With a Name Like Yodlee, It's Got to Be Good
Written: Mar 23 '00 (Updated Mar 24 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Content Aggregation and Personalization--Centralized Information Resource
Cons: My Online Banks Are Not Currently Supported
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| lap0530's Full Review: Yodlee |
Life in the Fast Lane—Hurry Up and Wait
Statistics presented on the Yodlee web site (www.yodlee.com) show that:
• There are 70+ million mailboxes and 2.5 e-mail accounts per user in the U.S.
• 34 million consumers currently plan their travel online
• 26 million households will bank online by 2003
• Online shopping is expected to exceed $268 billion by 2003
But despite the mad rush to go online with e-mail, travel reservations, banking, bill payment, and shopping, there is not an infrastructure to bring these disparate activities together. That is, there hasn't been one until now. Yodlee fills the gap by providing a secure, personalized platform that allows users immediate access in one central place to their online bank accounts, travel reservations, investments, email, shopping and auctions, bills, reward programs, online calendars, and other information. Yodlee is a free, advertiser-supported service.
A Typical User’s Experience Without Yodlee
I shop and invest online, hold multiple e-mail accounts--seven at last count, and have two separate online bank accounts. Additionally, I make all my plane and most of my hotel reservations on the Internet. Consolidating e-mail accounts is a fairly simple task, but I’m still left with multiple, disjointed activities that I may perform many times during a given day or week:
1. Check e-mail.
2. Log on to online bank #1. Pay bills online.
3. Log on to online bank #2. Make investments online.
4. Log on to shopping site.
5. Check online calendar for schedule.
6. Log on to travel service to make reservations.
7. Check e-mail again.
This process involves sequential activities. In my mind, I know how they are related, but that information is missing from each separate transaction. Furthermore, these sequential activities result in duplication and wasted time. Each time I log on to a secure account, I must provide a valid user name and password. Each account, even with a fast connection, requires a separate load time. And because these activities are not synchronized, I may have to go back for current information.
How Yodlee Adds Value
Yodlee brings all these services together in one customized, secure web site. I have instant access to the information I deem relevant to my decision making and planning. Yodlee makes my important data available to me all at the same time. Separate instances of logging on and providing passwords are no longer necessary. Waiting is minimized, and accounts can be refreshed so that the information in each one is as current as possible.
Content providers such as Intuit, AltaVista, Sabre, Freei.Net, OneBox, Proflowers.com, Plumtree, WeddingChannel.com, and WishClick (among many others) have agreed to publish their content to the "Yodlee Personalization Platform," making it available to computer, PDA, and web-phone users.
My Experience With Yodlee
Signing Up and Getting Started. After agreeing to the terms of service, I provided the expected personal information—a user name, a password, e-mail address, Zip Code, gender, age, income (optional), position (optional), PDA use (optional), and interest areas. My account was now active. Once a Yodlee account is active, one completes three easy steps:
• Add individual sites,
• Enter user name and password for each site, and
• View all sites in "My Yodlee" at one time.
Using Yodlee. I first added my e-mail account from Ureach.com (my unified messaging system of choice). I was given the option of signing up if I didn’t yet have an account. Approximately 50 other e-mail services were available for integration with Yodlee, including the ubiquitous AOL and Hotmail.
Next, I sought to add my online banking accounts. Although I did not count, there appeared to be well over 200 banks on Yodlee’s current roster. Unfortunately, neither X.com nor Hibernia National Bank appeared on the list. I was able to suggest both, but until they are added, I am out of luck regarding online banking.
In the Travel category, the obvious sites for online reservations (Travelocity, Expedia, Yahoo! Travel, and others), the hotel chains, the major airlines, and the major car rental agencies were listed. I added my Travelocity account, National Car Rental, and Holiday Inns (all of which I use regularly). Similarly, I added my favorite reward programs such as Delta SkyMiles and the Holiday Inn Priority Club. Appointments, reminders, and to-do lists can be added from Daily Drill, Anyday, Appoint.net, and other online services. I used Yodlee’s auto-registration function to create a Daily Drill account.
My Yodlee. My Yodlee allows me to see the top-level view of all these separate accounts on a single web page. For example, I see my Delta SkyMiles balance, my new e-mail messages on Ureach.com, my current Travelocity reservations, and my Daily Drill appointment list all at the same time. I can click on each site’s title bar to minimize it or maximize it. Furthermore, I can auto-login to each site at the click of the mouse to get more information or detail.
Overall Evaluation--Funny Name, Serious Web Site
This site aggregates useful content in a personalized, secure way. By adding my financial information (bills, credit cards, investments, and banking), I will be able to have what Yodlee promises, a one-stop-shop for relevant information centralized for Internet access via computer, PDA, or web phone. Unfortunately, because the two banks I use for online transactions are not currently compatible with Yodlee, I will have to wait to realize the full potential of this site. But I have seen enough already to give it a "thumbs up."
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
lap0530
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 - Top 1000 |
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Location: Anderson, SC
Reviews written: 122
Trusted by: 332 members
About Me:
Psychology and management professor and business consultant
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