‘We have a strong presence on FB, with 1.8 mn followers’

Mukesh Kumar Jain, chief technology officer, ICICI Bank has technological expertise in the banking sector for over 2 decades. He is a major brain behind the creation of ‘iSense' solution. It is a single-window application that interacts with over 20 customer applications on a realtime basis and gives staffers a 360-degree view of customers.

He has been associated with the bank since 1994. In his prior stint, he was the IT services officer at Canara Bank for over 14 years. Mukesh Kumar Jain converses about the bond between ICT technologies and the banking sector. Excerpts

From an enterprise point of view, what are the key technology trends in the banking sector?

Some of the key trends impacting the sector are sharp increase in the usage of mobile devices, the dominance of social networks (together with change in the demographic profile of users), developments in cloud computing, and big data analytics.

Mobility: The pervasiveness of mobile devices has impacted every aspect of our life including the way we work, the way we manage time, and the way we interact with our colleagues, family, and friends. Mobility has achieved more in 5 years than what the internet took 15 years to achieve. It has significantly impacted the way people bank and would continue to do so for some time in the future.

Social Networks: Social networks have redefined the way people communicate and have become a powerful channel which has the potential to significantly influence people's perceptions and actions. Banks are realizing the immense potential of this platform to connect with their customers and have started weaving this into their overall branding, marketing, and communication strategy. ICICI Bank has already built a strong presence on Facebook with approximately 1.8 mn followers and is constantly enhancing its bouquet of offerings through this channel.

Cloud Computing: The overarching and most disruptive impact of cloud computing will be how it redefines the relationship between consumers and their providers of banking products and services. Cloud computing will make these services more convenient, more accessible, easier to use, and more personalized to the individual's needs and lifestyle. There are security considerations in the adoption of cloud, and banks would tread cautiously based on a careful review of the cost, convenience, flexibility, and security aspects.

Big Data Analytics: There is an increased focus on information from the business. Business leaders are demanding more and more information to gain in-depth insight, which would enable them to make more informed business decisions. One big challenge (as well as opportunity) in big data is the integration of structured data (typically stored in information systems) and unstructured data (typically available on social networks, emails, etc) to collectively provide better insights into customer behavior and market dynamics.

What are the challenges the banking industry is facing today?

The banking industry is adapting in response to various challenges such as: (a) increased focus on the adequacy of capital and higher capital consumption on account of new regulations (b) continued uncertainty in the global markets and sluggish conditions in the domestic economy leading to delay in economic recovery and pressure on margins (c) rapidly changing expectations from every customer segment (value banking customer, privilege banking customer, private banking customer and corporate customer) (d) competition from telcos, retailers, social marketplaces, digital giants, peer-to-peer (P2P) banking, etc.

 

What are the technology requirements of your company and who are the vendors looking after your ICT tools?

Our technology requirements are aligned with our business strategy and our philosophy has been to build solutions which are robust, scalable, and provide lasting value to the organization at an optimized total cost of ownership. We have a strong internal process to evaluate products and vendors, we are generally platform-agnostic, and work with large IT companies as well as medium and small-sized entities based on their core competencies, strength of the product/service offering and the value proposition to the bank.

How has the banking sector technologically evolved over the last few years?

The pace at which banking technology has evolved over the last few years has perhaps been faster than ever before in the history of banking. The increasing adoption of digital channels (internet user base of 137 mn in India and mobile internet users in India at 87 mn) has resulted in basic transactions moving from branches to digital channels. Banking technology has become more ubiquitous and is available at various touch points of the customer, including on social networking platforms. ATMs are evolving from being simple note-dispensing units and are becoming smart terminals which enable funds transfer, mobile recharges, utility bill payments and a lot more. Banking technology solutions for corporates have also evolved significantly; today corporates need fully integrated solutions which meet their requirements in terms of loans, trade transactions, payments, and customized pricing models.

Are you facing any kind of problems in finding the right solutions?

At any given point of time there are several large projects and technology initiatives in various stages of implementation. We also actively evaluate new technologies and products all the time, so occasionally there are instances where we are working on something for which it is difficult to find a reference point in the industry. However we look at such situations as opportunities to innovate and break the mould, and we do have an organizational culture which encourages and rewards innovation. Often, such innovations from our implementations have enriched the underlying technology products and have been subsequently replicated by other institutions.

What are your expectations from your vendors?

We look at them as ‘technology partners' rather than as ‘vendors' and truly believe that enduring vendor relationships are always rooted in the spirit of partnership. Broadly, our expectations from technology partners are as under: pro-active alignment of product and service offerings in sync with our technology strategy, delivery units with high caliber tech professionals who can bring in thought leadership, flexibility in engagement models, ability and willingness to partner on certain greenfield/complex projects in risk-sharing mode, active management oversight and strong review processes and constant focus on adding value to our business in a measurable manner (innovation, cost savings, long term value creation).