FORTIMIZE BLOG

Defining a Digital Roadmap: Crafting a Solution by Solving Problems and Eliminating Pain Points

May 13, 2020

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Given the urgency for digital transformation, the financial services industry has catapulted into a frenzy of technology adoption to meet the immediate demand of customers. With a rapidly changing work environment, it makes sense to also look to the future.  How can you leverage the transformation that happened and turn it into a digital evolution?

In order to guide your institution toward continued success, it’s critical that you understand what it takes to get there. A successful digital evolution roadmap helps everyone involved understand goals and expectations, and what the overall strategy will look like. Once you embark on your journey, it’s important to understand where you have come from, where you currently are, and where your business needs to go.

For many financial institutions, the pandemic brought to light what most of your employees already knew – there are a lot of manual processes tied to antiquated systems.  By identifying that pain in the process, you can inform your technology evolution’s roadmap.

When working with a client, we usually start with the most significant pain point and design around that to achieve an MVP or “Minimum Viable Product.” Because the pandemic allowed banks and credit unions to rapidly stand up an MVP solution, it makes sense to analyze the solution put in place, and determine which subsequent iterations can be built on this foundation, or if the foundation itself needs to be reworked to support sustainable change. This approach allows us to implement a solid framework that delivers a viable solution fairly quickly but also allows for ongoing iteration and innovation. Think of this as the foundation of a house, doing the framing, and then the finish work.

Planning Ahead: Future-proof the Solution

When planning a new, integrative solution, you will want to plan on retiring legacy systems in favor of systems that can scale. Consider some of the effects the current public health guidelines are having on banks and non-bank lending institutions:

  • Social distancing requirements are shifting in-person interactions to electronic and telecommunication systems (higher call center volume).
  • Digital solutions are fast becoming a necessity to help people access accounts, pay bills, and receive stimulus aid.
  • The SBA Paycheck Protection Program release resulted in a flood of loan applications almost overnight. 

With a platform like Salesforce, you can solve the most pressing problems now, and still have the flexibility to adapt to any new scenarios that come up in the future.

Utilizing a Partner to Ease the Pain

Navigating change is already challenging without a crisis putting pressure on an organization to perform. A quick fix won’t be beneficial for your organization in an immediate crisis if you’ll end up being stuck with an ineffective solution down the road.

A true partner should be someone with both the technical acumen to support an implementation and in-depth industry knowledge, and should foster a sense of trust. A good partner is as invested in the success of your organization as you are. 

At Fortimize, we understand the cultural dynamics associated with evolving your technology, and we are invested in the successful adoption of the solutions we implement. We have the industry knowledge to guide you through the process, whether it is laying the foundation and defining the roadmaps, or taking what you already have to the next level.

If you haven’t already, now is the time to start taking action towards your technology evolution.

Unlock endless possibilities

Thought Leadership Paper

Digital Transformation in the Financial Services Industry During COVID by Jim Collins