Management consultants Andersen Consulting
and Internet applications provider Security
First Technologies Corp. Monday announced plans to provide next generation financial services.
Andersen will provide $4 million equity investment to
Security First, or S1 as it is also known. The companies will become strategic and preferred business partners.
Jack
Wilson, managing partner of global markets for Andersen Consulting, will be
named to the board of Security First Technologies Corp.
The companies said that one of the first areas of collaboration will be to
jointly develop new applications that will assist insurers in creating and managing online relationships with customers.
“Virtually overnight, the Internet and user-friendly technology have
empowered a new generation of
consumers with heightened expectations of financial services providers,”
said Joel Friedman, managing
partner for Andersen Consulting’s global banking unit.
“Customers now define the products
and services they want as well as how and when they access them. The
winners in this new scenario will
be the providers that rapidly transform themselves, exploiting new
technologies to respond to customer demands,” Friedman said.
“By leveraging the expertise of both S1 and Andersen Consulting, this
alliance not only validates the
delivery of financial services over the Internet as a strategic channel,
but also defines new standards of
information access and integrated services,” said James Mahan III, Security First Technologies’ chief executive officer.
“As more organizations, from both traditional and non-traditional
backgrounds, enter the financial services industry, the market for Internet services will expand dramatically,” Mahan said.