Straight Talk Special Issue: Financial Services - 21

21
deal, right from research to due diligence to
implementation and integration.
And it's not just acquisitions. We are also
working on building strong and long-term
relationships with several venture capital
companies, to get a sense of new and emerging
technologies as well as innovative financial
models in lending, investment management,
and the client services space. We are partners
with one of the largest accelerators in Silicon
Valley and also participate actively in fintech
accelerator labs in New York and Charlotte,
where we have sizable operations. We seek
digital innovation wherever we can find it and
then act as an evaluator and catalyst for the rest
of the organization.

LOOK BEFORE
YOU INVEST
As we seek opportunities for innovative digital
solutions, though, we try to avoid getting lost
in a maze of the latest shiny technologies. It's
just as dangerous to invest lots of time, energy,
money, and other resources chasing something
that's not really relevant to your firm as it is to
miss out on an opportunity altogether.
I think the best way to avoid this is to examine
each technology on two parameters. The first
is how it will create value for our customers.
The second is where it is in the hype cycle, in
terms of maturity, business value, security, and
readiness for adoption.
Consider blockchain, for example. We believe
that it holds great promise for control and
distribution of digital assets.
But we also realize that it is difficult for a single
organization to reap benefit from it. Blockchain
will take off only when a consortium of

Start with the Basics
As CIOs and their organizations scout for
innovations to survive and thrive in the
digital revolution, it's easy to lose sight of the
fundamentals.
The first step in any digital transformation is to
ensure that automation and digital capabilities
are delivering efficiency and controlling costs. It
sounds very basic, but we always looked at that
as the foundation-if it's not in place, there is
nothing to build on.
You need to demonstrate to your board that
you are driving efficiency hard enough to meet
industry best practices and standards. It's equally
important to show them that the company's
information and infrastructure is secure.

Once the Board is convinced that the IT house
is in order and that the windows and doors
are locked, it's time to start measuring and
describing IT costs in terms of investments,
not expense items. Once IT gets measured, it's
easier to show how it is managed and how all
IT investments are driven by business needs. It's
essential that these investments have business
sponsors, who can advocate for the programs.
Finally, having distinguished between costs and
investments, you have to show what the returns
are on the investments, while honestly sharing
what went right, what didn't, and what you've
learned.
Only when these basics are in place is it time to
pursue innovation.
Straight Talk Special Issue: Financial Services

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