Core10 Insights

Community banks who want to make faster and smarter lending decisions, drive efficiency in their back-office processes, and improve customer satisfaction are implementing digital transformation by enabling API platforms.

One of the major themes of this year has been disruption. Whether driven by competition from non-banks and challenger banks, demand for the newest products, or behavioral changes from the pandemic, most banks have launched digital transformation initiatives.

Have you ever looked at a project, known that it needs to get done, but just not want to tackle it yourself?

Let me give you an example.

In my old neighborhood, the first weekend in October was the Neighborhood Yard Sale. And it was a capital-B Big Deal. For most of us, it was a chance to do a few minor decluttering or organization projects. But for a couple of my neighbors, it was an opportunity to fundraise for their favorite charities.

The other day, I was having tea with a mentor of mine who is a few years from retirement. She and her husband stumbled upon a little patch of heaven about an hour away from the city.

It’s a 100-year-old refurbished farmhouse, surrounded by 80+ acres of well-maintained pasture and  picturesque rolling hills. As if that wasn’t perfect enough, she can relax from their wraparound porch overlooking a tranquil, two-acre pond — the ideal place to relax and unwind. So of course, they bought it.

It’s a dream come true for my mentor, and I was excited for her. I had to know her secret to finding this jewel. Naturally, the next question out of my mouth was, "How in the world did you find such a stunning place in a perfect location?"

That is when the dreaminess of the story broke down.

I sat across the table from my friend and sipped my tea as she described her weekend. Her new business school class had put together an outing to get to know each other, and they decided on playing a game outside at a local park. Someone offered up the idea to play football, which everyone heartedly agreed would be lots of fun.

What they didn’t realize was that the class included a number of students from outside the US, and on the day of the game, several of her classmates showed up to the field with soccer balls, wearing cleats! Needless to say, that was quite a surprise to the ones who showed up with oblong brown footballs and even a few helmets. They all got a good laugh when they realized what had happened, and had an enjoyable afternoon learning new skills.

The business school meet-up may have ended well, but listening to her tale, it was hard for me not to notice the similarities between the football game and situations we see as providers of implementation services.

Whether you’re laser-focused on keeping your existing customers happy, acquiring new customers, or a combination of both, the user experience, performance, and security of your fintech application can give you a competitive edge.

According to Finextra, “Financial institutions have been forced to step up their game in order to keep up with consumer demand and push out several different products and services, leveraging emerging technologies, to provide customers with choice.”

Now more than ever, meeting and exceeding expectations with your online experience is crucial for success.

“Alright stop what you’re doing, ‘cuz I’m about to ruin the image and style that you’re used to.”

-- Digital Underground, The Humpty Dance

It’s safe to say that this is the first time I’ve ever used the lyrics of an early ‘90s hip-hop song to kick off a blog-post. But in this case, the words are so perfect for the theme of this blog that I just had to do it.

You know that software developer you’re about to hire to lead your Implementation Team?

Stop what you’re doing!

When I was a kid, one of the two hinges broke off of my toilet seat.

As any inquisitive person would, I checked to see if I could fix it. Though I used all my knowledge of Legos and basic hardware, I quickly realized I was incapable of turning my now multi-directional toilet seat back to its original design.

So, I asked my dad for help. I knew what was wrong, had an educated guess on how to fix it, but needed some outside help to get the job done. Together, we put our best effort into the job. Let's just say the results were dicey and included dusct tape.

Eventually, the real expert in our family (my mother) intervened and called the plumber. I’ll never forget the joy I felt coming home from school one day to a non-duct taped, fully functioning toilet seat!

Fast forward to today. Sadly, I’ve seen companies try to make all three of the above work.

I know what you’re thinking and no, I’m not talking about fixing the office toilet.

When faced with an opportunity to grow and improve your business, do you handle projects in-house, augment your internal team with additional resources, or outsource the work entirely to a specialist?

There are pros and cons to all three, especially when you are looking to tackle an integration or implementation project at your company. Let’s dive in and review your options.

You’re sitting at home and decide to watch a movie. You pull up Netflix and scroll through what feels like an endless array of movies before stumbling upon a title you remember someone in your circle of friends talking about in glowing terms. But you’re not quite sold — yet. 

You review the cast and start to feel better. It’s loaded with actors and actresses you really respect. It’s even starring that one person with the dreamy eyes who makes you go weak in the knees. You check the reviews and it’s earned high marks from both critics and fans. It even won a few big-name awards. By all accounts, you should enjoy every minute of this movie. So you sit back, relax, and start the show.

Two hours later, you’re hugely disappointed. This movie, with its remarkable cast, great reviews, critical respect, and a few major awards, failed to meet your expectations. It’s not that the movie was bad, it just wasn’t right. At least not for you. 

Hiring an implementation specialist is no different.