’Operationalize’ Tech Investments

Many banks have made large technology investments in information infrastructure and integration capabilities in areas such as Web services and data analytics to address the challenges of risk management, understanding customer needs and creating a better experience for their customers. In 2007, the investment in this technology foundation will be under pressure to deliver measurable improvement in customer loyalty, profitability, sustainable regulatory compliance and revenue growth. Bank IT executives must align these new capabilities with their business counterparts to operationalize these investments and deliver sustainable results. These goals must be met in light of a more demanding, agile customer climate; ongoing mergers; increasing competition from nonbanks; and a compressing margin environment.

Bank IT executives also must plan effectively for the next wave of business change driven by new business models, software as a service and a true "access anywhere" environment brought about by a large youthful customer base that is always connected and very fickle.