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Leading International Investment Bank Moves to Cloud-First, Modern IT Service Management

Overview

KA2’s client is a globally recognised investment bank that offers risk management, trading solutions and debt financing to help address its customers’ challenges. In 2017, the client launched a company-wide digital transformation initiative driven by a regulatory requirement to separate its investment arm from the retail side of its business.

As a customer-focused business, customer experience, satisfaction and efficiency are key priorities for the bank and they were keen to introduce new and better ways of working through the adoption of a cloud-first IT strategy. Several work streams emerged from the initiative, one being to transform the organisation’s operating model to align it with the new strategy. To achieve its target operating model, the client needed to transform several areas of its business, including modernising its IT Service Management function.

 

The Challenge

The bank sought to implement a cloud-first ITSM strategy that would enable it to achieve two core objectives:

  • Improve security, compliance & risk controls: As an investment bank, the client has a different level of risk appetite to the retail side of the business and wanted to modernise its ITSM function to better align with the unique needs of its own business and regulatory requirements. Moving to cloud required the ITSM function to develop new tailored practices to enable enhanced business operations and ensure regulatory risks and controls were in place.
  • Enable faster, more agile service: Undertaking an ITSM transformation initiative provided the opportunity to drive service transformation across the organisation. As part of the new target operating model, the bank wanted to operate with a lean resource model, without sacrificing service levels or the ability to accelerate project delivery across the organisation.

 

The Solution

As the first step on its transformation journey, the bank’s approach was to select the industry-leading platform – ServiceNow and to partner with KA2. KA2 has extensive experience in implementing new, out-of-the-box instances of ServiceNow in the highly regulated financial services sector, and its Smarter Framework ensures a security-led, outcomes-based IT change programme is delivered.

In order to implement a modern ITSM function that supported the entire business, whilst ensuring compliant operations, KA2 would need to challenge the status quo and guide the bank to fully explore and leverage the opportunities and benefits of the change programme.

Leveraging its Framework and expertise KA2:

  • Worked with the client to create a new digital culture centred around a differentiated experience to delight the bank’s internal customers. Throughout the programme, KA2 led ITSM and ServiceNow workshops to ensure strong support from key business stakeholders and established a solid foundation by ensuring ITSM best practice was adopted.

  • Developed an 18-month ITSM roadmap to guide the bank through the platform implementation and development process, which would both scale with the business demand and ensure that information security and internal governance controls were integrated into the target operating model.

  • Defined, and introduced a Project team operating model and structure to deliver the agreed strategy outcomes for the ServiceNow deployment and its transition to a production-supported service. Defined roles, skills and competencies required to build the new team structure and managed the recruitment process.
  • Delivered a Rapid Deployment Model for the ongoing introduction of key functionality on the ServiceNow platform. This was broken down into two phases:
    • Phase 1 – Implementing the ServiceNow Platform to support the new Change Management processes to provide a systematic approach to control the life cycle of all changes. Included defining a data model and CMDB foundation. Introduction of an agile Continuous Service Improvement (CSI) development and deployment process.
    • Phase 2 – Deploying ServiceNow Incident Management, ServiceNow Problem Management, ServiceNow Knowledge Management, Request Management and Service Portal, in addition to further enhancements for CMDB and localised service processes

The Benefits

  • The bank has created a new ITSM organisation which supports both its cloud and on-premise technology estate. It has built a very efficient and effective ServiceNow platform which enables the ITSM team to deliver a quicker, more consistent, secure and compliant service to its end-user community.
  • The new platform resulted in streamlined change request management and enabled accelerated project delivery across the entire infrastructure change initiative.
  • The outstanding success of the platform implementation project was recognised by ServiceNow. The bank was invited to join the exclusive ServiceNow Early Availability Programme and benefit from the opportunity to upgrade to new ServiceNow products before official release to the wider ServiceNow community, gaining an early advantage ahead of the bank’s competition.
  • Following the initial platform implementation, the bank has completed three major ServiceNow releases – London, Madrid and New York – with no issues and within aggressive timelines.
  • KA2 recommended the adoption of an automated testing tool which ensures best practice platform development and provides the cost-efficient and accelerated delivery of new functionality.
  • Based on the success of the ServiceNow instance, the bank continues to advance its vision of becoming a modern, cloud-based digital-first organisation. KA2 has enabled the bank to continue to expand its platform capabilities to include ServiceNow Security Operations and ServiceNow IT Operations Management.
  • Project awarded 5-star Customer Satisfaction score.

Outcome Highlights

The ServiceNow platform has enabled the bank to be highly effective in the delivery of its wider Digital Transformation objectives – the bank has now moved toward a zero-lead time change request process.

By leveraging the Smarter Framework, the bank has established the cultural changes required to deliver better outcomes in terms of programme success, time-to-market and conformity to compliance requirements.

By delivering an out-of-the box implementation of ServiceNow the bank will benefit from sustainable lower platform administration costs and can enjoy rapid adoption of new features.

Adopting a new Operate Model, facilitated by ServiceNow has enabled the bank to become more efficient, reduce costs, improve reporting and accelerate change.

Awarded ServiceNow 5-Star Customer Satisfaction Rating

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“KA2 not only led the implementation of our ServiceNow platform, but also helped us identify and take advantage of the opportunity to develop a foundation for continuous innovation.”

Head of IT Service Management - Global Investment Bank

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