Technology solutions – blessing or a curse?

There is excitement in the air, everyone is breathing easier, jubilation is evident and everyone if extremely positive about the future – because they are improving their technology platform. Whether you are upgrading a BSA/AML transaction monitoring software, or a GRC tool, or accounting and finance platform or loan and deposit management systems; it is very exciting time when new advancements are announced. From looking at the technology solutions to finding the implementation vendor, assembling a project management team, these are all very exciting tasks. Move the clock forward twelve to eighteen months and you can notice stress in everyone’s eyes. Project is taking longer than expected, original budget ran out months ago. Confidence level on efficiency of the new system is low and some are even starting to doubt if the new technology will help. We have seen these scenarios repeating themselves over and over all through the industry. We like to offer few key points which might help with your next technology implementation:

• Current State Assessment
  • Assessing current state of operations and documenting any gaps and opportunities for improvements is the first key step within the lifecycle of technology upgrade.
• Process Streamlining
  • Evaluating and streamlining current processes are an absolute key to success for your future technology platform. Inefficient processes produce ineffective results and they can only multiply with automation. If a process does not work well on paper, it will not work well after automation.
• Cross functional teams
  • Assembling a team with stakeholders from business, operations, compliance, risk, and audit will provide adequate support and traction required for successful completion of the project within a reasonable time and budget.
• Partner Selection
  • More often organizations select vendors to assist with a major initiative, it is more rewarding to select a “partner”. A partner is vested in the relationship and their success is aligned with your success.
• Requirements/Constraints planning and documentation
  • Documenting business and technology requirements, in addition to any constraints in planning stages of the project can save lot of headache later. More often, organizations hit a hurdle in implementation at a later stage and then stop the technology development to find solutions, which results in burning time and money. These issues can be resolved with simply ensuring that all the requirements and known constraints (along with solutions) are properly documented and embedded within the project plan.

This is a vast topic and as mentioned earlier, we wanted to share some points to help with the thought process around technology upgrades and advancement planning. If you like to discuss these further then please do not hesitate to schedule a discussion.