The consumerisation of technology in the past decade
has driven expectations of digitisation in all markets and
most workplaces, but the banking sector is one which has
struggled to keep up with the changes. Security concerns,
siloed IT departments and legacy systems have all created an
environment where technology innovation has been stifled,
and in many cases has been slow and piecemeal.
4.4. Technology
and automation
Prediction
The mobile revolution: Consumerisation
and outsourcing of technology should
become the norm. Banks should adopt a
new model for technology and systems
development, as employees demand
more and more consumerised and
individualised technology to work with.
Banks have traditionally kept the majority of their
technology development in-house, citing security
as the main driver. But this is inefficient in terms of
ensuring they have the right knowledge and skill sets
for all types of development, making the creation of
cutting edge products more challenging.
We believe that banks should begin to outsource
technology development, harnessing new ideas and
expertise from other industries to plug this gap –
and allow them to fully compete in a consumerised
marketplace.
At work, we believe banks should allow employees
to bring their own device (BYOD – Bring Your Own
Device), as well as expanding the availability of
corporately owned but personally-enabled devices
(COPE). A COPE policy allows employees to use smart
devices for personal use, while giving banks control of
the security of the technology.
4.4.1. At the desk: going thin or
going portable?
For desktop and individual user technology, there is a question
for IT teams: mobile or virtual? Many organisations outside the
banking industry are going for the mobile solution because
of the added convenience of employees being able to work
from anywhere outside the building, as well as inside the
building. But many of the banks we have spoken to are highly
concerned with the security implications of going mobile –
even if devices can be remotely wiped when they are lost, it still
poses a risk of data loss. And, to many it feels akin to people
‘walking out the building with our data’.
Thin clients and virtual desktops on the other hand offer
some of the flexibility of mobile devices – an employee can
log in at any terminal in their office, or any company office
– and so people can work flexibly within the corporate real
estate environment, but without the security implications of
a mobile device. A virtual desktop requires email, data and
systems to be stored in the cloud (private or commercial).
Once this is achieved, a bank can then start to offer access
to some of its services to employees remotely – for example,
remote email log-in.
50
The future of the financial workplace
|
September 2014
