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ORS is the technological partner of Consorzio ABI Energia

Consorzio ABI Energia

The pool aimed at optimizing the management and the use of energy in banks

Website:
www.abienergia.it The Consorzio ABI Energia (ABI Energy Pool) was born due to several different factors coinciding, such as: the liberalization of the electric power and natural gas market, the evolution of the rules and regulations to be observed within banks by the people dealing with energy, and the growing awareness in the financial sector:

• Of the economical opportunities coming from a wise management of the supplies and the consumptions of electricity and natural gas;
• Of the importance of environmental themes;
• Of the risks involved with the operational sequence of business processes.

Consequently, in 2003, a working team made up just by banks carefully studied the possibility of making up a pool structure aimed at managing a series of activities to improve the energy costs within the financial sector. After this study, it was decided the setting up of a legally independent, non-profit organization, capable of aggregating research centres, sector operators and pertinent institutions, whose interest was effecting together analysis and research on the definition of sustainable actions aimed at developing in a tangible way the energy market with reference to the financial system.

Finally, on 23 December 2003, Associazione Bancaria Italiana (Italian Banking Association) and 20 banks drew up the articles of partnership of Consorzio ABI Energia (ABI Energy Pool), a non-profit organization. At the same time the Managing Board was chosen: for the first three years it will be made up of the constituents and of a representative of the Small Banks Association.

The Pool has therefore got as its main aim the optimized management and use of the power in banks through the supply of services and the development of specific competence, and it has got the following targets:

• The reduction of the provisioning costs of energy;
• The reduction of energy consumption;
• The reduction of the environmental impact of energy consumption;
• The reduction of the operational risk connected with the use of energy.

ABI Energia sets itself the aim of reaching the above mentioned goals through the activities that may be summed up like this:

1. analysis of the rules and regulations (resolutions on the structure and on the processes of distribution and production of energy, notifications, access to projects for the acquisition of Energy Efficiency Qualifications) and of the novelties on the energy market;
2. collaborations with institutions with reference to the rules in force and to come into force;
3. finding out how to buy energy at the best economical conditions;
4. definition of the service levels (SLA) and of the outlines for supply contracts, after the identification of the best conditions related to the specific consumption;
5. identification of communication standards accepted by the suppliers, the distributors and the banks in order to optimize the reports on consumption;
6. definition of general criteria for the maintenance and the management of the plants;
7. definition and common use of auditing methods and energy consumption indicators;
8. realization of benchmarks on the consumption and on the costs of energy at system level and creation of a databank on energy;
9. R&D activities on the technologies supporting the energy management and renewable sources of energy;
10. formation and information activities, in order to develop within banks the technical and managerial techniques needed for a rational management of energy;
11. consultancy and assessment activities on the rationalization of the management processes of power consumption;
12. setting up of the Temporary Energy Manager (TEM) capable of supplying services referring to the functions of the Energy Manager for the banks which don’t have such a specific function.

The economic model from which the resources are drawn to develop the Pool’s initiatives entails an aggregation of different subjects within itself, such as banks and technological partners at a national and international level (operators in the plant engineering, building construction, large energy using and energy services sectors) and public and private bodies which may be interested to the corporate purpose, which have got the apt requisites to reach it and have finally got a corporate purpose congruent with the Pool’s aims. So far, ABI, Assbank, 70 banks and 21 technological partners are part of the Pool.

The main running activities of the Consorzio ABI Energia are listed here below:

SERVICES

• agreements about the purchase of energy on the free market
• purchasing agreements on products/services of the associated partners
• www.abienergia.it portal
• analysis and monitoring of the rules and regulations in the energy sector

PROJECTS

• procurement of electric power to banks under a high consumption profile
• procurement of natural gas to banks under a high consumption profile
• assessment on the energy-environment question: the right environmental management in a bank; the rationalization of the premises management
• energy certification for buildings (Italian Law Decree 192/05)

RESEARCH

• Analysis of the energy request from the banking system
• Working team: reduction of the operational risk connected with the use of energy
• Working team: administrative and technical management of consumptions

COMMUNICATION

• “Save the environment by a click”: a handbook aimed at a sensitive use of energy on the workplace
• Events within a company and outside it aimed at spreading the activities of the Consorzio ABI Energia
• Organization of meetings between associated technological partners and associated banks
• Newspaper reports on national papers to advertise the trade mark

IBIMEC s.r.l.

Website:
www.ibimec.it IBIMEC s.r.l. was founded in 1984, specialising in IBM mainframe technology - helping large businesses in Piemonte to organise their information system architecture. Soon afterwards, IBIMEC broadened its scope as an IBM agent, targeted a more diverse market and increased its focus on management software.

In 1989, IBIMEC began collaboration with a Spanish company, focusing on the development of Quality Management systems that would enable users to meet or exceed ISO standards. In 1991, IBIMEC completed the first installation of its Quality control software, for a manufacturing firm that was part of an English company.

IBIMEC's focus on Quality control systems became increasingly specialised, and since 1992, the company has offered related consultancy services, in addition to software solutions, while maintaining its expertise in IBM mainframe technology.

QMS/400, IBIMEC's Quality Management System, was launched in 1993. Working with large companies on Quality Management solutions became IBIMEC's primary mission.

In 1994 and 1995, IBIMEC saw multiple installations of QMS/400 and distinguished itself in the marketplace as a force in Quality Management systems solutions.

From 1997, IBIMEC's products and structure were completely revamped.

In 1998, IBIMEC's division for Quality systems consultancy was established.

From 1999, IBIMEC has reinforced its business and consultancy structure. The company headquarters were refurbished and expanded.

Since 2000, IBIMEC's solutions include the AS/400, Windows and Domino platforms.

IBIMEC establishes partnerships with consultancy and technology groups both within Italy and throughout Europe.

MISSION STATEMENT

In these areas, IBIMEC assists the client in defining and leading projects.

Sasso s.r.l.

Technologies and sustainability

Website:
www.sasso-italy.com In many years of activity in the electro-mechanic and electronic sectors, SASSO has gained the experience allowing it to face professionally and competently any problem related to the production, the control, the consumption and the management of energy. Its activities started in 1925 and since then it has been immediately well known and appreciated all over the world. The company history has therefore been developing through some generations of people, who have always granted the maximum reliability of their systems and qualified assistance services.

Nowadays SASSO operates in the energy and planting sectors, and in the last decades it has performed a multi-disciplinary job in the energy and non-energy technology sector and in sustainable development.

There are a lot of projects that have already been completed, and as many projects are being developed now: in all of them the aspect of technology for a sustainable development has been undertaken with a global approach.

Technology must not be the result of development, but it should be a tool for development.

Company Introduction

  Sasso s.r.l. (PDF, 81Kb)

Antoptima SA

OPTIMIZATION: new competition levels

Website:
www.antoptima.com AntOptima is an innovative business established in Lugano in 2001 as a spin-off of Istituto Dalle Molle di Studi sull’Intelligenza Artificiale (IDSIA) which has been active in the research field well known all over the world since 1988, thanks to the many publications and to its participation to internationally relevant projects.

AntOptima is like an interface between the most advanced research and the reality of production, supplying businesses with innovative technologies and ideas to solve problems of optimization, of production management and of integrated logistics. Thanks to a highly motivated team consisting of scientists, researchers and business and enterprise technology experts, AntOptima can solve complicated applied problems which require an in-depth knowledge of the production system and of solution techniques.

AntOptima integrates innovative algorithms and hardware solutions within already settled information systems. The suggested solutions are flexible and can evolve with the development of the business activities. In fact, the used technologies create systems learning from experience and continually improve the quality of the achieved solutions.

MISSION

In a time when substantial changes in the sector of logistics and industrial processes are occurring, the traditional planning systems followed by enterprises fast become obsolete, as they cannot stand the changing conditions of the markets and the rising competitiveness by competitors.

In several years of theoretical and applied researches, we have achieved the knowledge and the ability to solve this complexity through reactive information technology, a new way of running a business in view of the market trends and the business objectives. This is a dynamic tool allowing to reply to the growing complexity and allowing a company to be different from its competitors and to get lasting advantages with reference to efficiency and cost savings, reacting fast to the incoming competitiveness situations and optimizing them.

The aim of our products is supplying intelligent methodologies able to manage the high level of existing complexity, automating and optimizing the distribution and production processes of client companies, and our products are remarkable for:

• Their high specialization
• Quality and innovation of the suggested solutions
• Performance guarantee
• Professionalism and competence
• Strong customer orientation

VoiSmart IP Telephony & VoIP Solutions

Website:
www.voismart.it Espia srl, established in 1998, is an Italian company whose partners have got substantial experiences in the sectors of university research and industry.

Espia is the owner of the VoiSmart registered trade mark, with which it markets its own VoIP technology products – VoIP stands for Voice over IP.

The premises of Espia in Italy are in Milan – Management, Software Research and Development, Via Pinturicchio 1; Service and Forwarding Departments, Via Pascoli 37 – and at San Pietro Infine/Caserta – Hardware Research and Development -. There are also a technical and commercial office and a production plant in the Far East, in Taiwan precisely.

The planning and the research are made through internal resources and through the support of strategical collaborations with the most prestigious Italian universities and thanks to partnerships with foreign companies.

The Espia staff in the different locations at the moment consists of over fifty people, all of them technicians and engineers and specialists.

Espia is a member of the Albo Nazionale Costruttori per le TLC (National Register of Telecommunication Manufacturers) and it is an ISO 9001 certified company.

The present production includes PBX (switchboards), IP phones, gateways, Asterisk interfaces which are certified by the prestigious Tilab, the Telecom Italia laboratories.

The choice of Asterisk and of the Open Source strategy, thanks to which it is possible to eliminate the costs of software licensing, has always been at the basis of Espia choices.

The VoiSmart products are distributed in Italy through a network of over a hundred installation technicians and licensed sellers, and in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, Poland, Russia, Belarus, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey through national sole distributors.

Advanction S.A.

Website:
www.advanction.com ADVANCTION offers strategical solutions for the banking world: the “best of breed” products and services together with the well-established business and industry expertise are the main features with a high added value upon which our proposals are based.

Our task is increasing the value of our Customers supporting them in the ICT strategies in order to help them maximize their business development.

Thanks to our in-depth technical and business knowledge we are able to offer solutions in the following areas:

• Financial Solutions: both the Private Banker and the Retail Bank and the Financial Analyst can find in ADVANCTION the ideal partner, thanks to targeted solutions and strategical agreements with market-leader companies.
• Advanced Architectures: markets require companies to give more and more accurate replies in a faster and faster and cheaper and cheaper way. For this reason using technology in the best way is a must from the point of view of both competitiveness and profits. Advanction helps companies to safeguard their own investments with standard “GRID” solutions, capable of supporting different environments, apart from the platform or the operational system. Grid computing optimizes the existing IT infrastructures increasing business performances.
• Information Protection and Risk Mitigation: it is vital for banks protecting sensitive information from unauthorized accesses and from their leaking outside by the employees and managers. This has in fact become a big worry for any business. For this reason Advanction suggests solutions able to satisfy the need of safeguarding one’s own information set and defending its integrity. These solutions range from the identification of internal fraud and protection from it, to biometric protection, from web application protection to email and endpoint security and to digital identity.