Tech Spark 4 - Digital Disruption Issue

H1 '17

TECH SPARK

Digital Disruption

Stages of the

14

Digital Journey

4

The Digital Future of Banking: Riding the Waves

The Digital Labor Force is Awakening Eight Use Cases for Cognitive Automation

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CONTENTS

TECH SPARK, H1 2017

Dear Readers,

Introduction 3

With 2017 well underway, it seems like a good point to pause, reflect and take stock. In the past year, we have experienced

Editorial (Neil Avery)

historic changes, setting a new precedent. Brexit, the Trump election and 0%-interest rates being some of the most notable.

At the same time, 2016 saw the continued race towards a digital future. While it may not have grabbed as many headlines, the

4

impact of digital on our daily lives could be the most profound The Digital Future of Banking: Riding the Waves

change of all.

When IT became part of the mainstream in the 1990s – in the first wave of digital disruption – there was much speculation about what changes it would bring. Hallmarks included

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concerns that jobs would be replaced by computers;

Stages of the Digital Journey

Neil Avery

Digital Disruption Tech Radar

CTO Excelian Luxoft Financial Services

information on paper replaced by shiny new email; and established business models being rapidly usurped by young Internet upstarts. All sound somewhat familiar? Fast forward a few years and many think we are on the cusp of something similar. The FinTechs have really come through to embrace the potential of emerging technologies such as Blockchain, Machine Learning and other disruptive new forces.

The culmination of many technologies is reaching a point

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of understanding and fit to enable unique platforms that can

The Promise of Product Management.

challenge how the world of finance functions. By combining

Beyond Agile

Editorial Board Neil Avery | André Nedelcoux

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32

and offer consumers a fresh, revolutionary experience. This is especially compelling when it revolves around money, the

Editorial and Marketing Team

lending become as naturally embedded in human behavior

Martyna Drwal | Lucy Carson

technology will increasingly form the new digital financial

Blockchain: Meet the Disruptors

(interview with Eric Groise and André Nedelcoux)

predictive analytics, we can rethink the way systems are built

cultural lifeblood of western society. How can payments and

The Digital Labor Force Awakens

UX: The Critical Role of UX in Financial Services

robo-advisors, cloud, deep learning, sentiment analysis and

as eating and breathing?

We envision a future where Blockchain's distributed ledger framework. The global market for trade will be digital,

Contributors

and robo-advisers, powered by Machine Learning, will fuel

Eric Groise Fabrice Aresu James Bowkett Thomas Ellis Theresa Prevost

As 2017 progresses, we can expect to see more collaboration

a digital workforce to manage our finances.

between technologies as digital development undergoes continued convergence and evolution. Whatever stage of the digital journey you find yourself at, we hope you’ll get as much enjoyment from this issue as our team of experts did in writing about their insights and experience.

Designed by Artur Różalski Mariusz Glejzer Piotr Laskowski

#TechSparkDigital

Regards, Neil Avery, CTO Excelian Luxoft Financial Services

The Digital Future of Banking:

THE THREE-STAGE

DIGITAL JOURNEY Broadly, we see the digital journey as having three stages.

Stage 1: Disruption – this revolutionary stage involves redistribution and jostling of existing incumbents via

Riding the Waves

the impact of new players like Monzo, crowdsourcing, regulatory change, and smarter consumers.

The important element of this stage is finding new ways to do things better. A good example is discovering that Blockchain can be used for settlements or Bitcoin to replace real currency.

Neil Avery

Stage 2: Convergence – this period of collaboration revolves around changing banking ecosystems, open-banking, B2B, Blockchain and AI, and how these platforms converge. Broadly, this is where we are today.

You could compare the digital journey to navigating

Stage 3: Evolution – this involves the financial fabric

a sea of change. Waves travel in different directions:

being woven together to complete the new digital

some combine to create bigger ones, others collide

landscape in relation to everything from markets,

and negate each other. FinTech’s arrival about five

consumers and payments, to automation and

years ago was a bit like big rocks being thrown into

intelligence.

the ocean. Today we are seeing the repercussions.

CURRENT

These waves of change can be broadly categorized

LANDSCAPE

into three stages: disruption, convergence and evolution. A good example is cloud technology which emerged in 2006 and has disrupted how we think

After $105Bn of funding over the last five years, the

about infrastructure. It has since changed to wipe out

FinTech industry is now worth $867Bn1. FinTechs are

‘hosting providers’ and less able competitors,

typically start-ups that leverage a combination of

continuing to evolve and today shape how we view

technology innovation, business drivers and customer

Big Data and Machine Learning.

value to create unique appeal.

For most of our clients, the challenge is figuring out

The FinTech customer base is also very interesting.

which waves will reinvent their market or threaten

It typically includes progressive early adopters who

their existence. Since 2016, the hype around one

are – or would be – comfortable crowdsourcing

of these waves – Blockchain – has been unyielding.

loans, using digital currency, having their expenses

At the same time, ongoing industry warfare

processed automatically, receiving intelligence on

demonstrates the appetite for change. Right now,

their spending habits and even having their accounts

disruptive technologies like Artificial Intelligence

smartly managed by robo-advisors. In this emerging

(AI) and Machine Learning are opening up new

new ecosystem, traditional retail banks increasingly

opportunities. With incumbent finance and retail

risk being usurped by online banks, traditional lenders

banks embracing FinTech and reinventing themselves,

replaced by peer-to-peer lenders, and asset managers

we take a look at how their positioning today will

replaced by robo-advisors.

shape the future, as the waves of digital disruption

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carry us ever faster into uncharted waters.

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DIGITAL DISRUPTION AND THE FUTURE OF BANKING, RIDING THE WAVES

www.forbes.com/sites/jeanbaptiste/2016/09/28/the-global-FinTechlandscape-reaches-over-1000-companies-105b-in-funding-867bin-value-report/#508d11544e86

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Figure 1. Quarterly Global VC FinTech Investment 2016, Billions ($).

strategic direction, enabling banks to protect their core financial systems while allowing FinTechs to service consumers.

231

224 211

202 185

203

192

194

$5.2

178

$5.0

Modular Banks and the API Economy

$4.9

Both banks and technology vendors are smart $3.1

$2.9 $2.4

$2.4 $1.9

$1.3 Q3 2014

Q4 2014

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

2015

2015

2015

2015

2016

2016

2016

Investment

Source: KPMG, GCB Insights.

Deals

peer-to-peer transfers and analyze your spending,

enough to know they need to invest and change

while still keeping your money safe in your current

their strategy, and embrace the threat. One

bank account. Banks, however, are obliged to provide

common approach revolves around digital

third-party providers like these with access to their

ecosystem development, e.g. via Apple’s App Store

customers’ accounts through open APIs. This enables

and Google Play. Such solutions would force and

the third-parties to build financial services on top

enable developers to do work which could enhance

of the banks’ data and infrastructure.

the banking systems while providing a rich, functional platform to leverage. Banks could then focus on

3. Creation and Promotion of Digital Markets:

transaction processing while FinTechs provide user-

In 2015, the European Commission announced

oriented enhancements and intelligence.

that it would create a European Digital Single Innovation moves at start-up pace, which is far faster

Technology innovation is on the brink of change,

Market (DSM).3 Covering an online economy

The secret ingredient to make this work is an API

than the established banks can compete with. FinTech

along with regulatory drivers like open-banking and

like Amazon that is digital and also regulated,

economy. APIs provide simple REST endpoints

is by nature consumer-centric, with key players like

the Revised Payment Service Directive (PSD2). Once

it is expected to be the future model of how goods

and/or web-hooks that enable interaction between

Stripe, Monzo, Ripple and Digital Asset Holdings

convergence occurs and matures, evolution will drive

are bought and sold throughout Europe. Goods

core systems, such as accounts and transactions, and

making an impact on a global scale.

change at an increasing rate, as part of a natural cycle.

and services will be sold online via a consistent

non-core services, such as Know Your Client (KYC)

platform where vendors and consumers interact

and market analysis. By developing the ecosystem,

in ways that can be controlled and regulated.

FinTechs can own and embrace pluggable parts of

DSM will thus influence the basis on which many

a technology stack, and derive the real value from

financial systems interact.

the competitive forces that exist between them.

In this rapidly changing landscape, while their focus remains on money management, banks need to focus on innovation in this rapidly changing

How Market Forces are Driving Change

landscape so they can compete. They could do this

Change in Expectations: As the world goes more

To cite an obvious example, think of Blockchain

via classic routes like funding in-house development,

digital, consumer expectations are rapidly evolving,

payment platforms, which involve transactions across

acquisitions or joint ventures. But it could be argued

driven by the likes of Netflix, Google and Amazon.

borders, between corporations and different global

that the smart move today is carving out a role for

With new opportunities to please the customer, where

the FinTechs. By adopting this approach, the banks

traditional financial institutions can be slow to drive

can collaborate and provide a platform to

innovation, FinTechs are setting the pace.

OF BANKING TODAY

economies. Users can bridge investment portfolios from pensions, transfer-linked accounts and pick up various news feeds on investments

the FinTechs via an application program interface

Currently, we are at stage two of the digital journey

(API), dramatically enhancing their customers’

Regulation: Regulators are also changing the

and are observing a convergence of technology

experience while running a leaner operation with

landscape, in three key ways, highlighted below.

waves. All banks are modularizing themselves in

In an API economy, it's far better to let banks

one way or another. The focus in Europe over the

focus on what they do best: managing financial

1. Increasing Regulatory Reporting: Requirements

last ten years has largely been the replacement

infrastructure. The development of advanced

Interestingly, while being vulnerable to FinTechs,

such as MIFID II, CCAR and FRTB, mean banks need

of silo systems by bank-wide strategic systems.

mobile digital applications is best left to specialist

the banks are also major investors. Citibank, Barclays,

to meet more stress testing, capital management

This was driven mainly by strategic considerations

organizations like those found in Silicon Valley and

Goldman Sachs and others are pouring billions into

and counterparty exposure criteria to demonstrate

and regulation, but also by internal pressures.

other global tech clusters, who are better placed

FinTechs and developing their own accelerator and

their health.

Furthermore, specialist regulatory technology

to recruit and retain talent with relevant technical

(RegTech) start-ups can build platforms that fit into

and user experience acumen.

less financial risk or overhead.

incubator initiatives. In doing so, they ensure they

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THE STATE

have a stake in their future, are involved in their

2. Driving Openness: Directives such as PSD2

bigger, modular platforms. The way they are evolving

strategy, and won’t be a sidelined as global financial

enable bank customers – both consumers and

also enables them to take a share of the financial

power continues to shift. Although it was surprising

businesses – to use third-party providers to

landscape and regulatory obligations (e.g. RegTechs

to see a funding fall in the latter part of 20162 , we

manage their finances. In the near future, you may

like Markit or Sybenetix). As a natural progression,

believe it’s the calm before the storm.

be using Facebook or Google to pay your bills, make

modularity enables cost controls and provides

TECH SPARK, H1 2017

DIGITAL DISRUPTION AND THE FUTURE OF BANKING, RIDING THE WAVES

– the potential is overwhelming.

www.uk.businessinsider.com/global-FinTech-funding-falls-again-2016-11 www.ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/digital-single-market; www.uk.businessinsider.com/global-FinTech-funding-falls-again-2016-11 4 www.forrester.com/report/Brief+The+Bank+Of+The+Future+Has +Arrived+In+A+Box/-/E-RES120118 2 3

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Challenger Brands in the Banking Arena

FinTech Collaboration is a Thread

The platforming strategy will reduce customer surface

While the banks seek to collaborate with FinTechs,

exposure and touch points. FinTechs will continue to

the FinTechs also collaborate with each other.

innovate, but the reduction in ecosystem is likely to

This is perhaps a consequence of the shared financial

gather momentum and allow for the banks’ money

landscape. As long as parts of the ecosystem

management functions to be re-routed via other

are further carved out for new platforms and APIs,

mechanisms. For example, if a bank only focuses on

the surface area where banks can interface with

capital handling (asset and wealth management),

customers will continue to shrink. As APIs become

there is an opportunity for a non-regulated robo-

more standardized, barriers to entry will reduce

advisory system to handle wealth management by

to the point where a FinTech could replace a bank

leveraging Blockchain, but only until the regulators

and leverage a cryptocurrency to handle your

catch up. Cryptocurrency can circumvent some of

money. Current barriers to holding a ‘banking license’

the blocks and regulatory requirements that apply to

include insurance, capital management, processes,

‘real’ money transactions. By contrast, using ‘funny

cash reserves and reporting.

money’ can allow for clever innovations.

Regulator-driven APIs could provide the opportunity

Functional Map of a Bank

KYC

Client Channels

Core Banking

Advisor / Sales Channels & Tools

Risk & Compliance

Client Channels

Data

(Reference & Market)

Products

Figure 2. Bank in a box architecture.

Another example is Monzo, a digital mobile-only

to apply controls; for example applying regulator

bank. Using a pre-paid card system, the consumer

-validated tokens to all API interactions. At this

trade lifecycle, accounting, settlement, transaction

So, while it appears that we are on the brink of

deposits money and Monzo’s API economy enables

point, the correct API, compliant with regulations,

processing, etc., – on vendor products makes sense,

commoditization in retail banking, this will also

multi-faceted offerings like budgeting, vacation

would protect the banks’ existence and only allow

since it can facilitate much-needed cost efficiency.

lead to a dual and increasingly divergent USP,

planning, Black Friday opportunities and household

interactions by recognized entities – a bit like holding

auto-purchasing, all driven by building intelligence

a valid driver’s license.

and split between capital and consumer intelligence.

Leveraging smarter approaches around risk

The USPs for FinTech focus increasingly around

management and trading strategies, etc., enables

the consumer, whereas banks will differentiate

Cryptocurrency

a renewed focus on profitability. This creates

themselves by caring more about efficiencies,

opportunities to build modularity while taking

reacting to the market and market intelligence.

providers on the high street. Their tech experts

Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are

advantage of the expanding API economy to segment,

are key contributors to the emerging new IT

the elephant in the room. While the banks continue

package up and ‘slice off’ different parts of the bank

landscape, which they are helping to shape. Like

to carve out a future where their USP is ownership

to make them more attractive.

Spotify and Netflix, they are tech focused and apply

of capital management and transaction processing,

tech as their USP. For example, like Netflix, Monzo

cryptocurrency will continue to threaten their very

The bank-in-a-box concept was first marketed in 2012.

presents at tech conferences on its expertise in

essence. Cities like Zug in Switzerland (also known

The idea was that by wrapping a bank into a turnkey

We are on the cusp of change, with modularization

building microservices in go-lang, then contributes

as crypto-valley) are embracing the technology

solution, the likes of UK supermarket Tesco could

and the API economy holding the keys to the

it back via open-source. It drives open-source access

in restaurants and ATMs. Furthermore, regulators

purchase a license and fire it up via Amazon Web

future. While traditional banks are closing their

through its contributions and inventions, with all

are struggling to understand how to regulate

Services (AWS).

retail stores, FinTechs are first in line to partner

code published on GitHub, the global standard for

a crowdsourced global currency that can bypass

open-source, while building its expert leadership

their traditional control levers such as interest rates,

Calypso, which has a trademark on the bank-in-a-box

be componentized, cloud-based and dependent

reputation.

regulatory reporting and suspended trading.

concept, summarizes its value proposition as:

on a myriad of core providers and FinTechs to give

based on user history. The growing number of online banks are continuing to evolve and in 2017 could increasingly threaten traditional bricks-and-mortar

A COURSE OF ACTION

TO SAVE THE BANKS

with banking platform innovators. Future banks will

consumers an ever-evolving and increasingly intelligent banking experience.

When using non-standard money, some tax, reporting, insurance and other capital-derived

Industrialized workflows, ensuring best

Modularity and the Bank in a Box

Based on the concept of a statement of

from terrorist finance to another global financial

Banking systems are continuing to become

a standardized target operating model for all

meltdown. You don’t have to look far to review 2016’s

commoditized. We are seeing first-hand the growing

asset classes and capital market functions,

Blockchain blips, such as the DAO hacking, or Bitcoin

adoption of trading platforms like Murex and smaller

with the pre-defined industry-wide protocols

rising above the value of gold and then seeing a 20%

customer products like Temenos. As it gets harder to

needed for rapid implementation.

correction driven from China.

drive profitability, commoditizing bank functions – like

regulatory evasion. But for how long? Moreover, the real problem is deeper. Regulations exist for a reason, whether to prevent and control anything

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THE FUTURE

OF BANKING

obligations can be circumvented – a form of

TECH SPARK, H1 2017

DIGITAL DISRUPTION AND THE FUTURE OF BANKING, RIDING THE WAVES

practices regardless of the bank’s location. standards document, the platform offers www.forrester.com/report/Brief+The+Bank+Of+The+Future+Has+ Arrived+In+A+Box/-/E-RES120118 www.cryptovalleyzug.net 7 www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/saving/article-3930118/Tesco-Bankhack-happened-protect-account.html 8 www.pwc.se/sv/pdf-reports/blurred-lines-how-FinTech-is-shapingfinancial-services.pdf 5

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TECH SPARK, H1 2017

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Innovation and Commoditisation Driving Change for Banking

the statement is indeed true. For example: Is it safe

strengths. They may, for example, need to process

to loan $1 m to person X? Can I trust them without

terabytes of data for a split second to make significant

knowing every last detail?

reactive or incremental decisions. As machine learning, robo-advisory and other intelligence

Innovation through FinTech start-ups

FinTech 1 KYC

Commoditisation: SaaS and Packages opportunities (Bank in a box)

FinTech 2 Client Channels

Core Banking

FinTech 1 Advisor / Sales Channels & Tools

Risk & Compliance

Client Channels

Further convergence of services will see investment,

platforms evolve, cloud represents the new frontier

wealth management, insurance, brokerage, virtual

where they can innovate and shape the future.

banking and many other industries consumed

Technology is no longer encumbered by physical

by each other. This in turn will offer better value

compute power, but by the ability to use it. Thus, cloud

to the consumer, increasingly making it easier to

represents a platform where the banks can build and

manage your bank account, insurance, pension with

develop their USPs.

a robo-advisor – all thanks to digitalization.

Regulatory Growth: The focus on regulation, such as FRTB and Basel III, will continue. Here specialists in

Data

(Reference, Market)

Products

regulatory technology (RegTechs) can innovate

Investment Banking – Future Structure

by building offerings to reduce compliance costs and then take them to multiple banks. Leveraging cloud will also see firms like Markit provide SaaS

Move to cloud: Most global financial firms view

offerings, so that banks don’t have to deal with the

the continued move to cloud as inevitable. With

steady flow of new regulation. All such platforms,

the economic downturn and regulatory drivers, cost

which are generally built around big data stacks like

reduction is the key factor used to secure strategic

Cassandra, Hadoop, Spark and Zeppelin, execute

outgoings to handle expenditure more intelligently.

investment. Instead of running costly datacenters,

cloud-native portions to achieve cloud-scale

Fast becoming one of the world’s large retailers,

banks need an unlimited pool of resources to build

processing capabilities using Google Big Query

PWC predicts that consumer banking, along with

Amazon’s automation and intelligence around Echo /

competitive advantage and consolidate their core

or AWS Redshift.

fund-transfers and payments, are likely to be the

Alexa puts it in prime position to auto-reorder

most disrupted sectors by 2020 (28% of business

consumables and services based on cyclical billing,

disruption). Investment and wealth management

such as insurance, etc.

Figure 3. Bank in a box architecture.

Retail Banking – Future Structure 8

will be close behind.

Bank of the Future

3. Crowdsourced Data: Another future opportunity While internet banks continue to leverage vendor

for banks is to use FinTechs for their access to

products, it’s products like Temenos transaction

desensitized data from different banks. Crowdsourced

processing that will continue to innovate at speed.

data has a massive potential and like big data it needs

Open APIs will enable banks to offer premium

to be huge. It can be invaluable for sourcing reliable

services, virtual banking and wealth management,

insights on things like spending habits, demographics

with the unbanked and millennials among the early

and so on. There are many winners in this scenario:

adopters.

economists gain meaningful new insights, logistics

Third Party FinTech Integration

become predictive, and retailers know who is buying So while the future state will be one of radical change

what. Imagine being able to see a country’s GDP and

and disruption, once modularization has settled, it will

consumer spend by vertical market, all in real-time?

also create multiple new opportunities for forward-

Until now, financial data derived from crowdsourcing

looking banks.

has been relatively untapped, but with cloud and big data combined, new opportunities beckon.

1. SMART advice: This includes new services, such as intelligent advice about the ways customers are

4. Digital identity: Secure transactions will further

spending their money. Innovation in robo-advisory

develop and evolve around digitalization concepts

services, driven by machine learning, for example,

such as zero-knowledge proof and digital identity.

will create new disruptive opportunities.

In cryptography, a zero-knowledge proof or

KYC

Micro-lending

Robo Advisory

Blockchain Payments

In house SaaS

Core Banking

Client Channels

Advisor / Sales Channels & Tools

Risk & Compliance

Machine Learning / Artificial Intelligence

Products

Data

Social data Multi-bank data

zero-knowledge protocol is a method by which

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2. SMART banking: An opportunity to track internet

one party (the prover) can confirm to another party

browsing and other inputs to map onto account

(the verifier) that a given statement is true, without

billing, insurance, billing cycles and other regular

conveying any information apart from the fact that

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DIGITAL DISRUPTION AND THE FUTURE OF BANKING, RIDING THE WAVES

Figure 4. A future retail bank architecture.

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Figure 5. Evolving models for FinTech interaction.

Over the next three years we can expect to see

Core Strategies Required for Banks to Succeed FF F

FF F

FF F

economic recovery, political tensions, restructuring and most importantly, technological advancement, give rise to an emerging new digital world, running on cloud with intelligent robo-advisors and large

FF F

∞ Observe FinTechs and RegTechs to see

FF F

how they can facilitate cost reduction

era where, in the not too distant future, we’ll look back at today’s plastic bankcards much as we now

∞ Embrace the API economy to build a community ecosystem that attracts

Bank Bank Bank

portions powered by Blockchain. It’s the dawn of an

dimly recall the old cathode ray TV that used to sit at the heart of our homes.

developers (FinTechs) – think along

A. Traditional model: FinTech per bank.

the lines of Google Play or

So, as we forge ahead on this digital journey, the

Apple’s App Store

secret, as with navigating any unchartered waters, is to stay constantly alert to sudden changes, watch

∞ Embrace cloud infrastructure

FF F

FF F

Bank Bank Bank

keep as clear a view as possible of what’s on the ∞ Look to new Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)

Bank Bank Bank

B. FinTech peering: exchange and sell data.

horizon. That way, you’ll be as well prepared as you

capabilities for Machine Learning, analytics,

can be to change course quickly to avert trouble,

automated intelligence, etc.

or act fast on new opportunities to gain ground.

∞ Invest in analytics to get better insights (e.g. augmentation through Machine Learning) ∞ Break data silos into strategic data lakes

FF F

FF F

where the next big wave could be coming from and

∞ Use PaaS to enable product differentiation

FF F FF F

FF F Cryptocurrency Cryptocurrency Cryptocurrency C. Global FinTech peering: payments, KYC.

∞ Experiment with OpenAPI and open-source your APIs, e.g. with hackathons to drive community buy-in ∞ Improve your User Experience (UX) to drive product differentiation, enhance your USP and win customers.

Neil Avery Neil Avery has over 20 years of experience in design and architecture of distributed systems.

What’s on the Horizon?

An overarching and important take away is that

As CTO of the Advanced

regulators are well aware of the financial climate

Technologies and Accelerated

The third stage of digitalization provides

change currently gripping economies. The European

Builds practices at Excelian, he leads the vision

a fundamentally new business model, which is

Digital Single Market (DSM) shows the crest of the

for innovation and technical investment. He has

founded by platforming and transitioning to cloud.

third stage in the strong influence of the cloud

worked in many sectors as well as start-ups. A keen

While many services could be segmented and

giants. In February 2017, their representatives

enthusiast of DevOps, microservices, cloud, streaming

sliced off to be managed by FinTechs and RegTechs,

made bold statements at the Digital transformation:

and reactive architectures he leads from the inside

the capital provision and advisory elements will

Europe’s Integrated market of tomorrow digital

with an understanding of how 'stuff works'. Prior to

remain embedded as the USP associated with wealth

market conference, with Google even talking about

Excelian, Neil ran a big data visualization start-up that

management and investment banking. Organizations

digitalizing Germany’s economy.

would search terabytes of data across thousands of machines in real time. Previous notable experience

specializing in intelligence will invest and evolve

12

around Machine Learning capabilities, such as robo-

Influencers such as renowned economist and social

includes developing one of the first large scale risk

advisory services. And, as the landscape continues to

theorist Jeremy Rifkin are proclaiming digitalization

systems at Tier-1 banks in Europe, as well as two years

evolve, clear front runners will emerge.

as the basis of the future global economy.

at ThoughtWorks as a lead architect.

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DIGITAL DISRUPTION AND THE FUTURE OF BANKING, RIDING THE WAVES

TECH SPARK, H1 2017

13

Stages

of the Digital Journey Disruption

Collaboration

Digital Fabric

(Revolution)

(Convergence & Evolution)

(The Future) 2025

Funding

Transformation Stages

Economic Instability

2020

2000 2007 2017

1994

Time

Leading Group

Techies

Business & Government Crowdfunding

Social media Smart phones Napster mp3.com

Cloud: AWS, Google

BitTorrent

Big Data

More RegTech Global digital payment via Blockchain

Open banking, PSD2, MiFID II, FRTB

Inception: Global digital market places

Interconnected global standards Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning

Virtual banking as a service Modular banks

Digital identity

IoT automated purchasing / payments Global digital market places

Cloud: Microsoft Azure

Open source

Disruptors appear and they challenge conventional methods. A hype cycle emerges and increasing focus causes growing momentum and investment. Incumbents are at risk and either reinvent or fail.

Blockchain as a service / commodity InsureTech

Cloud: App Store, Google Play

P2P sharing

Technology Landscape

RegTech FinTech

Blockchain/ DLT Bitcoin, Ethereum IoT Netflix

Mainstream

Retail and Wealth management converge

Opportunity is identified through the merging of multiple disruptors, creating new products. Differing maturity levels create rapidly evolving cycles and new products are continuously invented. Even more new use cases and technologies emerge. Clearer idea of what the future holds.

The future is that of a ‘digital fabric’ that is the final stage of evolution. It’s a digital ecosystem comprised of agreed technologies and platforms, similar to the internet today.

The new world offers increasing efficiency as convergence matures and the smaller, less competitive players lose ground. More aggressive players take a majority of the market. Innovation exists on the side lines.

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Starling and Monzo, as well as all the components that many of the technology providers themselves will use. To drive acceleration, we are in a build-versus-buy situation, which also represents a state of flux.

As ever with emerging technologies, this is a fastchanging picture. However, we hope this analysis gives you more insight and awareness of the key moving parts and dynamics in play in today’s digital world of finance. According to some, we are only 1% of the way there.

Whatever happens, the situation today will change substantially

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DIGITAL DISRUPTION – TECH RADAR

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over the next 12 months.

So watch this space!

TECH SPARK, H1 2017

17

THE AGILE

While Agile promised answers to poor project

In practice, while most projects don’t end in complete

delivery, the benefits have been limited.

failure, it is quite typical for them to be heavily

With Financial Services institutions under intense

compromised. And not only in Financial Services:

cost, compliance and competitive pressures, could

other sectors have their project management

Over the years, organizations across the Financial

the emerging Product Management (PM) approach

debacles, as seen with the 2016 Samsung S7 launch1.

Services sector have attempted to resolve the

offer a much sought-after solution?

APPROACH challenges with a succession of approaches and principles, the most recent major one being Agile.

The perils of poor project delivery are well known.

Rather than being the exception, compromised

Agile promised to promote closer, more interactive

scope, delays and budget extensions, are often

and transparent collaboration between the business

the rule. Whether or not you’re familiar with the

and delivery teams in order to mitigate unexpected

tree-swing diagram illustrated (below), you’ll be

end results. Its advocates have been persuasive,

well aware of the potential pitfalls. When good

in some cases, almost evangelical. This enthusiasm

intentions get lost in translation, outcomes can

perhaps encouraged some ambitious projects that

fall far short of expectations – with costly

would have been discarded under the classic waterfall

consequences. As the cartoon reminds us, a gap

approach – not least because the specification costs

in understanding at any point in the delivery chain

alone would have been prohibitive.

can lead to a big mismatch between the original brief and final outcome.

Agile Advantages Thanks to Agile, there are usually fewer compromises.

Greater flexibility during development allows

The Promise of Product Management

more leverage to adapt the scope to changing circumstances, plus some arbitrage and steering in the process. In most projects, the approach works quite well, and this benefits the business, which usually pays for the project.

Furthermore, Agile generally brings teams closer,

Beyond Agile

Fabrice Aresu

improving collaboration and increasing visibility of progress, risks and issues. It has also helped narrow what was a growing gap between the business and delivery teams, giving each a better awareness of the counterparts’ constraints, and keeping them involved at all stages of the project lifecycle.

Agile Drawbacks However, as with most methodologies, Agile has its limitations, especially when evaluated against criteria How the customer explained it

How the sales executive described it

How the engineer designed it

such as the proportion of solutions being re-used, leverage for previous investments, speed of execution and the ability to respond quickly to regulatory or market changes in a long-term perspective.

How the programmer wrote it

How the customer was billed

What the customer really needed

1

Figure 1. Tree-swing picture (how projects really work).

18

TECH SPARK, H1 2017

THE PROMISE OF PRODUCT MANAGEMENT BEYOND AGILE

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37618618 www.ft.com/content/b5275d1c-8faf-11e6-8df8-d3778b55a923

TECH SPARK, H1 2017

19

In summary, PM brings together all parameters2,

rocketing compliance costs and new regulatory

analytics and reporting cropping up just as they did a few months ago from a different angle for BS239.

for a given business challenge, by gathering

including end-user expectations, delivery team

requirements, the Financial Services sector is seeing

Requiring more holistic solutions, banks are

information, facts and constraints from all

capacity, time to market, market changes and

customer attrition exacerbated by tough competition

under increasing pressure to look at alternative

stakeholders as well as from the market

competition. This helps avoid conflicts, maintain team

from digital newcomers and rules making it easier to

methodologies, hence the rising interest in the PM

(competition, trends, new techs, regulators)

cohesion and keep the project on track.

switch providers.

approach. While currently in its infancy in Financial

In addition to falling profitability, plummeting margins,

Services, it is being utilized successfully in other Banks and other financial institutions have typically

sectors, which is cause for optimism.

• Guarantee strategic objectives are understood by everyone, planned and scheduled in a realistic, efficient way

responded by launching projects intended to grow market reach, adapt to new regulations or improve

• Build a consistent vision of the target solution

Plan Your Project Roadmap

customer service. But, operating with an Agile mindset, they often ran in isolation and focused

The initial objective within the PM approach is

on a single objective, rather than contributing to

to deliver a roadmap that starts with a minimum

the overall global positioning of the business.

viable product. This is a complex combination of user requirements, market and competitive

• Develop a phased delivery roadmap with clear budget forecast and consumption, linked to KPIs

2

The product manager must manage a lot of criteria and parameters from all the different parties. For instance, senior management may impose budget constraints; marketing has blocked a time window for a communication campaign; and project teams can’t match the speed required.

• Understand delivery constraints, share progress, raise issues and propose arbitrages to stakeholders

Similarly, when it comes to execution, teams don’t

intelligence and technology arbitrage, plus tight

always look at the bigger picture. They are typically

budget and planning control. Although these

tasked, monitored and incentivized to deliver on

elements are present in all projects, within the

enduring foundations to support long-term

a specific, narrow brief, tick the boxes and go live,

PM approach they are projected along a much

development

only for the process to be repeated, maybe just

longer timeline and across multiple teams, but not

a few months later. Examples include banks releasing

necessarily with common drivers and constraints.

several mobile apps over a short timeframe or

This makes the approach more strategic and more

altering their systems to address Basel III as they

controlled. However, differing objectives can make

did for Basel II.

reaching consensus on this initial stage a bigger

• Build futureproof evolving platforms and solid,

challenge than it may superficially seem.

Key Concerns Include: The project roadmap details how a solution will • Siloed operations with poor collaboration, lack

evolve to onboard new features and use cases

of cross-practice cooperation and absence of

in line with the bank’s strategy. It can be developed

knowledge-transfer between silos – so although

top-down or bottom-up. The default approach in

goals can be achieved and often exceeded, it is

Financial Services has typically been bottom-up,

only within silos

derived directly from the product backlog. But now, the top-down approach is gaining traction. It better

• Iterative approach focused on delivering smaller

aligns with the firm’s strategy and market evolution,

parts – applications, websites, etc. – without

providing a longer-term view of the solutions

a holistic vision

being built. If properly executed, it should extend the solution lifecycle and preserve past investments.

• Resulting short-termism with a focus on delivering the specific project objectives without a long-term

The PM function owns the transformation and

perspective. Lack of strategic focus without access

is accountable for its execution. It’s a role that

to senior stakeholders or information, plus limited

includes the following responsibilities.

influence over the long-term vision • Good communication but only within narrow confines.

The standard project delivery approach has been further unsettled by regulatory change, with new stipulations every few months. Right now, FRTB is a hot topic, with discussions around data lakes,

20

TECH SPARK, H1 2017

• Be the 'glue' between entities that have typically operated in silos: board, business lines, IT, operations, marketing, frontline staff, etc.

• Align all services and parties behind a common goal • Maintain momentum with all stakeholders to ensure everyone stays on board with the plan

THE PROMISE OF PRODUCT MANAGEMENT BEYOND AGILE

TECH SPARK, H1 2017

21

The PM Role

connected ecosystem are gaining ground every day – native product-oriented technology players with phenomenal customer reach.

Business Leaders

You can name them: Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, the FinTechs and so forth, all with a good Strategy

Finance

chance to rapidly grow their market share and prominence.

Product Manager

Customer Service

After taking on payments, there’s nothing to stop Product Delivery Teams

them extending into other areas, especially with new regulations, such as PSD2, making it mandatory to share ever more information. By analyzing trends, competition and regulation, PM can play a key role in

Sales

Marketing

proactively anticipating strategic direction rather than taking a reactive stance.

With initiatives that could become mainstream, like

Figure 2. Product Managers orchestrate the input of many stakeholders. Source: Gartner (August 2016).

Open Bank APIs, PM can also represent the bank and its interests externally from the outset. At the same time, as well as providing representation to the board, PM can develop a continuous dialogue with

Adopting a PM approach offers multiple benefits:

marketing, IT, sales teams and other relevant internal

more efficiency in the project delivery chain, better

stakeholders to accelerate roadmap development.

alignment with business strategy, increased scalability

What’s more, PM should be equipped to provide

and greater flexibility. Although some financial

comprehensive, structured and documented counsel

institutions have already introduced a dedicated PM

to enable steering committees to make better-

capability, it is still a fairly recent development.

informed decisions on future business direction.

At present, product managers in the financial software sector bring experience from various roles, including business analyst, pre-sales, project manager

Conclusion

Fabrice Aresu

or product owner. Candidates also tend to be

We are optimistic that, if successfully executed, PM

Fabrice has been working in

qualified to MBA level, reflecting the role’s close

can play a strategic role to better equip banks and

the software industry for nearly

alignment to broader business strategy. The function

other financial institutions, enabling them to retain

20 years, with a specific focus

could sit within the IT department or be a team

their competitive edge in mainstream financial

on Financial Services. He held

that reports directly to the CEO, given its strategic

services, while enabling a faster, more proactive

various positions, from consultant

importance.

and decisive response to rapidly changing market

to product manager, at firms like Thomson Reuters,

demands. While it may require a change of mindset,

Oracle and now Luxoft. Fabrice is passionate

we believe the rewards should justify the investment.

about technological innovations and their growing

How PM Can Help Banks Keep Pace

contribution in the areas of banking, wealth management and regulation in particular. He is currently focusing on engagements leveraging

No institution today can operate outside the

Machine Learning, augmented advisory and advanced

interconnected Financial Services ecosystem. To do

visualization, among others.

so would risk isolation, missing out on the innovation train and losing customers. We could call it the ‘Nokia syndrome’3.

3

4

Adopting the PM approach could help strengthen the banks’ position in a fiercely competitive landscape where challenger brands within the

22

TECH SPARK, H1 2017

Nokia needed to sell their mobile devices division as they missed the smartphone turn. Read more at: www.ft.com/content/e3cc3338-9449-11e1-bb47-00144feab49a You can find detailed information on European Commission website: www.ec.europa.eu/finance/payments/framework/ index_en.htm. An interesting commentary on The Banker website: www.thebanker.com/video/v/5100065971001/chapter-1-of-4-howthe-psd2-will-change-the-european-payments-landscape-thescope-of-the-new-directive

TECH SPARK, H1 2017

23

Although they have been around for several decades,

and other sources, such as social media, and having

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning

it customize products and services for the customer

technologies are now being widely applied at scale

creates cost-effective new ways to grow the client

to solve problems previously imagined only in

base and improve customer satisfaction.

science fiction. Here we’ll explore eight use cases and applications these revolutionary technologies can

2. Robo-advisers to Enhance Wealth Management

bring to the world of Financial Services and banking, where cognitive tasks once reserved for people, can be automated, scaled and managed by the emerging

With this level of in-depth understanding about your

digital labor force.

customers, you can then offer services via robotic advisors to help them make investment decisions.

We’re living in an age where global innovators such

Capturing customer information via questionnaires

as Google, Apple and IBM have built intelligent

and matching it with suggested investment

systems that can beat human opponents in games

opportunities that minimize tax exposure, can help

like Go or Jeopardy. In-pocket digital assistants

clients build portfolios tailored to their preferences.

can accompany users on their daily endeavors,

One FinTech company successfully striving to

responding to queries and automating tasks at the

accomplish this is Betterment, which has added $4

utterance of a verbal command. Free, scalable

billion in managed assets in just the last 18 months.

technologies, such as Apache Spark MLLib and Google Tensorflow, are making artificial intelligence

3. AI to Automate and Improve Client Application Processes

and Machine Learning readily accessible for implementation by Financial Services institutions.

The consumption of client data and its subsequent But first, let’s clarify what we mean by AI and machine learning. AI is the application of computing algorithms and libraries intended to accomplish tasks usually reserved for humans – including image / speech recognition, pattern deduction in large datasets and decision making. Machine Learning is the process

The Digital Labor Force Awakens Eight Use Cases for Cognitive Automation

Tom Ellis

analysis with AI also provides banks with the ability to identify characteristics that are influential in making decisions about account applications and credit-worthiness. This allows them to automate the decision-making process and improve response times by orders of magnitude, creating more scope

of providing a computer program with a dataset and

to surprise and delight clients. In addition, this will

enabling it to change its outputs based on this data

provide a far more accurate picture of an applicant’s

without specific changes to its programming – in

standing than, say, a traditional credit score which

effect, enabling it to learn based on experience.

tends to only provide a restricted view from a limited

These techniques give computers the illusion of

dataset – for example where the person has just

cognition which can then be applied in multiple ways

moved to a country or is starting out in their career.

across the sector.

A start-up providing improved credit application analysis based on Machine Learning is ZestFinance,

1. Digital Account Managers to Personalize Products and Services

using its Zest Automated Machine Learning technology. It is giving companies across all industries the ability to predict a prospective borrower’s credit-

In the fiercely competitive retail banking sector,

worthiness – including China’s online distributor

providing products and services that appeal

JD.com which provides credit to millions of people

to your clients and distinguish you from your

in China with no prior credit history.

peers is paramount. Knowing your customer and understanding the challenges they face at any point

4. Chatbots to Automate Customer Interaction

in their lives gives retail banks the opportunity to

24

tailor personalized products and services to best

As people become more familiar with personal

serve them at particular points in their life – whether

assistants like Google Assistant or Apple’s Siri, they

it’s starting university, having a child or looking to

will begin to question why similar experiences are not

retirement. Using AI as a digital branch account

available for their banking services. Combining AI and

manager, having it analyze the raft of data institutions

data with natural language generation could enable

have about clients, combining it with demographics

financial institutions to interact with customers on

TECH SPARK, H1 2017

THE DIGITAL LABOR FORCE AWAKENS

TECH SPARK, H1 2017

25

a far more personal level. Chatbots or virtual

7. Digital Psychics to Enable Predictive Analytics

assistants using these technologies will become

cognitive automation now, or risk being left behind

experience to meet your specific requirements.

by far more agile FinTech and RegTech start-ups.

We find it particularly productive to work with the

the first line for interacting with clients not only for

In the past, the task of mining large volumes of

Alternatively, they can embrace these start-ups, such

domain owners as BAs, as they can then map their

day-to-day banking, but increasingly in providing

historic market data to identify patterns with predictive

as Barclays has with the Barclay’s Accelerator and Rise

models onto the technology stack. Cassandra, Spark

budgeting, savings and investment advice. As these

potential was a laborious undertaking generally

Global and work with them to provide services such

and Python are generally used to spike and validate

technologies become more effective, it will lead to

restricted to specialist roles such as quants. However,

as mentoring and incubation support.

proof of concepts, while Kafka’s ability to replay can

massive cost savings in terms of customer support

this has all changed with the advent of commodity

resourcing. One start-up in this space is Finn.ai,

Machine Learning which can easily be scaled on

However, the emerging cognitive automation field

Machine Learning models.

whose text messaging banking assistant service is

premise or in the cloud. Combining easily accessible

isn’t without its issues. Institutions that adopt this

reaching out to millennials.

information feeds with sentiment analysis can now

technology will have to navigate their customers’

The Future is Now

provide cheap and accurate predictive indicators

data privacy concerns and ensure they are met

The use cases presented here represent a small

5. Digital Detectives to Automate Regulatory Compliance

of future market moves. Start-ups such as Sentient

before the new techniques become fully trusted.

fraction of the potential this technology offers, with

Investment Management are utilizing AI techniques

Also, the digital labor force we’ve described here will

ever more use cases being developed every day.

such as genetic programming and commodity

ultimately cost a number of employees their roles, so,

At its core, the provisioning of a digital labor force

Many regulations around anti-money laundering

hardware to simulate trillions of virtual trades, which

as part of the implementation process, institutions will

built around AI and Machine Learning will help

(AML) and know your client (KYC) require that banks

are then tested against historical data. Only the most

need to address the cultural shock and fear of change

financial institutions get to know their customers

have the ability to quickly analyze and report on their

successful trades survive and are then spliced with

these solutions will bring. Institutions must also be

in even greater detail, making it easier to offer

relationships with certain individuals. With the help

the next generation to create ‘survival-of-the-fittest’

aware of the risks of not getting it right – after all,

customized support in ways that drive profitability.

of advanced data collection tools and AI analysis,

portfolios that are then actually executed.

we’ve probably all had the misfortune of dealing with

In addition, it’s an approach that can help pinpoint

banks can begin to map graphs of massive and com-

a poorly executed voice recognition or IVR-based

the golden needles in an exponentially expanding

plex relationship interactions and automate the rapid

customer service. Full quality controls are essential

data haystack, cutting out the noise and enabling

in development and implementation, with testing

traders and other specialists to benefit from a tightly

and the appropriation of client feedback continually

focused stream of information.

generation of reports. The need to produce such

8. Digital Editors to Filter and Summarize Masses of Data Fast

tools helps with regulatory compliance and fraud

be very powerful when you need to tune and test

detection, while also providing an opportunity to

Providing traders with timely and pertinent

executed to ensure a well-functioning solution based

use this graph-based approach to gain competitive

information is key to producing alpha. Anyone who

on AI or Machine Learning.

advantage via the creation of related products and

has walked a trading floor will have marveled at the

services. Palantir is a leader in this type of machine

dizzying array of screens flashing news bulletins and

Even though the complexity around AI has been

shock and the reputational risk of sub-standard

learning analysis with its products designed to offer

market data at their respective users. As the volume

greatly simplified, the vast array of Machine Learning

solutions. However, these can all be mitigated with

exceptional anti-fraud and KYC capabilities.

of this data grows exponentially, the challenge for

algorithms and methods can be demanding to

quality communication, feedback and testing. But with

investment banks is finding ways to disseminate

comprehend and apply. In addition, choosing whether

FinTech and RegTech start-ups making rapid advances

6. Sentinels to Drive Operational Benefits and Cost Savings

only the most important information that traders

to provision an on-premise solution or pick one of

in this space, now’s the time to start putting in place

need. Here, AI and Machine Learning excel. Through

the numerous cloud Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)

strategies to capitalize on the benefits that cognitive

techniques such as natural language processing,

options can be challenging, especially when

automation can deliver. As we’ve seen, the digital

Recent examples of operational failures such

sentiment analysis and collaborative filtering,

considering issues like scalability and vendor lock-in.

labor force is no longer the stuff of the science fiction.

as the 2016 intrusion at the UK’s Tesco Bank

machines can begin to pan the torrents of data for

or service outages at Lloyds Banking Group

the nuggets of gold that help traders and the banks

It’s also important to carefully consider your priorities

play an ever-greater role in the future of the financial

remind banks of the need to safeguard the security

they work for succeed. ForwardLane – a start-up

and ensure they are reflected in the composition of

sector.

and availability of their systems, or else suffer costly

incubating with Barclay’s Accelerator program – is

your project team, including a mix of specialists with

loss of the trust clients place in them. AI systems can

one of the companies attempting to synthesize this

the appropriate data science and data engineering

analyze system and network activity to help detect

vast amount of data into actionable intelligence.

intrusions and anomalies, enabling institutions

Of course, like any technology, it’s not without its challenges, notably around data privacy, cultural

It may be in its infancy, but it’s maturing fast and set to

Tom Ellis

Challenges Ahead

Tom Ellis is a Principal Consultant

analyzing infrastructure to identify operational

Standards and regulations such as the Revised

of Singapore. He has over 10 years’

inefficiencies. Using unsupervised Machine Learning,

Payment Service Directive (PSD2) mean that banks

experience working in both the

cybersecurity start-up DarkTrace has developed

will have to open up a lot of their valuable customer

a solution that acts as an enterprise immune system,

data and expose themselves to intense competition.

a range of client problems. More recently, Tom

having identified 30,000 previously unknown threats

It is imperative to their long-term success that

has been focusing on Big Data engineering for our

in over 2000 networks.

they begin to harness the opportunities offered by

financial clients on projects such as risk computation,

to provide a timely response to problems.

AI can also be used to drive cost savings by

for Excelian currently working out

public and financial sectors solving

data lakes for regulatory compliance and data lineage solutions.

26

TECH SPARK, H1 2017

THE DIGITAL LABOR FORCE AWAKENS

TECH SPARK, H1 2017

27

d i s r u p t o r s

Having progressed beyond the proof of concept phase in the finance industry, Blockchain is becoming

This is not a David versus Goliath, it is more

firmly established in plans for financial infrastructure

David plus Goliath. We will have technology

over the next decade. To separate the trends from

companies like ourselves, highly specialized and

the hype, we spoke to four leaders from Blockchain

fast moving. Then we will have huge institutions

start-ups currently flourishing as part of the FinTech

that have established positions in these highly

movement. They told us more about the successes so

regulated markets, but they have the scale and

far and their predictions for the future.

they have the brand. We think ‘partnering up’ will be a really powerful way to go to market.

Name: Nick Williamson Position: CEO, Credits

This was echoed by Peter Bidewell of Applied Blockchain:

Company profile: Closed source Blockchain

“Is it purely that banks want to work with start-ups?

platform vendor, most recently admitted as

Probably not. It’s much more they realise the agility

the only Blockchain platform on the

of smaller companies and their understanding of the

UK government’s G-cloud platform.

technology is beneficial for them."

Name: Peter Bidewell

Although banks seem like the most fertile ground for

Position: CMO, Applied Blockchain

FinTech start-ups, they can also be the toughest market

Company profile: Blockchain consultancy

to break into. As Kush Patel noted: "You’re better off

with a number of Blockchain projects and

doing one of two things: building your solution outside

platforms in production.

of the banking environment then plugging into it, or, two, going to another industry where you can apply the same

Name: Kush Patel

mechanics back to the finance industry." That said, some

Position: CEO, Tallysticks

start-ups we spoke to have had notable success within

Company profile: Blockchain-based invoice

financial services. For instance, Chain has found major

and invoice finance platform managing

success with Nasdaq where, in November 2015, it was the

around £7 million in invoices.

first platform to conduct Blockchain-based settlement

m e e t

James Bowkett

t h e

at the exchange. It has also helped Visa bring its first new Name: Erik Olofsson

network product to market in 40 years.

Position: Head of Partnerships, Chain Company profile: Open-source Blockchain

In contrast to Chain, another platform vendor who we

platform vendor behind the platform

spoke to, Credits, is currently focusing on non-financial

that Nasdaq used to conduct its first

use cases to demonstrate the power and benefit of

Blockchain-based settlement.

Blockchain and distributed ledgers. This is clearly a different approach to the one taken by Chain, so we can infer that strategies that work for one platform

Independently, all our interviewees noted how

vendor won’t necessarily translate into strategies for

much attitudes to Blockchain have changed, from

another. This might be down to geography or perhaps it

the ‘Bitcoin is bad’ beginnings of cryptocurrencies

demonstrates the diversity of opportunities available for

secured by a crowd-sourced ledger, to today’s focus

FinTechs and the fact there is not one single recipe for

on applications and use cases built on Blockchain

success.

or distributed ledgers. Maybe as a result of the transactional nature of Blockchain’s origins, or

Focus on Funding

possibly due to the attention it is attracting from the finance sector, it is perhaps not surprising that banks

That the Blockchain ecosystem is maturing is also

tend to dominate thinking among start-ups.

reflected in the market for funding. Although there are many accelerators and avenues for investment, such as

However, what is interesting is the evolution of the start-ups’ attitude. Erik Olofsson put it best by saying:

1

Boo Hoo – A Dot.Com Story from Concept to Catastrophe by Ernst Malmsten, Erik Portanger and Charles Drazin

TECH SPARK, H1 2017

29

Level 39 or Techstars, the market itself has become –

developed and then driving diversification in the

Kush added: "A single ledger of facts shared among

to paraphrase Kush from Tallysticks

applications and industries they serve – as Peter put it:

organizations, offering one or more banking services,

– 'reassuringly hard'. This has echoes of the start-up

“right now we’re talking with companies from property,

could provide the backbone for companies to

sentiment following the dotcom boom and eventual

from supply chain management, even athletics”.

collaborate or compete. Peter Bidewell went a step

bust of the early 2000s.

Diversification in an Age of Convergence

further, saying: “The foundation [of Blockchain] is

But while the dotcom boom was characterized by

In parallel with start-ups diversifying, technologies – both

building things together.”

a frenzy of frivolous expenditure – like the 80-person

hardware and software – are converging. While the start-

call center in Camden1 opened by failed online

ups adopted different strategies, they followed a theme.

In their entirety, these external factors of convergence,

clothing retailer boo.com, which helped burn £125m

We need only look at the multiple Kickstarter campaigns

unbundling of traditional bank services and the API

of investment in just six months – the FinTech start-

or trend towards the API economy, which Gartner is

economy are creating a perfect storm for FinTech

up boom in recent years has been altogether more

calling “an enabler for turning a business or organization

disruption. That’s not to say starting a new company

professional. When talking to our interviewees, the

into a platform”2. In combination, this is fueling a golden

is easy or for the faint-hearted. With all the variables

most striking theme is their discipline and focus on their

age for developers who can stand on the shoulders of

a start-up has to keep on top of, from tracking their

core business. They know their target market and work

giants to invent something new and add value.

target markets and managing development teams, to

hard, whether to secure their next customer or next

about being open-source and it’s about collaboration –

the mundane day-to-day duties of running a business,

round of funding. As Nick Williamson from Credits said:

Convergence may also help explain the growing reach

it’s a wonder these companies have any time to think big.

"One of the biggest lessons has been keeping iteration

of FinTechs, with Applied Blockchain’s work with banks in

But think big they do. As Erik from Chain put it:

and feedback loops as tight as you can because you

Africa being a good example. Increasingly, Blockchain

only have so much time. You’re racing against the

is enabling greater financial inclusion by putting secure

clock in a start-up. Either you run out of cash or you hit

access to bank accounts, digital identity and Financial

profitability. So you need to be constantly testing your

Services into the hands of people in remote geographies

We are going to take this new market here and

assumptions and keeping them in contact with the real

who have traditionally been marginalized or left behind.

do something that has never been done before… not increase market share, but to change the

world."

This is also reflected in the approach taken by Tallysticks’,

market structure in a way that it

Nick’s point touches on another theme we discovered:

who saw an opportunity in the funding gap3 for its target

is suddenly centered on you.

the ability and willingness to pivot if an idea isn’t quite

customers both in the developed world and also – and

working out, as advocated in the 2011 book, The Lean

possibly to a higher degree – in the developing world.

Start-up. Credits, for example, switched its focus to

Here Nick Williamson’s reference from seminal book,

the public sector following acceptance into the UK

The Innovator’s Dilemma is poignant, because we can

government’s G-cloud. Others we spoke to were

see how disruptive technologies will leapfrog legacy

also diversifying into different areas, such as Applied

technologies in geographies, or market segments with

Blockchain, which has worked on Blockchain projects

no legacy. Nick felt that Blockchain is likely to be

for a range of industries from athletics to a registry

a disruptive technology on the consumer side, especially

of drones for the Aviation Authority.

in jurisdictions with less provision, but where technology can help sustain an enterprise market while adding to

Reflecting on this diversification, Peter Bidewell of

It’s a bold statement that sums up the spirit and conviction driving the disruptors.

James Bowkett

operational efficiency or revenue streams.

James has over 15 years of finance

Applied Blockchain commented:

software experience spread across

Looking to the Future The hardest thing [about Blockchain] is finding that bridge between technology and the business.

to pricing. His background is in

It is these types of operational efficiency projects that are attracting the most interest from the banks. Anyone monitoring the financial industry over the last two years will have witnessed the impact of unbundling traditional bank services. Indeed, this was a view shared by both Nick and Kush. Nick noted:

various software houses, hedge funds and banks mostly leading projects using agile methodologies and is a firm advocate of Test-driven development and Behavior-driven development.

James is now the Blockchain lead for Excelian, architecting Blockchain-centric applications

Among our interviewees, the secret seems to be

for our customers in conjunction with our team

authenticity and staying true to the core of their

30

broad areas from retail banking

in St Petersburg.

business. Whether it’s platform production and

I don’t think Blockchain will necessarily eat the

provision in the case of Credits or, in the case of

banks’ lunch but it’ll further the unbundling of

2

Applied Blockchain, working with a toolkit they have

various parts of the financial system.

3

TECH SPARK, H1 2017

BLOCKCHAIN MEET THE DISRUPTORS

www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/welcome-to-the-api -economy/ www.weforum.org/press/2015/10/FinTech-companies-hold-key-to -2-trillion-sme-funding-gap/

TECH SPARK, H1 2017

31

User experience (UX) has become a strategic issue within the entire Financial Services (FS) sector. Since customer acquisition has always focused on the performance of products and services, a considered UX approach offers new opportunities to differentiate and create competitive advantage.

With growing end-user expectations, FS companies

Companies such as IBM are making huge investments

must keep pace with advances in UX. It has the

in this space1. Large software vendors including

potential to enable a transition to a truly customer-

Murex, also recognize the importance of UX and are

centric business model, a shift in positioning that

now investing in this domain.

could make a major impact on the bottom line.

Eric: I spotted the marked rise in interest in 2016 when Here we discuss with Murex – a global ETRM platform

attending the EuroIA conference, Europe’s leading

vendor and our principal trading sector technology

information architecture and UX conference. A few

partner – why UX has become so important, how we

years ago, most attendees were from the start-up

expect it to evolve and what approach Murex is taking

world, but there has been a notable increase in

to it as a software vendor.

representatives from mature companies including banking and insurance. We are moving from UX

Q: How important is user experience for FS?

applied to new software to UX applied to existing software ecosystems. The question is no longer:

Andre: UX is key in FS. The whole industry has

'Do I really need UX to succeed?'. It is now: 'How can

been increasing investment in UX for the last 18

I successfully integrate UX into my development

months, with all our clients asking for this expertise.

process?'. If you don’t, your competitors will.

Most of our projects now start with a UX discovery

The race to transform UX in FS has started.

phase instead of diving directly into requirements documents, which helps drive user adoption. What’s

Over the last five years at Murex we have

more, most client proposals now include UX mock-

accelerated our investment in UX. Our growing

ups and we take a product-focused approach to the

team includes a mix of UX experts and technologists,

solutions we offer.

focused on user interface (UI) design. It is now a strategic competitive differentiator for us. End

There’s a lot of movement in the market and

users have much higher expectations than five years

interesting acquisitions: Adaptive Path, one of the

ago and we are meeting these by paying special

world’s best UX design companies, was acquired by

attention to UI design.

Capital One, a financial institution.

Q: What do you think has driven this focus on UX?

The Critical Role of UX

in Financial Services

An Interview with Eric Groise and André Nedelcoux

Eric: End users are driving this deep change. Today it’s impossible to sell any B2C software without the right UX. People will no longer tolerate a poor user experience in their daily personal life – especially the upcoming generation of tech-savvy users.

1

www.fastcodesign.com/3028271/ibm-invests-100-million-toexpand-design-business

TECH SPARK, H1 2017

33

The UX expectation gap between generations is huge.

moving into a new phase. Previously, the focus was

It’s like comparing a Nokia 3310 with the latest iPhone.

solely on building client portals, however, the

The poorest UI experience my 16-year-old son has had

interactions between clients and the bank are being

to date is getting his iPad to save his data on the cloud!

reinvented. As banking system clients and users have

It’s a world away from the text screens and magnetic

evolved, they expect more mobile, more self-service

tapes. I started out with. When they enter the workplace,

and more social features. They are also becoming more

they will expect the same high quality user experience

familiar with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robo-advisory

they’ve gotten used to on their personal devices. But

tools. These elements all need to be presented and

right now a lot of B2B software falls far short of the

designed in the right way to ensure adoption.

The Hidden Costs of a Negative User Experience

quality they are used to. We need a major revolution in our approach to UI design.

Q: What are the challenges for UX implementations in FS?

Across FS, we are seeing significant changes in the way people work, for example, moving away from

Andre: If you look at the product companies who have

bespoke / ad hoc product trading with low volumes

been very successful with their UX endeavors, they

to a flow market with high volumes. This means that

have fully integrated UX into their technology approach,

users – traders – need to be extremely productive,

involving users and product managers through the

do more and become multi-skilled as they take

entire design process. In FS there has traditionally been

on tasks traditionally handled by risk management,

a strong separation of IT and business functions, which

middle office or back office personnel. In light of

hinders successful UX implementations. What’s more,

new regulations, traders need to account for risk

today’s banks are extremely complex, very different from

at the moment of trade booking. Counterparty and accounting information are also part of the decision-

EXCESSIVE COMPLEXITY

REWORK DURING DEVELOPMENT

45%

50%

is overly complex

up by UX rework

start-ups, making UX implementation even harder, but

In a study provided by Adaptive Path, Bank of

The cost implications of undertaking UX rework

not impossible.

America conducted research into why they were

during the development phase is extremely

falling behind their competition. The outcome

expensive and time consuming.

making process during trading. It’s vital that strong

of users struggle or give up if an application

UI design supports these changes and makes

The lack of a true and powerful UX function within the

of this project was a huge success due to a drastic

it easier for users to do their jobs as efficiently

organization is also an issue – historically UX was left

change in usability.

as possible.

to developers to take care of. The most progressive

of development time can be taken

companies have appointed a head of UX and are looking Andre: This is absolutely true. Within capital markets,

to build an all-embracing overall bank experience,

flow trading is taking over. Many of our clients are

ensuring that development teams are equipped with UX

building client portals, research portals and single

processes, guidelines and even UI components aligned

dealer platforms which electronically distribute their

with the target experience.

products and reach out to new markets and geographies. With the industry focus on B2C channels,

Eric: Absolutely. While it may be possible to apply UX

players who neglect UX risk losing significant market

locally in your project, implementing it effectively across

share. Organizations who had already invested in

your whole company is a much more challenging and

electronic channels now have to bring together multiple

difficult task. The functional breadth and depth of systems

platforms. They have to deal with UX fragmentation to

in any FS organization is huge; you need to understand

present a unified, consistent experience to their clients

your users; know which problems need solving; and be

instead of disparate platforms specialized and focused

efficient at redesigning interactions.

on only one asset class.

Andre: As Eric identifies, there is a cost to UX but

34

EXCESSIVE SUPPORT & TRAINING

REDUCED PRODUCTIVITY

£320m

5minutes

The scope of what is done electronically has also

investment is essential to the overall success of

evolved beyond pure execution to now cover the full

a platform. It’s important to understand that in reality

trade lifecycle from pre-trade to post-trade. With the

UX is cheap: it allows you to fail fast. Simple prototyping

lost due to poor application experience design

interactions done through UIs becoming longer and

and low-fidelity mock-ups allow you to quickly iterate

if an application is overly complex

more complex, clients need to be taken through the

with users, but also drive engagement and facilitate

journey step by step.

adoption at a later stage. By contrast, waiting to fail

The Ford Motor Company lost approximately £320

Task completion should always be optimized

once the UIs are built is a lot more expensive.

million ($400m) after abandoning a new purchasing

and have a considered user journey. This is

We are seeing a similar drive in wealth management,

So UX is an up-front investment that allows savings

application due to poor experience design and

especially critical in investment banking where

one of the key areas for Excelian, with digital projects

on future rework.

excessive support.

every second can cost.

TECH SPARK, H1 2017

THE CRITICAL ROLE OF UX IN FINANCIAL SERVICES

Figure 1. Hidden costs of a negative user experience.

of added time to complete a task can bring returns

TECH SPARK, H1 2017

35

A negative user experience has a range of hidden

noting that browsers have evolved and can hold

How do you scale UX and UI teams

managers and UI developers in the company. In some

costs, as illustrated by Figure 1.

a lot more data more effectively, paving the way to

and organize them efficiently?

key areas we own the entire scope, from design to

more local processing and better UI responsiveness.

Q: How do you approach collaboration to ensure

implementation.Some types of UI (i.e. well-defined, Andre: Within FS, there are two extreme models.

simple forms) are better suited to a decentralized

1. One UX team which ensures consistency of design

model as it is more scalable to empower each team

and user engagement across all applications and

to make changes. If the UX guidelines are strong

decentralized UI development. They consult with

enough, business analysts or product owners can

technologists available – most UX/UI experts work

the various UI teams and define the overarching

define the UIs themselves and become the owners

to run workshops directly involving the client-site

for product companies, typically outside FS. Right

principles and rules for UX.

of the process. The second model is better suited

traders who use the platform. The traders can raise

now, consumer-oriented industries are attracting

specific UX requests which are managed in our

most of the talent in the market. But this is changing

2. One central UX / UI team (agency model) owning

blotter) which need special attention from UX

internal issue tracking system. This helps close the

as FS becomes more focused on electronic

all the UIs and in charge of defining the UX as well

specialists and have a strong impact on productivity

gap between end users and our development teams.

B2C distribution and recognizes the need to

as building the technology layers.

and users.

We also put internal user tests in place, enabling

simplify complex trading UIs into something more

collaboration between teams to identify

mainstream, where these skills are essential.

In my experience, the second model is required

Q: What approach would you recommend

UI weaknesses by running cross-test campaigns

At Excelian, we have a mix of FS specialists and

if the organization wants to make a step change

– a progressive one or a holistic redesign?

before we release anything to the clients.

non-FS specialists who bring the consumer angle

in terms of UX because it helps concentrate skills

to our skillset. As mentioned, FS domain specialists

in one place. However, the relative scarcity of strong

Andre: Often you need to take a progressive

Andre: You also need UX experts who understand

are essential to building UIs suited for FS. However,

UX skills generally pushes our clients towards the

approach where you let the old and new UIs live

the business and type of users they’re dealing with.

we believe that cross-fertilization of best practices

first model where a strong process and high-quality

side by side, using technology bridges to integrate

From the very outset consultants need to define

from FS, consumer and other vertical domains can

assets produced centrally enable UX to scale to the

them as seamlessly as possible. A big bang approach

the building blocks of the platform they’re working

lead to optimal outcomes, for example, combining

with. If they’re designing an FX trading application,

cross-vertical UX expertise from, say, our colleagues

they will know there are a set of specific elements

at Luxoft Automotive.

successful UX implementation?

Q: Is there a shortage of UX skills in FS?

Eric: At Murex we have introduced an initiative

Andre: There aren’t many UX and even UI

where a UX team works together with our clients

to more critical and high productivity UIs (e.g. trade

In a Study provided by Adaptive Path, Bank of America conducted research into why they were falling behind their competition. The outcome of this project was a huge success due to a drastic change in usability.

can be effective when you’re doing a significant

organization level.

reengineering or greenfield project. UX is a process, not simply a magic layer that gets added at the end.

Eric: At Murex my team assists all the product

required in the system and include them in the design from day one.

Eric: I always have been surprised at the lack of focus on UX in the FS world when compared

Q: What’s required for a successful UX project?

to consumer and other B2C markets, especially given the similar challenges and even more

Eric: While the right UI framework and specialist

complex visualization needs. More generally,

designers are crucial, there are other factors to

if you look at large-scale software vendors, many

consider. You cannot offer a good UX if the services

have overlooked UX to focus mostly on features

you rely on don’t provide the features you need.

and business value. But there is business value in

For example you cannot provide a great auto-

functional UX and UI, especially now, and the industry

complete feature to your users if you don’t invest

needs to catch-up.

Innovative Experiences: Are a balance between desirability, viability and feasibility Start Here

Experience Innovation

DESIRABILITY

in some indexing technologies on the back end.

User

It’s important to keep in mind that UX depends not

Another reason for the lack of UX skills in FS has

only on UI, but also on the back-end elements that

been an historic inability to attract the UX experts

affect what is visible to the user. This should therefore

we need. For various reasons, they seem to have

be considered when deciding where to focus IT

a negative perception of this world, despite everything

effort. Transitioning to a UX-oriented approach

it can offer. We need to help users manipulate

involves a global move of your software that will

masses of information within real-time contexts,

affect all architectural layers. If you only address

based on complex models, mixing many functional

the UI layer, your efforts will soon be blocked

areas in the same UIs, where accuracy is critically

by the limitations of your underlying layers.

important and an error can have dramatic

Functional Innovation

Emotional Innovation

FEASIBILITY

VIABILITY

Technology

Business

consequences. In practice, the scope of this

36

Andre: The right architecture is important, so we

high-level UX is far more challenging and ambitious

recommend structuring the back-end services

than working on standard commercial web design.

around microservices, with specific functionalities

We really need to get the message out to UX experts

dedicated to UI rendering (pagination, autocomplete,

about the rewards and opportunities available to

etc.) and to include caching layers. It’s also worth

them in FS.

TECH SPARK, H1 2017

THE CRITICAL ROLE OF UX IN FINANCIAL SERVICES

Process Innovation

Figure 2. How to balance user desirability, business viability and technical feasibility in UX design.

TECH SPARK, H1 2017

37

It’s important to start by bringing in experts who know how to structure the right user journey, then build on this and improve it in an Agile fashion.UX is also about balance and compromise. The product needs to appeal to users, so they want to use it, but it also needs to fulfill the right function (which is what the business wants), while being technically viable at the right price, as seen in Figure 2.

Eric: I fully agree. Balance and compromise is the key.

Q: What’s the role of mobile in the future of FS? Andre: Outside of capital markets, mobile channels are

For more information on Murex please visit murex.com

extremely important in FS: everyone expects a UX tailored for a mobile device. What’s interesting is the lack of any killer use cases in capital markets so far, but no doubt they will come at some point. However,

André Nedelcoux

in wealth or asset management, mobile is essential.

André is an experienced senior IT

Reactive design is the way to go in order to build

manager with a strong IT

reusable UIs across multiple channels. We have also

architecture background and capital

noticed that projects are increasingly mobile first and

markets expertise. André joined

desktop second. The key here is understanding users and

Excelian in 2010 and is now

their expectations about the way they want to interact.

a managing director, responsible for Technology Consulting globally within Excelian Luxoft Financial

Eric: We are currently considering building mobile

Services. He has a proven track record of delivering

functionalities for some specific use cases.

challenging projects, leading teams in complex

In conversations with clients, their main priorities are

environments as well as advising senior IT managers

activities that require immediate attention (e.g. trading

on strategy and he is a technology enthusiast with

limit management) and dashboarding (e.g. for the head

in-depth knowledge of cutting-edge technologies:

of desk). These are the requirements, we want to focus

high performance computing, risk and front office

on first.

and online platforms.

Q: To conclude, what is your advice to clients when it comes to UX? Andre: If the platform you’re working on has a strong

Eric Groise

interactive element, then spend at least 15% of your IT

Eric Groise has been deeply

change budget on UX. It will be an investment at first, but

interested in human-computer

it will eliminate the hidden cost of the kind of bad user

Interaction since the early 90’s.

experience we’ve already mentioned. It’s also important

He started his career as a software

to start simple, bring in the right specialists to structure

architect where he spent

a process tailored for each organization and then build

10 years designing and building software UIs from

on it in an Agile fashion.

a technical perspective. He then moved to the end user camp with a focus on developing his UX

38

Eric: You have to focus on UX if you want to be successful.

skills while leveraging his strong knowledge of UI

It’s one of these things that will never just happen

technologies. He is currently Head of UX and UI at

naturally. So, if you’re not already doing so, the time to

Murex where his focus is on enhancing the quality

start is right now.

and user experience of the MX.3 application.

TECH SPARK, H1 2017

THE CRITICAL ROLE OF UX IN FINANCIAL SERVICES

TECH SPARK, H1 2017

39

H1 '17

TECH SPARK

Digital Disruption

We are Excelian: Luxoft Financial Services.

As a part of Luxoft (NYSE:LXFT US), Excelian is entirely focused on the Financial Services industry.

We help our clients maximize efficiency, reduce risk and increase speed of delivery by helping them to adopt better practices and more advanced systems.

Excelian delivers an end-to end service, from consulting to technology services, complemented by a range of proprietary solutions.

Our unique global delivery model is designed to be outstandingly responsive, flexible and focused on client business priorities. Through it, we deploy dedicated teams made up of the most highly qualified and specialized personnel that bring deep domain experience.

If you have any comments, suggestions or would like to get involved, please contact us at techspark@excelian.com and we’ll be in touch shortly.

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