Financial services firms struggle more than other industries to digitize their products and services, often failing to digitally transform themselves as quickly as other organizations. Facing new competition from more digitally savvy technology businesses, finserv firms are looking for new, better ways of doing digital transformation and addressing risks in their businesses.
In this presentation, moderated by Ian Lowe, VP Marketing at Crownpeak, Eric Feige, Managing Director at VShift, shares real-world examples of how a practical, next-gen approach to digital transformation accelerates growth in financial services, while tackling risk head-on.
The presentation covered three important keys to mitigating risk :
• Updated governance models: Addressing who owns the client and who owns digital to accelerate progress
• Decoupled digital technology: Overcoming speed-to-market obstacles presented by monolithic software and IT approaches
• Culture change tactics: Changing behaviors throughout the organization
3. Crownpeak provides the market’s only enterprise-grade
cloud-native CMS and Digital Experience platform
Ian leads Crownpeak’smarketing and communications department
where he is responsible for generating demand and growing awareness
for the world’s only enterprise-grade SaaS CMS. With over 20 years of
marketing and technology experience, he focuses on content
management, marketing technology, and customer experience.
Ian Lowe,
VP Marketing at Crownpeak
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4. VShift creates digital products, strategies and technologies
that drive growth and accelerate transformation
Eric Feige,
Managing Director Strategy
Eric has been in digital transformation for over two decades, delivering
innovative technology and digital experiences to firms such as Prudential
Financial,J.P. Morgan, Deloitte, and KPMG. He has also led digital native
businesses like his VC-backed cloud venture and VShift – a leading digital
consulting firm. Eric is a board member and business advisor to several New
York-basedstart-ups.
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6. Transformation: A complete change (metamorphosis) in
someone or something (like an organization)
Digital transformation is the strategic, sequenced use of digital technologies and
capabilities to create new — or modify existing — business processes, products,
culture, and customer experiences to meet changing business and market
requirements.
This reimagining and realizing of business in the digital age is digital
transformation.
Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 3
Phase 4
Phase 5
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7. Financial services and insurance companies frequently
trail firms in other sectors (like technology)
Government Asset Mgt. Insurance Banking
Media/
Entertainment
Telecom Retail Travel/ Hospitality Digital Leaders
tech businesses offering
financial services are
often digital leaders
Incumbent financial services
businesses historically rank below
average in digital maturity
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Digitally Mature
Digitally Immature
8. Financial services firms have inflexible “structures” in place
that make transformation very difficult
A Intermediated & Relationship Focus Direct CX Engagement & Focus
B AUM Model ($ making $) Client Acquisition Dependent
C IT Resource Dependency Product Management Freedom
D Hierarchy, Slow Decision-Making Flatter Orgs, Faster Decisions/Actions
E Unaligned Goals & Disincentives Aligned Goals & Incentives
Incumbent financial services factors compared to digital leader factors
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9. Digital transformation failure rates are noted as 70 to 85%
Critical issues:
▪ Lack of executive sponsorship
▪ Organizational confusion
▪ Underestimated scope (not broken down)
▪ Miscalculated risk (not isolated)
▪ Making the wrong bets
Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 3
Phase 4
Phase 5
10. Let’s drill down from the macro issues to three keys for success
and de-risking transformation
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Governance Decoupled
Technology
Culture
12. 1. CCO or CMO executive committee sponsors most often drive successful digital
transformations. IT leaders or Operations leaders have less transformation success they
do not “own” the commercial relationship between the business/brand and its clients.
2. Effective governance requires cross functional support. Teams may ignore the
“northstar”, but they align more effectively on a vision and objectives “constellation of
stars” that will crystalize over time.
3. Stakeholders are always being educated and engaged – phase to phase.
Governance: How we decide how things (e.g. prioritization,
funding, methods, resourcing) are to be done
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13. Example of putting digital transformation governance
structure into practice
EXECUTIVE SPONSOR
CCO
STAKEHOLDERADVISORY
Representatives from Product
Strategy, Sales, CustomerCare,
Operations,IT & Legal/Compliance
PROGRAM MANAGER
Head of Digital
STRATEGY BUSINESS ANALYSIS
CONTENT DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
CHANGE
MANAGEMENTUX & DESIGN
LEGAL & COMPLIANCE
PROGRAM OWNER
CMO
STAKEHOLDERADVISORY
RESPONSIBILITIES
Advise owner and teams on the needs of the
business;Identifystakeholders in their
functional group as needed forparticipation in
projects;Review suitability of proposed
solutions and provide feedback;Resolve
issues,roadblocks in their functional group;
Assistin change managementcommunications
through vocal and behavioral supportof the
vision, objectives and roadmap.
SALES & SUPPORT
This group crosses silos, is aligned to common principles
and objectives, and resolves issues.
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14. Example of putting digital transformation governance
structure into practice
EXECUTIVE SPONSOR
CCO
STAKEHOLDERADVISORY
Representatives from ProductStrategy,
Sales, CustomerCare, Operations, IT &
Legal/Compliance
PROGRAM MANAGER
Head of Digital
STRATEGY
BUSINESS ANALYSIS
CONTENT
DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY CHANGE
MANAGEMENT
UX & DESIGN
LEGAL & COMPLIANCE
PROGRAM OWNER
CMO
STAKEHOLDERADVISORY
RESPONSIBILITIES
Advise owner and teams on the needs of the
business;Identifystakeholders in their
functional group as needed forparticipation in
projects;Review suitability of proposed
solutions and provide feedback;Resolve
issues,roadblocks in their functional group;
Assistin change managementcommunications
through vocal and behavioral supportof the
vision, objectives and roadmap.
SALES & SUPPORT
This group crosses silos, is aligned to common principles
and objectives, and resolves issues.
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16. 16
Legacy IT processes and
traditional technology
architectures are
dangerous obstacles that
can sink the
transformation ship.
Monoliths and inflexibility
are the big “bergs” to
watch out for.
Why most orgs have a profound challenge with digital transformation
What’s visible
The CIO’s legacy
IT “Mountain”
Ageing legacy systems (ERP, etc)
Bureaucracy + overcentralization
Years of underinvestment
Traditional datacenter
Technicaldebt
Cost center focus
Legacy skills
Closed platforms / no APIs
The real
challenge
17. 17
Dependency on enterprise architecture decisions make in a different tech era
User Interface Business Logic Content & Media
Data Storage
Users & Identity
Hosting & Content Delivery Search (More ...)
Traditional, monolithic software used in legacy IT are restrictive, force unnecessary
compromises and create vendor lock-in to a prescribed vendor depended “strategy”
Too much program risk (time-to-market) by leaning on “COTS” monoliths
Traditional Approach
18. The decoupled, component-based model supporting critical business
needs that support phasing and much faster time-to-market
Content API
Content Targeting
Multimedia (Video)
3rd Party Data APIs
Client Data APIs
Industry Sources
Tag Management
Digital Analytics
Account Based
Marketing
Social APIs
Domain Service
Authentication
Access
Marketing Auto
Email
Online Events
CRM
Digital MarketingDigital / CX Analytics User AccessData ServicesContent & Search
Customer
Satisfaction
Onsite Search
Effective transformers use governance forums to understand a bigger picture
while helping with practical prioritization (shown in purple vs blue)
Emerging Tech
AI
DLT
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19. 19
User Interface Business Logic
Modern, lightweight
decoupled web architecture
Content & Search
Data Services
Digital Analytics & CX Services
Digital Marketing
User Access
Personalization and AI
We de-risk transformation significantly by addressing high-risk
interdependencies and integrating the best-fit tools quickly (weeks not years)
21. Most high-impact variable positively and negatively
impacting digital transformations is culture
E.g., Market Share, Revenue
Growth, Innovative Positioning,
New Markets, New Products,
Client Obsessive Culture
E.g., Awareness, Understanding,
Selection, Brand Advocacy,
Retention, Referrals
Our Goals Customer Behaviors Product Experience Technology, Resourcing, Process
E.g., Easy to find, easy to understand,
complete, easy to transact, useful,
valuable, resilient, secure
E.g., Functionality, flexibility, easy to
innovate, supported, integration, best-fit
When culture goals and metrics are formalized,
transformations have a good chance of success
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22. Make culture visible focus area and measure progress
Role model behaviors
such as ownership,
empowerment, client
centricity, cross-
functional collaboration
and digital literacy
Companies that have no plans or actions to change organizational
culture are wasting resources on digital transformation
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Assign culture goals to
the organization –
starting at the top
Reduce dependency on
partners whose values
are not aligned
Measure, test and
improve culture
iteratively – phase by
phase
1 2 3 4
23. Mobilizing: beacon projects address culture activities in
all phases of digital transformation
1. Scope “quick wins” as a 100-day (MOL) beacon product launch
2. Apply well accepted guiding principles
3. Ensure professionaldevelopment in product management, CX and
digital occurs throughout the beacon project
4. Quantify behavior changes and impact to goals
5. Engage stakeholders and provide recurring communications
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