The bank realized that the ability to deliver advanced services to customers is critical to success in today's market. They needed a provider who could deliver a reliable, sophisticated and flexible solution at an affordable cost.
Done.
Under a major outsourcing contract, Unisys has taken responsibility for delivering an ASP-based IT platform.
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Unisys & FSS (.ASF, 5:30) |
The customer
Sparbanken Finn and Sparbanken Gripen are amongst the oldest and most respected savings banks in Sweden today. Yet they are innovative and forward thinking. They are the first in the country to offer internet banking and 94% of all customer transactions are now conducted outside their branches. Both banks have separated from a major Swedish banking group and are now committed to a joint IT initiative – FSS.
This combination of traditional market strength and a commitment to meeting customers' ongoing requirements has helped the banks win substantial market presence. Sparbanken Finn now achieves a turnover of around SKr 22bn (approx £22bn). It aims to become the largest bank in southwest Skane and is already making great progress towards achieving that goal. Business growth has been rapid, with transaction volumes increasing by 30% over the last 18 months. Founded in 1853, Sparbanken Gripen now has a market share of over 55% in the southern part of Sweden. Together, the banks employ over 600 people.
In order to maintain this growth and continue providing leading-edge services in a fast-changing market, the banks realized that a major overhaul of IT operations was required. In particular, a new technology partner was needed to deliver a system that could meet the challenges of the future. The banks realized that they would need an advanced IT platform to meet customers’ demands for innovation and new kinds of services. “We tried to find a partner that we could depend on,” says Mats Nilsson, managing director of Sparbanken Gripen. “We wanted someone we could trust to deliver a modern, flexible and easy-to-use solution. IT is one of the largest costs for any bank, so it was important that we found a reliable partner.”
Independence in a competitive market
As a result, Unisys has taken over the management of FSS, the joint banking system of the two banks. They had been discussing strategy with Unisys for some time and were impressed by the company’s ability to deliver sophisticated services to the banking sector. In particular, Unisys is uniquely positioned to help financial services companies to implement a ‘bricks and clicks’ strategy successfully. It is one of the few companies that has the skills, experience and capabilities required to deliver seamless unification of traditional banking and internet technology.
Unisys has built and implemented a solution that will take the banks into a new era of hi-tech services. The benefits of the new solution were recognized very quickly; “Unisys has provided us with a unique solution that offers everything that is necessary for a bank,” says Nillson. “It is flexible and cost-efficient, and makes it easy for us to develop future applications.”
More importantly, the banks are free of the control exercised over them by their previous IT solutions. Thanks to the new solution, they now have the ability to remain independent in a competitive market, with a platform for launching new products that will create additional revenue in the future. Development is being led by customer demand, not by technical limitations. "By outsourcing all IT operations to Unisys, the banks have gained real benefits," says Ulf Granzelius, client relationship executive, Unisys. "Getting the system up and running to a tight timescale was a real challenge, and we are delighted that the project has been successful."
By adopting an applications service provider (ASP) approach, Unisys has been able to provide the banks with a flexible system that adapts readily to developments such as internet banking. Lars-Erik Skjutare, CEO of Sparbanken Finn is also pleased with the results of the Unisys partnership. "As we are a small bank, we can‘t do everything ourselves," he says. "We needed a partner we could rely on, and Unisys was a natural choice for us. We had built up a good relationship with the company and we knew Unisys could provide us with a complete, integrated solution. Getting the right price was an important factor too."
Convenience banking
As a result, the bank has been very successful in delivering innovative new services that have proved popular with customers. In fact, 94 percent of all transactions now occur outside branches. Internet banking, ATMs, bank cards and telephone banking have all changed the nature of everyday business transactions.
These factors have been critical in helping the bank to implement its future plans: "Bricks and clicks is the main strategy for us," says Skjutare. "We want to achieve personalized relationships with our customers, while retaining flexibility. Customers want choices and we can achieve this by providing them with access through our various channels. Unisys has played an important role in helping us to achieve our goals in this respect. Although this has been a huge project, some stable results have been achieved. For example, customers can successfully gain access to the core IT system more than 99.6 percent of the time, which is excellent by any standards."
But development is by no means finished. New features and functionality will be added in order to improve the quality of service offered to customers. "We have already achieved our main goal of becoming established as an independent regional bank. Now we see many possibilities for developing the solution further," says Skjutare. "Together with Unisys, we can provide our customers with good, convenient solutions, for use at home, at work, or wherever they may be. This has been a major project for us, requiring a heavy investment in time from our employees. But it has been exciting, too. We have learned a lot, and if you asked me if I wanted to do it again, I would say – yes!"
