Digital transformation – Your guidebook has arrived

In one way or another, the same question about digital transformation is asked in nearly every panel or presentation I am a part of. Where should I start? It’s a tricky question to answer, as every financial institution finds themselves somewhere different on their digital transformation journey. Looking at the journey in phases may help make a digital transformation more manageable and more focused to help bring customers and members better experiences faster, while minimizing the impact on the day-to-day realities of running a financial institution. So what are those three phases?

Phase 1 – Peripheral Innovations 

When you look at the journey, this is usually the easiest place to start. It’s about working on solutions that would sit next to your existing infrastructure and not require re-working solutions you already have in place. Peripheral innovations involve looking at a single use case or offering, whether that is a P2P product/solution or a new loan payment system. Starting with peripheral innovations at your institution is minimally invasive. As you may guess, they don’t require much more than a simple core API call or light batch-based integration. They may potentially call for an SSO or an embedded experience into your online banking solution, but minimal effort is needed in terms of internal employee training. It will require working with your end-users, but ultimately the new experience and or service will be net positive, and again depending on the use case, minimal in impact. Customer experience is really where this innovation area is focused. Peripheral innovation was once the world of the “garage” or “innovation lab.” Today, cloud-based solutions and platforms are readily accessible for financial institutions of all sizes. These scalable solutions require minimal investment and internal resources as you start your journey.

 

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