TSB appoints new tech transformation chief

alanwsg

I wonder if they're about to try another 'transformation' ...

From 'The register' ...

TSB appoints new tech transformation chief cuz last tech transformation went really, really well

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/06/10/tsb_digital_director_mark_curran/

xylophone

I wonder if they're about to try another 'transformation' ...

Stand by for return of interest rate to 5%?:)

tacpot12

Tech Transformation in Banks is a risky and often thankless task because the tech that needs transforming sits at the heart of the bank software infrastructure. This infrastructure is composed of really old software (written in the 1960's and 1970's in Cobol) albeit running on modern hardware. The code is complex, and has been built up in layers, with new layers being added to support fifty years of changing regulations and requirements. Some of the code is not well documented and all the original designers, coders and testers have retired or died. So making changes can require massive amounts of investment, especially investment in testing, and cutting over to new systems can be risky, as TSB have already found.

Through much of the investment period, there is little to be seen; no benefits, nothing a board or the shareholders can see or touch or feel, so much of the transformation is about ensuring that the project delivers and that the board keep the faith until it is delivered. Realistically the only way to do this sort of development is to buy in a packaged banking solution. But such packaged solutions are still very immature. They lack all the functionality expected in a full-service retail bank. So you get a core banking platform that is fast, reliable and highly secure, but only implements a basic range of services. The remaining services need to be added as redevelopments of the existing interfaces, adding further cost to the project. And there are really only two ways of cutting over the new infrastructure - move every customer at once, or move them in small groups. Moving customers in small groups reduces the risk, but introduces complexity. Data migration needs to happen in bulk either way, so more testing is needed to ensure data is moved correctly.

Probably the best way to complete a tech transformation for a full-service retail bank in the UK today is to buy one of the new banks like Metro, Starling or whoever, and scale out their tech and processes, and use current account switching functionalty to move customers who only need a basic banking service off the old platform and onto the new platform. You would have to leave the customers who need the extra services of the legacy platform behind until these services can be added to the new core.

Ultimately the challege for tech transformation is finding something that works well and that can be scaled out quickly. There are not many choices for how to do this, so I'm not enving Mark Curran.