Financial services company Alliance & Leicester has promoted
its IT director to the board, in a move that will help the company
get best out of its
core banking platform due to be launched in 2010.
Group IT director Ian Buchanan, who becomes group manufacturing
director, aims to help the company adapt its business processes to
the IT system.
Buchanan will head IT , oversee change in the back office, and
oversee customer services in the retail and commercial banking
operations.
The company is halfway through a three-year project to implement
the
Alnova banking platform from Accenture, which will provide a
single view of customers.
"The promotion of Ian Buchanan will ensure that the business
takes full advantage of the new system," said an Alliance &
Leicester spokeswoman. "To get the best out of the system, it is
not just about the system but how we align the business around
it."
The company is using services from Accenture to integrate the
supplier's Alnova banking platform, which will replace systems used
to run and support its current and savings account customers and
loans and commercial banking business.
"For historical reasons we have lots of different systems and
the new system will give us a
single view and processing for all customers and products,"
said Alliance & Leicester.
Paul Pullinger, head of retail banking sales at Capgemini, said
it is essential that a senior executive has a view of business and
technology during large transformational projects.
"Whether it is an IT director or a CIO is unimportant, but the
visibility across both and the authority to make the transformation
happen are essential," said Pullinger.
He said this ensures that the benefits of the IT are driven into
the business to improve customer services.