Corporate mergers and acquisitions compound the problem. The biggest challenge is in creating application infrastructures that integrate functionality from these diverse systems. An N-tier environment, on the other hand, allows for distributed computing, with unlimited simultaneous input, access, and transactions. The business benefits of N-tier architectures are sufficient scalability and availability to provide a suitable platform for growth. The growth can be in subscriber volume as well as in new services.
Banking is a prime example of an industry that can profit from professional services.
Many banks employ professional services to assess their current environment and make recommendations based on best practices. Professional services consultants then design and implement an architecture that can make e-business a reality. These cover a checklist that includes redundant site failover, change control, physical security, and disaster recovery. An example of a company that has engaged SunPS for assistance with online operation is Northern Trust Company in Chicago. SunPS consultants helped Northern Trust design a Web-enabled bill presentment system that allows consumers and business customers to pay bills online.