DECEMBER - 20218Banks drive the economic wheels of society by facilitating the movement of money safely between different parties. It is hardly a surprise that the financial industry was one of the first to adopt the commercial use of computing. In the 60s and 70s, all banks had to reinvent themselves technologically as bank ledgers moved onto big mainframes, which provided unprecedented quality and efficiency. Today, banks have evolved with plastic cards, the internet and mobile applications, etc. but many are still relying on analogue business models and old-fashioned mainframes in their underlying technology stack. Banks used to be at the forefront of technology, but now, start-ups and big tech companies are looking at the industry and are desiring to do things better and more efficiently.By Soren Rode Jain Andreasen, Chief Digital Officer, Danske Bank Group[Nasdaq Copenhagen: DANSKE]MY OPINIONINFrom Analogue to DigitalI talk to strategy executives in different banks and they are aware of this threat. The industry knows what it needs to do and they are investing significant amounts to get there. The financial services industry is now one of the biggest employers of Software Engineers and uses more than 6 per cent of their revenue on average on IT; only surpassed by software and internet services companies. However, many banks are failing to achieve their ambitions, despite the good intentions and huge investments.I work for Danske Bank as Chief Digital Officer, and in the last couple of years, I have primarily focused on transforming Danske Bank in Northern Ireland from an analogue business to a digital business and the results have been remarkable. We have doubled our digital logons and increased digital transactions and sales volumes by 35 per cent and 75 per cent respectively, two years in a row. Recently we got awarded "Most Responsible Digital Innovation" amongst all companies in Northern Ireland. I am delighted to share my thoughts and experiences as I think my learnings are relevant for IT executives in all industries.Are most of your initiatives reactions to changes in our environment: competitor movement or new regulation? Analogue businesses are defensive and digital businesses are on the offensive. You need to create business opportunities and try things or you will never surpass the competition. At Danske Bank, we have taken different approaches to increase our ability to innovate. Initially, we ran a set of innovation teams outside the line organisation and at another physical location to give them a better chance of trying new things. We also hired fifty percent new staff
< Page 7 | Page 9 >