Try as we might, we humans aren’t very good at predicting what’s next.
- Alexander Graham Bell packed up his novel telephone and offered it to Western Union; whose president said it was nothing but a toy.
- And Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s CEO in 2007, was certain there was “no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance.”
But while as a species we often see a skewed view of the future, after having attended my first VMworld 2 weeks back, I am convinced that we at the End-User Computing team at VMware are poised and ready to help our customers foresee and prepare for the next 15 years and beyond in financial services.
So, what will the next 15 years bring?
As mobile becomes the new desktop, banks will have to transform to better serve consumers, strengthen relationships and stay competitive and be ready to provide a superior experience to their customers and end users where they can move seamlessly from one device to another, across locations while experiencing a consistent communication experience.
The biggest disruption will be in branch banking, as branch banks will become part of an integrated customer experience that spans all banking channels. Innovative wireless technologies will enable branches to recognize and better personalize their relationship with customers when they enter the bank. And to reduce IT costs, network reliability and performance will become more important as business-critical applications and IT resources are outsourced, consolidated, and virtualized. As I listened to our panel discussion on “Financial Services Transformation in Branch Computing” and the narrative that followed featuring Benjamin Craig (CTO, Northrim Bank-Alaska), Alexander Gellerman (VP, Flushing Bank-New York) and Farid Agahi (Director, VMware), it was humbling and powerful to see how these banks are fundamentally transforming the way they manage their branches.
While all of Flushing Bank’s branches are 100 percent virtualized, Northrim Bank is on its way to attain that milestone in nine months. I could almost sense the energy and feel the awe in the room when Benjamin shared an interesting story about how three months after they deployed VDI, Northrim Bank had two major disaster events and in 10 minutes they were up and running – the ONLY financial institution in the area that was functioning at that time. A bank is built on trust, reputation and it’s ability to provide basic services to its customers when disaster strikes and in the face of unannounced events Northrim’s agility and nimbleness saved the day for them.
The “new normal” brings with it change and opportunity – the opportunity for companies with the vision to invest in their future. Flushing Bank and Northrim Bank are at the forefront of that trajectory. We at VMware are proud to be leading that effort as we enable these institutions for next-generation delivery of financial services with automated, secure, access driven and compliant business mobility solutions.
To learn more about how financial services institutions are partnering with VMware, please visit the VMware EUC Financial Services Solutions page and check out the following case studies:
- Case Study: Flushing Bank gained efficiencies from faster provisioning times and management of desktops by virtualizing 17 Branches
- Case Study: Northrim Bank achieves high-availability, low-cost desktop virtualization solution for mobile and branch-office bank employees and customers in 14 branches
- Case Study: United Bank uses AirWatch by VMware to quickly share information and collaborate – “decisions can be made much more quickly than before going mobile”
