Mambu
Creating Infrastructure for the Fintech Era
DIGITAL REPORT 2021
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Creating Infrastructure for the Fintech Era 03
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MAMBU
Eugene Danilkis, CEO and co-founder, describes how Mambu’s pure SaaS banking platform is accommodating the evolving needs of modern banking
A
t first consideration, banking may seem like an unlikely focus point for the transformative potential of lean and agile
digital technology. Images of cumbersome vaults, 04
grand buildings and long-standing heritage colour the industry’s popular perception. However, whereas once rigid endurance was the measure of a bank’s success, now, particularly in the COVID19-affected world, the core distinguisher of quality in a leading organisation centres on change and the ability to adapt to it. Launched in 2011, Mambu was created in order to facilitate this operational shift for banking clients using a combination of future-ready tech and a visionary cultural philosophy. “I always had a passion for combining my interest in technology with something a little bit more broad,” explains Eugene Danilkis, CEO and cofounder. “I wanted to figure out the way people interact with technology and how that information could be employed to design a great user
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“ Real value lies in a mindset of always learning and always changing, and that goes for individuals as well as the business” — Eugene Danilkis, CEO and co-founder, Mambu 06 E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :
Eugene Danilkis Title: CEO and co-founder
Company: Mambu
Industry: Financial Services Location: Germany Eugene Danilkis is the co-founder & CEO of Mambu. With a background in technology design, degrees in Human-Computer Interaction and Computer Science, Eugene is the driving force behind Mambu’s vision. Eugene started his career as a programmer developing mission-critical software for the International Space Station. At Mambu, he now leads an international team that is helping banks and lenders, both greenfield and traditional, to shape the next generation of financial services around the world. Eugene combines his background in technology and design with an entrepreneurial approach, using technology to find simple solutions to some of the banking sector’s complex challenges.
07 experience, injecting technology in the
financial products and digital experi-
right parts of the journey.” A computer
ences would have a massive impact.”
science major and genuinely passion-
What resulted was Mambu: the
ate about how technology interacts
world’s leading cloud native banking
with people, Danilkis gained experi-
platform, designed to lay the tech
ence first as a programmer and then
infrastructure required for organi-
as a team lead. It was while working
sations operating in the modern era.
in an interdisciplinary programme at
Enabling clients to own and focus
Carnegie Mellon University combining
on the customer experience aspect
tech design, business and psychol-
of their business instead of the techni-
ogy that he determined the value
cal, the company offers a unique
a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) plat-
opportunity for banks to upgrade
form could have in the finance sector.
rapidly. “You can configure the plat-
“We realised that giving organisations
form without having to get developers
anywhere in the world a platform
to customise the application, as you
upon which they can build and create
would with a lot of legacy systems,” www.ma m b u . com
MAMBU
08
“ Effectively, our clients don’t need to invest massive amounts into the projects upfront; they pay for the service as they go, with the option to pay varied amounts for different elements” — Eugene Danilkis, CEO and co-founder, Mambu
A decade of changing banking CLICK TO WATCH
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4:38
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“ I wanted to figure out the way people interact with technology and how that information could be employed to design a great user experience” — Eugene Danilkis, CEO and co-founder, Mambu
Mambu in 2020 - CEO and Co-Founder, Eugene Danilkis CLICK TO WATCH
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3:53
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says Danilkis. “That has a tremendous
the projects upfront; they pay for the
benefit on the business side; it means
service as they go, with the option to pay
if you want to, let’s say, change how
varied amounts for different elements.”
your financial products behave, or how
Because Mambu is able to offer
you capture customer data, you don’t
banks the opportunity to add their own
need to go into the nitty gritty of the
customer-facing value, it substantially
code.” Because Mambu maintains and
accelerates product time-to-market
manages the platform, the ease of
and enables greater resource allocation
delivery is akin to a subscription ser-
agility. However, despite these benefits,
vice, one where continuous streams
Danilkis relates that the initial chal-
of updates are layered in such a way
lenge of the company was overcoming
that doesn’t disrupt the end-user’s
scepticism levelled at cloud, itself
business. “Effectively, our clients don’t
a new technology at the time. “Working
need to invest massive amounts into
with banks and banking regulators, we www.ma m b u . com
MAMBU
12
explained that there was actually
technology ecosystem. That experi-
a reduced risk by running the platform
ence enables us to determine the
in a public cloud environment versus
best way to use tools, the best way
a local data centre,” he says. “That
to integrate systems, and the best way
process was quite transformative
to manage change.” Change is a con-
for Mambu as a company, because
cept so integral to Mambu that it has
it really opened up the market where,
become one of the company’s core
initially, no-one was active in the cloud.”
cultural tenets. Aware that modern
Helping financial institutions realise
finance is evolving on a continual basis,
that ecosystems of resources could
Danilkis emphasises that flexibility
fundamentally be stronger than a siloed
needs to permeate every aspect. He
approach, Danilkis is proud that Mambu
continues, “Real value lies in a mindset
was among the first to start challeng-
of always learning and always chang-
ing the industry’s perception of what
ing, and that goes for individuals as
cloud could do.
well as the business. Our leadership
This focus on relationships extends
team doesn’t go into conversations
from the macroscopic to the more
assuming that we’re right; just because
specific. Mambu prides itself on
you’re a leader at Mambu, that doesn’t
a highly customer-centric approach;
mean you’re automatically more right
involving business analysts, solutions
than anyone else.”
engineers and product managers at
Danilkis states that the company’s
an early stage, it is able to quickly and
philosophy of flexibility coupled with
accurately determine the needs of
its advanced tech capacities meant
its clients and their customers. “This
that, when the COVID-19 pandemic
includes giving best-practice advice
struck, operations managed to continue
based on the hundreds of projects
relatively unabated. By maintaining
we’ve participated in around the world
an open office for those unable to
at technical level, as well as introduc-
work from home while also supplying
ing them to relevant partners in our
equipment and offering flexibility
THE 1 0 P RI N CI P L E S OF COMPO SAB L E B AN K I NG
Introduced in Mambu’s complete guide, these points capture the essence of the concept succinctly for organisations intent on discovering what composable banking can do for them: 1. Ecosystems beat pre-integrated suites 2. Start with a composable platform
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3. Think ‘cloud-first’ 4. Every component is self-contained 5. Everything must be exposed via open APIs 6. Building new connectors must be simple and straightforward 7. Scaling should be elastic and occur horizontally 8. Continuous delivery is better than over-sized updates 9. The flexibility of the software must be reflected in the commercials 10. Self-service developer experience is essential.
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to employees who wanted to work
He explains: “It effectively means that,
remotely, Mambu was able to focus
to really thrive in the current era, where
on helping those struggling with the
new technologies are coming onto the
logistics of the pandemic instead.
market and changing the conditions,
“We noticed that some customers
you have to be able to look for technolo-
were struggling and we identified
gies and solutions, either at a technical
several capabilities that they (banks)
level or business level, and combine
could offer their clients to provide
them rapidly to create value for your
a degree of flexibility on their payment
customer.” Focusing on building for the
terms, such as payment holidays or
future and ensuring competitiveness
payment rescheduling. Everything’s
in the long-term instead of simply
becoming much more digital, so
conforming to current trends, compos-
I think that’s accelerating a lot of
able banking eliminates rigid vendor
different initiatives.”
architectures and prioritises dynamic
Indeed, one key digital concept of
ecosystems that can develop opti-
which Mambu is an ardent proponent
mised solutions fast. “It’s essentially
is ‘composable banking’ - something
the philosophy that ecosystems will
Danilkis believes could be the ultimate
beat monolithic systems every time,”
solution for creating truly agile banking.
Danilkis summarises.
Undeterred by COVID-19, Danilkis is confident that 2021 will be an exciting year for banking and particularly for Mambu. With new product launches and exciting initiatives on the horizon, he anticipates that the company will be
“ Fintech is the era that we’re living in” — Eugene Danilkis, CEO and co-founder, Mambu
able to expand deeper into the markets
tech companies become critical busi-
it currently serves and prepare for launc-
ness partners for how financial services
hing exciting new services. However,
companies are designed and built.” In
it is the change happening within the
this vision of the future, tech companies
industry itself that excites Danilkis the
will be part of a rapidly evolving, self-
most: a new, digitally-augmented vision
improving ecosystem that creates
of finance is emerging, one which places
a platform for building better banking for
Mambu at the epicentre of modern bank-
everyone. With its pioneering approach
ing. Not regarding fintech merely as an
well-suited to the post-COVID-19 new
industry, he declares that it could actually
dynamic, Mambu is sure to occupy
be considered more of an era, “Fintech
a prominent place in that vision.
is the age we’re living in,” he concludes. “I think this decade will be a time when www.ma m b u . com
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