Industry leaders and innovators from all over America gathered to exchange information and ideas about the latest trends in fraud and prevention technologies, as well as discussing the business aspects of check processing and paperless documents. At the 2008 event, Softpro was proud to welcome in participants from American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citigroup, DCI, First California Bank, Key Bank and Symcor. The agenda in 2008 was a mix of customer presentations such as FraudOne best practices and FraudOne in a day one environment as well as presentations on product roadmap, virtualization, future Strategies and a session on the generation of rules for SOFTPRO's popular holistic "Combined Risk Score" analysis.
User Group chaired by representatives from Chase and Key Bank
For the first time the event was chaired of two of Softpro's User Tom Chin from Chase and Dennis D'Ambrosio from Key Bank. It was one of the innovations reflecting Softpro's to continue to be recognized as most customer-focused vendor for for fraud prevention solutions. The event gave the banks the opportunity to learn from each other's organizations how to better address the fraud problems they are facing as well as sharing best practice how to make the most when using Softpro's solutions.
Frank and fruitful discussions, focused on what really matters
Alain Sarraf says: "The discussions within the growing Softpro user group were the source for some of the most impressive innovations that the banking industry has seen in the last years. Now the group is in a stage to develop into the next level. We intend to intensify the contact and to ensure everything that we Softpro is the realiable partner bank's can count on in a difficult market environment as we stand for long-lasting, sustainable partnerships. Within the user group we have developed a discussion and development culture which is fact-based, frank, honest and open. It is a bit funny to have this event in Las Vegas where everything is designed to have fun. But - believe it or not - if it comes to fraud prevention these meetings are getting extremly serious: We concentrate on what really matters and how to resolve issues facing this industry."
Angela Bardowell coordinates the User Group
The event introduced Angela Bardowell, a key player in the banking industry for over thirty years as the driver for the user group taking over from Alain Sarraf who was appointed as Chief Technical Officer (CTO) earlier this year. Angela re-joined Softpro ealier this year as Softpro's Executive Vice President of Product Strategy and Operational Risk Consulting.
Alain Sarraf about Angela: "She brings a strong background in liability risk management specializing in loss prevention and detection and related best practices. I am extremely proud to have Angela Bardowell now as coordinator of the user group as well. I can hardly think of anyone in this industry with more experience and knowledge. She has the right business focus which allows Softpro to continue to be at the forefront of fraud prevention solutions in the US market. Angela's breadth of knowledge and hands-on experience enrich our company's portfolio." Ealier Ms. Bardowell worked for Bank of America in several senior-level positions including the one as a Senior Vice President and Process Design Executive in the Liability Risk Management Group. Ms. Bardowell is a graduate of the University of Virginia Graduate School of Retail Banking. She is also an Associate Certified Fraud Examiner and holds a Six Sigma Black Belt.
Angela Bardowell: "It is our aim to give our customers access to expert knowledge in order to enhance their daily business and to build long-lasting, sustainable partnerships. Our approach to product development is clearly customer focused and the input from the group is what drives the product roadmap and strategy. The discussions about fraud trends and future applications will help Softpro to be in a strong position to provide products that are visionary. Due to high demand from the participating banks and Softpro's extensive banking customers, the annual meeting will be extended to include working groups and quarterly calls to focus on specific aspects of fraud and help softpro to specifically design solutions that exactly meet the customer's needs." Softpro's active user group meeting participants are typically the first ones to reap the benefits of innovative anti-fraud technology and indeed to participate in its inception.
Focal point of company stategy is on Stakeholder Value
Tim Morris, President of Softpro North America: "Softpro continues to focus on the idea of stakeholder value encompassing enduring benefits for customers, partners and employees. The user group meeting in 2008 was just another milestone to prove this. We look forward to seeing an even larger attendance returning in mid-September 2009. Despite difficult market conditions we are especially happy that the user group meeting 2008 had once again new Softpro customers on board". Details about the event are distributed within the user group communication channel.
