The banking sector has been undergoing a real digital transformation for a few years now. This phenomenon is not only based on the popularity of neo-banks and the emergence of fintechs. The more traditional banks have also made a 180° turn. The proof: network banks now offer as many digital tools as neo-banks.
The massive investments of the historical banks have been equal to the stakes on the front office side: new online services, powerful applications and modernized sites. Now it's time to tackle the behemoth: the back office. If banks want to make a complete digital transformation, they need to overhaul their IT infrastructure with three immediate goals in mind: to leverage their data, to offer as many services online as in the branch, and to create a new experience for customers as well as employees.
100% digital is not yet a reality
Since banks still operate with dated infrastructures, "all-digital" does not exist:
- Not all banks have yet dematerialized their complex operations such as the choice of a savings contract;
- All products are still not digitalized. Some of the biggest banks do not allow you to take out a loan for a property purchase or to subscribe to a life insurance policy via their portal;
- The chat bots currently used are unable to handle complex requests;
- Traditional banks and their customers carry out cash transactions that cannot be digitized.
Limits from customers, habits, competition? Perhaps, but above all, there are limits linked to IT infrastructures. Developed years ago, back offices were designed as monolithic structures, difficult to update. To go digital, banks have no choice but to modernize their IT department or recruit, in other words, invest. This is where the problem lies: the players are more in the process of reducing their payroll (-1% per year according to Xerfi) than recruiting in droves.
Immediate solutions for digital transformation
Although archaic, IT infrastructures are proven, comply with stringent regulations and protect customers. While waiting for these behemoths to evolve, CIOs can rely on intermediate steps that will make the customer and employee experience more fluid.
Supporting tools:
- Artificial Intelligence. Recommended by many experts, AI is the royal road to processing massive amounts of customer data. Banks will be able to make the most of data to improve the customer experience, while complying with legal constraints.
- APIsation. For many players, modernizing the front office has meant using APIs. Why not extend its use to the back office? Via an API, the bank could, for example, simplify employee work by reducing handling and improve the customer experience by pre-filling forms.
- Cloud. When a bank relies on Cloud, it gains an undeniable advantage: flexible scaling. Whatever the number of additional contracts or manipulations, the bank remains able to absorb the growing flow and maintain a high level of quality.
- The platform. If the bank wishes to modernize one or more business portals while maintaining its technology, the most appropriate solution remains the Web interface overlay. Bluesoft implemented a web interface project for a large French bank. Carried out within tight deadlines, the project was quickly adopted as it met its objectives: to make processes more fluid and decentralize orders.
Methods:
- Switch from the "establishment" logic to the "customer" logic. Digital technology allows you to create new uses and to question the old ones. A complete overhaul of the infrastructure or minor modifications are all opportunities to review its operations and propose a new way of doing things to its ecosystem.
- Use the Agile method. Ideal for delivering a new product quickly, the Agile method works very well with the tools mentioned above. The Blu esoft team built its interface using the Agile method, in order to produce a platform that was adapted, scalable and operational in just a few months.
From gradual improvements to profound change, there are many ways to digitalize processes and services. Need a quick overhaul? Rely on the expertise of Blue Soft. Our teams will support you at every stage of your transformation, building ad hoc solutions.
