Gateware

Consensus Software Awards

Product description

Gateware is an eBusiness Integration Platform that facilitates the rapid deployment of secure eBusiness solutions. Gateware allows organizations to quickly deploy communications solutions that encompass a wide variety of message types, protocols and environments by linking customers into internal applications and services.

Innovation

Creating a Business Advantage
Gateware™ is an eBusiness development platform, which facilitates the rapid deployment of banking and finance eBusiness solutions for payments, corporate transactions, web transactions etc using standard components. This approach provides significant business benefits

• Gateware Component-based architecture enables eBusiness solutions to be built and deployed faster, reducing development costs

• Shortened time-to-market for new products and services provides competitive advantage

• The ability to push information out to customers enhances customer service and provides differentiation

• A broad range of standard Adapters and Task Agents minimizes development, thereby reducing costs

• Gateware SDK allows changes to be made in-house to Adapters and Task Agents for lower cost and better responsiveness

In addition, eBusiness solutions produced using Gateware provide higher levels of manageability. Gateware provides a range of services across all communications channels and message types, giving complete tracking and visibility of all messages and files, enabling organisations to provide better customer service

Gateware is the product of SIENNA's experience over more than a decade of building eBusiness banking gateways. Gateware sits right on the enterprise boundary, controlling all eBusiness communications into and out of the enterprise and providing levels of management and security that can't be achieved by individual solutions.

New business/service delivery
Gateware enables organisations to build a single point of management and control to handle all B2B messaging needs. It provides the authentication and security needed to deal with hundreds, or thousands, of trading partners. Gateware can also push information out to customers in any format and across any protocol using its unique customer awareness - every trading partner is maintained in a unique Customer Profile Database

New technology
Written entirely in Java, with browser-based management, Gateware can be deployed on servers running Sun's Solaris, IBM's AIX or Microsoft's Windows NT/Windows 2000 operating systems. By providing a component-based software architecture that scales with your business, Gateware makes it easy to handle new data formats and add new protocols, or to deploy completely new eBusiness products and services quickly and cost-effectively.

Gateware delivers some important new functionality to web technology that allows organisations to deliver significantly enhanced services to their customers:

Websites 
Websites are synonymous with eBusiness and are ideal for many applications. But they are inherently a "Pull" technology - customers have to go to your website and download information. their customers - whether via HTTP to their website, or email, or any other channel.

• Gateware treats all communications channels the same and allows the client to deliver the same services currently delivered via their website over all their eBusiness channels.

• Instead of waiting for customers to visit the website, deliver the information needed to their own web server via HTTP-push.

• Mix communications methods in the same application - receiving files via FTP or TCP/IP; confirm via HTTP.

Self-Service Web Mailbox
In a service-oriented eBusiness solution, customers need to be able to verify the status of the files they have uploaded and check for new files to download. Rather than contacting the organizations computer staff or help desk, let them log-on to their own password-protected web mailbox that allows them to:

• check the status of files they have uploaded

• re-send files they had previously downloaded - maybe even via a different delivery channel like email or FTP

• verify that vital files such as payroll processing files have been accepted and acknowledged.

• Customers can log-on and satisfy their own requirements at any time, even when travelling or at home, with no additional workload on staff.

"Innovation" - Relevant Media
"Sienna's positioning is unique because most e-commerce solutions are software-vendor driven, designed to extend their existing product range into the e-commerce world. However Sienna's Gateware is standards driven" - The Sydney Morning Herald, "Sienna goes global with $2.5m boost" - Eric Wilson, Tuesday April 4, 2000.

"Credit unions are making a play for the payroll services market once dominated by banks…They are using a secure system developed by Sienna Technologies which bases its e-Business solutions on its Gateware e-Business integration platform" - The Australian, "Secure credit unions purge the pinstripes" - Lou Caruana, Wednesday July 12, 2000.

Performance

Performance Indicator
Payment and transaction files of all sizes and formats are a key part of doing business in modern banking and financial services markets. Organisations must communicate efficiently and reliably with thousands of customers and trading partners. Data files and messages of all sizes contain payments and confirmations, statements, payrolls, settlements, and more.

Gateware has been selected by banks and financial institutions for its reliability, flexibility and ability to scale. No other product combines the range of protocols and security options, with the customer profile capabilities and scalability of Gateware.

Enthusiastic customer support 
Gateware is already powering some of the worlds leading banking, insurance and telco eBusiness implementations. Gateware is relied on to deliver millions of files and messages, carrying transactions worth billions of dollars

A Gateware customer…

"There's nothing like Gateware its truly unique" - Peter Dutfield, Head of IT Strategy & Planning Credit Union Services Corporation (CUSCAL).

Proof of real world performance 
Gateware has been installed at CUSCAL for almost 2 years. CUSCAL acts as the central clearinghouse and technology provide for around 200 Credit Unions in Australia. Gateware was selected as the messaging technology to handle all of the transaction flows between Credit Unions and to banks and the Reserve Bank of Australia. In its first full year of operation, Gateware delivered over 40 million financial transactions with complete reliability.

"Performance Indicators" - Relevant Media
" Australian banks have secured an enviable position in cyberspace with strong brands enticing more customers online, making it difficult for overseas competitors to steal market share" (according to research by stockbrokers, Macquarie equities) "...It also nominated two unlisted companies as star e-commerce enablers - B2B transaction management provider Sienna Technologies….".

The Sydney Morning Herald, "Banks have the Internet edge" - Katrina Nicholas, Wednesday July 12, 2000.

"Australian Credit Unions can range in asset base from as low as $5million to around $1 billion. Dutfield believes that CUSCAL's investment in Sienna's Gateware e-business integration platform helps to provide a competitive edge to even the smaller businesses." - The Australian Industry Standard, "Credit Where Credit's Due" - Louise Wiehart, Thursday July 20, 2000.

Potential

SIENNA received $4million Venture Capital (2nd round) funding in 2000, and will seek more in 2001. The funding has been used toward marketing, recruitment and the ongoing development of Gateware, in the Asia-Pacific and US Market.

Gateware is a wholly Australian design produced by a team of around 20 software developers. The team produces updates of Gateware every 6mths, with Gateware 4.0 due for release in April 2001. The updates ensure enhancements are made according to the newest standards and technology and that Gateware is receptive to the evolving needs of its customers.

SIENNA sells Gateware in partnership with their Alliance Partners, Sun, IBM, Compaq and Baltimore and a channel of systems integrators. With the opening of SIENNA offices in Melbourne and the USA in February 2001, Gateware will continue its success in the international markets.

Enterprise structured for growth - Relevant Media
"Technology Venture Partners which invested $2.5million in Sienna in March, chipped in with another $1 million in the second round funding…TVP's executive director…said his company backed Sienna because it had a 12 year track record in 'one of today's most explosive business areas'…A recent report by Macquarie Research named Sienna as one of the likely winners in the finance sector from the B2B revolution" - The Financial Review, "Track record wins funding" - Tony Boyd, August 13, 2000

Other information the judges should know

SIENNA Technologies is a wholly Australian owned and operated business. Founded in Sydney in 1988, the company's long term focus on B2B opportunities is shown by the fact it has owned the Australian trademark for B2B since 1996.

SIENNA's clients include The Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Bank, CUSCAL, Optus, and major banks in Singapore and around Asia.

February will mark the opening of the first SIENNA offices in Melbourne and North America with plans to establish offices in Asia, as a precursor to expansion in those markets. SIENNA expects to record revenue of $6.5million this year and plans to see that double in the forthcoming year. The company plans to ultimately list on the stock exchange.

Sienna Technologies, business partners include IBM, Compaq and Sun. They have recently received their 2nd round VC funding and are about to set up office in Asia and the US. Their flagship product, Gateware is updated every 6mths and Gateware 3.0 was just released in November. Their customers include, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, Optus and NETS (Network for Electronic Transfers) in Singapore.

Web-site: www.sienna.com.au 

Requested method of presentation

In Sydney at either our Sienna head office in North Sydney or a customer site.

Return to Index of Entries 
Return to Voting Form 

Top of page