Blog: Availability is Key

The growing popularity of digital banking channels has made one thing clear: we all expect 24/7 access, and we want to enjoy a seamless experience while doing so. In a recent survey Nielsen IQ conducted on behalf of Diebold Nixdorf, out of the top five topics that frustrated consumers, four related to having to wait in line or banking services not being available—and the #1 frustration was the ATM being out of operation¹.

So, for consumers availability is key—but how to achieve it? First, there is the ATM itself. As the convergence point of the digital and physical worlds, your devices are the foundation of a high uptime and—consequently—play a major role in ensuring your self-service channel delivers a better service to your consumers. The technology inside the latest generation of ATMs has become increasingly advanced, enabling higher availability: accurate note separation, and an optimized note path reduce the number of jams that occur. If a jam happens the priority is to resolve it as fast as possible, and new generations of devices make it easy for branch staff to clear a jam. And lastly, devices with a higher capacity (especially in a cash recycling scenario) require less frequent cash refills. These innovations ensure that your self-service channel is more available to consumers.

Innovation is one part of the equation but let us not forget: avoiding out-of-service-events entirely for self-service devices that are on 24/7 and sometimes exposed to adverse environmental conditions, is impossible—even with the most advanced engineering. When a problem does appear, part two of the “availability equation” becomes critical: maintenance and repair. 

The evolving nature of service issues
Let me take a step back—I just said “when” a problem appears, and that is, strictly speaking, no longer true—or rather it should not be: a modern ATM can be a sophisticated Internet of Things (IoT) device equipped with sensors and data points. Data is collected, aggregated and analyzed in real-time, so failure can be accurately diagnosed, and sometimes even predicted, and personalized, actionable insights can be made available to the maintenance teams. 

DN Series™ was purposely designed and built as a best-in-class IoT-connected device. Featuring a staggering number of 150 sensors and 100 other data points, once a deployed DN Series device is linked to DN AllConnect℠ Data Engine (which is the core enabler for DN AllConnect Services), detailed, technical data is continuously aggregated with data from other devices across a broad range of use cases and geographies. It is analyzed within our cloud computing platform using machine-learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI). This enables us to build a precise, constantly refined understanding of every single connected device and to generate personalized, actionable insights for each of them. 

This is the foundation of our fully data-driven service model. DN maintenance staff is empowered with rich information that enables them to resolve incidents remotely or on-site faster. Technician visits can be planned precisely as we know in advance what type of fix needs to be completed, what spare parts are required and how long the fix should take. Hence, first-time fix rates are extremely high. By analyzing data patterns, trends, leading indicators, etc., DN AllConnect Data Engine can also identify an impending failure, triggering a recommendation to act upon this insight and schedule a maintenance visit at a time of low customer usage to avoid an unplanned future outage and maximize the uptime of a device. This clearly shifts the paradigm from reactive to a truly predictive service model—and an award-winning one on top: in September 2021, Diebold Nixdorf’s digitally enabled, connected services were recognized by the Technology & Services Industry Association (TSIA) with a STAR Award, winning the category for Best Practice in the Delivery of Field Services.

Solving for both parts of the equation
The result of this combination of top-of-class terminals with a data-driven service model? Delighted consumers thanks to increased uptime, an improved user experience and higher customer satisfaction. But that’s not all: more availability means fewer lost transactions and reduced customer attrition; it also drives more traffic at your ATMs and more transactions as a consequence, generating more revenue. And on top of that, the prolonged lifespan of the devices, increased automation of incident management, and reduced involvement of branch staff and third-party service providers increase efficiencies and reduce the Total Cost of Ownership.

To put it in a nutshell, DN Series and DN AllConnect Services are better together—reaching availability of 99% and above in the field. And everyone benefits: FIs, branch staff and consumers. So, why not take that step? Wow your consumers with the most available ATM on the market and contact one of my colleagues at Diebold Nixdorf today or visit DieboldNixdorf.com to learn more. 

¹Nielsen IQ International Retail Banking Consumer and Technology Survey commissioned by Diebold Nixdorf.