting a «guest» virtual operating system environment running Windows 10 and the entire ATM software stack. A white paper now available from KAL offers a complete detailed description of OS-Virtualization.

In addition to being able to run on many of the current ATM hardware models without requiring an upgrade to the processor, this new approach protects the massive software assets banks have developed over the years using Windows, said KAL CEO Aravinda Korala.

«It is really exciting to share a new application of hypervisor technology that will relieve banks from having to invest in hardware upgrades every few years,» he said. «OS-Virtualization is a new concept for ATMs that will open the banks' eyes to a new way of looking at Windows upgrades. This is truly a revolutionary event for the industry.»

Several banks around the world have been working with KAL and hypervisor suppliers to test this alternative approach and the initial results are very encouraging, according to the release.

Prague-based Česká spořitelna, the largest bank in the Czech Republic measured by account holders, was the first European bank to test the virtualization concept.

«We were concerned at having to upgrade our hardware so soon after the XP-W7 upgrade and we are really happy that virtualization provides us with an alternative option,» said Jiří Charousek, director of infrastructure and operations for the bank.

Read the KAL white paper, «No more ATM hardware upgrades with OS-Virtualization.»

Read KAL's dedicated blog on virtualization.

Source: ATM Marketplace