The "In-a-Box" Framework
In the race for commercial success are smaller banks destined to always come away second best?
The limited reach and resources of small and mid-sized banks make for an uneven fight in an industry dominated by global behemoths. Creating identity and competitive advantage through innovation is the only way for these banks to take on the Goliaths, but that calls for investment in core banking replacement which is beyond the reach of most. This additionally requires skilled manpower and upfront investments.
Thankfully, there is a way out of this stalemate in the form of a pre-configured, parameterized and fully integrated framework which allows banks with smaller operations to be up and running on a new platform with a minimum of fuss. Because this framework is already configured with the necessities of banking drawn from best banking practices globally, namely various product, process, reporting and regulatory parameters, and is pre-tested, it significantly reduces the need for scoping, process mapping, multiple static data setups and testing. Any special needs can be taken care of with small customization or by picking and choosing from a functionality menu.
Although this ready to use framework is a more cost-efficient and faster option than full-blown implementation, it still requires the bank to own the infrastructure. This is where a SaaS delivery model can fit in neatly to bridge the affordability gap. In this model, the software and hardware is owned and hosted by an external agent, who charges the bank a fee for accessing the service. In one stroke, the bank is spared the pain of upfront infrastructure investment and maintenance. This also sets the stage for technology virtualization, wherein the bank can move software residing on different servers from one data center to another.
This is the opportunity for banks to become agile, efficient, innovative and competitive. And suddenly, the race won't seem that one-sided any more.
