Out With The Old

Due to the vagaries of magazine production, the issue of BS&T you currently hold in your hands is the first produced in 2002. Finally, we're able to join everyone else in bidding adieu to a troublesome 2001.

May we never experience another year like it again.

Keeping with the seasonal theme of renewal, you'll notice as you page through BS&T that we have made some design changes-improvements that allow the magazine to better meet its goal of providing informative, easy to access and comprehensive strategic information on the technical aspects of the banking industry.

Hopefully, you have already noticed the first alteration. The table of contents has been reorganized, making it much easier to use. An update box has also been added to the bottom of the page, and will be used to alert readers to upcoming opportunities in the magazine, Web and event media that comprise BS&T.

Turn to the upfront sections of the magazine (What's News, International News and Tech Focus), and you'll notice some more changes. The text styles have been updated, creating a cleaner presentation that allows us to make more judicious use of editorial space, as is evident by the multiple story starts and chart information on these pages.

In addition to updating design, we've tweaked the magazine's content. For example, in this and future issues you'll notice an increase in pages devoted to International News and Community Bank. Readers have stated that both these areas often act as "laboratories" for technology that is later adopted by larger institutions. We concur, and will devote more editorial space to these topics going forward.

This spirit of change flows beyond the pages of BS&T. Our Web site (www.banktech.com) has been totally reconfigured for the new year. Improvements include an easier to understand and navigate site design; a Hot Topics area that aggregates information on three breaking technologies (anti-money laundering, EBPP, wealth management); an Executive Education connect that alerts viewers to continuing education opportunities from accredited universities and colleges; a link to the Executive Technology Forum, a series of one-day seminars BS&T is sponsoring with partners BAFT and BITS; and RFP Central, a tool to help bankers manage the request for proposal process. Despite all these changes, we're still able to offer banktech.com at its usual attractive rate-free.

In closing, I would be remiss if I did not thank Cheryl Petit de Mange, BS&T art director, for the long hours she put in making the redesign of both the magazine and Web site from possibility to reality. I would also like to thank Paul Way, director of online operations, and Vitali Zhulkovsky, Webmaster, for their usual stellar work in managing the daily ins and outs of banktech.com