If there's one things banks have going for them, their access to information is unparalleled. Financial organizations process an almost infinite amount of data on a daily basis, which provides them with useful insights that they can later use to improve customer service, boost operational efficiency and identify risk, among many other applications. The problem is many banks are struggling to actually use their information correctly.
Lawrence Buettner of Wausau Financial Systems wrote a recent article for Bank Tech detailing his travels around the country. He visited a number of banks and other financial companies to talk about innovation and other tech-related topics with some of the nation's most prominent financial professionals. Typically, these conversations turned to data. More accurately, they spoke of their respective bank's mismanagement of its own information.
"We lost a major house account that was with the bank for decades because we could not meet their data needs to better manage their receivables," one banker told Buettner.
While this is clearly an unfortunate scenario, the worst part is that it's entirely avoidable. By implementing the right solutions, banks—or any company for that matter—can harness the power of their information and get the most out of it. Data should help an organization grow, not prevent it from succeeding.
Building a custom database software system will allow companies to effectively collect, process and monitor their information. Companies like banks that handle an enormous volume of data will be able to scale their systems and eliminate the risk of mismanaging their information.