One good example of this are banks which went through big changes in the late 20th century. Using information and communication technology, banks have vastly reduced the number of people they need to employ, and lowered the cost of providing bank service. For example, an automated teller machine is able to provide basic banking services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in many different places. Before this, banking services were only available from the bank when it was open. Many banks and building societies have joined together to form much lower cost businesses that can make more money from a wider customer base. The key to this process is gaining information about their customers and constantly coming up with new services for them. 