1847 was a long time ago, but new technologies were transforming our world even then. That was the year Boston and New York were first connected by telegraph, expanding commerce. In that year the first steam-powered cotton mill opened, expanding productivity. And that was the year an enterprising 15-year-old baker’s apprentice invented the doughnut, expanding America’s waistline.
Since then, Iron Bank has constantly kept up with the pace of technology, advancing from the days of steam to the digital age yet never losing their personal touch. When Joann Cahill, Vice President of Operations, sought to update their computers a few years ago, she used the same strategy. She not only did her homework on various products’ specifications, she also took the personalized approach and simply talked to the manufacturers’ customers to learn from their experiences.
Joann’s knowledge base on this issue began a few years earlier when she had found Cybernet on the Internet and purchased the fourth generation Cybernet’s all-in-one PC called Elite 4, with which she was very satisfied. Now, seeking a more powerful platform, she meticulously checked out competing products. Looking at an HP mini-computer, she found it only offered USB ports, but various printers used in the banking industry all utilize serial port connectors. This meant that to get the serial ports she needed, she would also have to buy a legacy component, which added to its cost. Gateway offered an all-in-one that held promise, but the LCD monitor was too expensive.
To gain the personal point-of-view, Joann decided to talk with current users. She called Cybernet and received a prompt and friendly response as well as a list of names and numbers. They were mostly other bank executives like herself who told Joann the ZPC-GX31 was easy to install, saved space, had the connectors she needed, was easier on the budget, had the power she was seeking, and was extremely reliable. And yes, they would all buy that product again. So her search had come back full-circle to where it started: to Cybernet, and the ZPC-GX31 all-in-one space-saving computer with the processor inside the keyboard unit.
Joann ordered 16 ZPC-GX31 units, and everyone in the branches – and Joann – loved them. Linked to their network to run their banking software, each unit is also connected to an LCD monitor, a scanner for driver’s licenses, a mouse, and the receipt printer or another form printer. They’ve been superbly reliable, running 24/7 and turned off only once a week, and there has been only one problem, a single network card that went out that was immediately replaced.
Happy with the results of her search makes Joann happy with the process. She was pleased that Cybernet was so forthcoming with customer contacts and in answering her questions and concerns. “They are great to work with,” she said. But she is even more pleased with her ZPC-GX31s. “They’re great; I’d buy them again,” Joann added.
With the Cybernet ZPC-GX31, today National Iron Bank stands ready, as it has for over 150 years, to serve a new generation of businesses and individual customers in their little corner of Connecticut.