Aligning Technology with Customer Needs

By Thomas P. Johnson Jr.

Technologists succeed when they look through the eyes of the customer.

The ability to assimilate rapid-fire change is in the genetic code of some industries. At computer manufacturers, for example, the product cycles seem to last no longer than nanoseconds. Change has come more slowly in banking, in large part because of the regulatory environment in which banks operate.

Credit the leadership of technology leaders and the development of the Internet, in particular, with driving the change underway in banking today. Technologists are behind the developments reported on in this issue: corporate capture (remote imaging), accounts receivable conversion, Voice over Internet Protocol and check digitization.

While some technology-based innovations flounder in search of a yet-to-be-exposed customer need, these initiatives are being adopted because they're solving problems.

It wasn't always that way. Many technological innovations in banking were introduced with the object of improving bank internal processes. Typically, the capability stopped short of building business or advancing a bank's strategic objectives.

Imaging, for example, was introduced to enhance the exchange of information internally. But, the latest applications of imaging technology are the result of technologists' success in aligning their work with what the customer needs. Corporate capture, for example, offers many benefits to the customer, which strengthens the customer/bank relationship.

At a time when any number of innovations are possible, a customer orientation is proving to be the governing factor in the DNA of those driving technology-based change within banks.

The challenge for financial institutions going forward is how to maintain this momentum. It has taken substantial effort over a decade or more to provide technologists with a "seat at the table" when major strategic decisions are made. The technologists, in turn, have responded to the opportunity by broadening their visions to encompass more business and customer issues.

Yet, there is a danger that, once the current implementations have been accomplished and the urgency dims, banks could lapse into more of a "business-as-usual" approach. That would be something to guard against: While technological change does go through cycles, institutions have learned the merits of preparing for the next surge of the tide.

Questions or comments about this article? Post them at the Banking Strategies blog.

Mr. Johnson is publisher of Banking Strategies and president and chief executive officer of BAI.

Copyright © 2005 by Banking Strategies, published by BAI.

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