Imagine how banking could change in just a few years. Will we be greeted by robots when we walk through the door? Will banking establishments even still exist? Or will we be doing everything from our phones, talking to chatbots whenever we need information – and not just for account balances?
Truthfully, the world of financial services is already changing through powerful digital disruption. And in order to survive in this highly competitive industry, businesses must change – no longer are core banking systems the norm; it’s all about the front-end digital experience and front-to-back integration.
Just over a year ago, UNAFORTIS – a Switzerland-based firm of around 40 specializing in Avaloq, a leading financial services software package – was approached by Luxoft.
Now, the group is bringing the financial services industry into the future as an invaluable part of Luxoft Excelian, and plans to expand its services across the globe – potentially onboarding up to 200 people into the Wealth Management practice in the next few years.
Even though we were initially hesitant to sell, UNAFORTIS was in a very competitive market and thought about how they could ramp up their digital skills and roll out the practice internationally. While we had very strong core banking system capabilities, we noticed banks were asking more and more for digital services requiring complex technologies. And since Luxoft has a well-recognized expertise in financial services while keeping up with technology trends, we were confident UNAFORTIS would be in good hands.
Luxoft also brought us outside of the Switzerland financial services market, which worked well for us, since we had been longing to develop new, innovative projects in other areas. Now we are expanding into the UK, Germany, and APAC regions, with plans for North America in the near future.
•	DOORS TO DIGITALIZATION. Using Avaloq as a foundation opens doors to quick integration of digital services onto a single platform. This creates a holistic experience, potentially encompassing business project management, RPA, AI, deep learning, blockchain and DevOps.
•	ONE CORE BANKING SYSTEM. Instead of having an average of 50 banking systems, Avaloq can consolidate them all into one integrated core banking system. Businesses don’t have to maintain and integrate 50+ systems with each other, reducing costs, complexity and shortening time-to-market substantially.
•	ALL YOUR DATA IN ONE PLACE. All relevant data is stored in one place, including client and transaction data. This way, you don’t need to synchronize 50 diverse systems with your digital front-end component, making it much less complex and much more agile.
•	AUTOMATION. Because all the data is in one place, processes are automated from frontend to backend.
•	FLEXIBILITY. Avaloq’s flexibility makes it particularly suited for tier 1 banks, since most large banks configure the system to how they see fit. In addition, tier 2 and 3 banks – which usually prefer standardized systems – can adopt a system and just incorporate Avaloq additions based on regulations by region.
•	AVALOQ-STANDARD BANKING REFERENCES. Avaloq uses standardized banking reference templates tailored to the banking style, local market requirements and business size to speed up the implementation process, lowering costs while still being customizable. This approach is the way of the future, as well as the basis for cloud and business process outsourcing services.
I’m excited to see where Luxoft Excelian takes us. By promoting holistic wealth management services and thought leadership, we can bridge the gap between core banking and digital services so businesses can ride the wave of digital disruption. We’ll be building more nearshore facilities so we can offer our services for an attractive rate; we already have a hub in Poland for Europe and will likely soon have one in Malaysia or the Philippines for APAC.
Our goal is to become a premium 360-degree partner of Avaloq for both implementation and product development. And as omni-channel digital banking, communicative banking with chatbots, and implementing blockchain are on the rise, we are sure to offer highly valuable and distinct services to follow these new trends with Luxoft.
Be sure to find out what opportunities are available for your business by joining Luxoft at the Avaloq Community Conference on June 13! Click here to meet with us.