By Art Gillis

Recently I enjoyed the honor of working for the #1 consulting firm in the world. I won’t embarrass them by naming them, and they certainly don’t need the publicity. A comment from the partner-in-charge of their financial services practice got my attention. “Some of the most complex issues can be resolved with simple answers.”

I’m learning things from smart people every day, so here are some simple answers. After 503 pages of knowledge in the 2006 Edition of my report, 66 blogs at banktech.com/blog, 114 published articles, and 91 presentations to sleepy audiences, here’s what every bank in the world needs in order to be at its peak performance - simply stated:

1. First and foremost, a core system that satisfies users in the conduct of their daily activities.
2. A good Platform Automation System where “good” means a lot more than a new account or loan origination module.
3. An integrated Imaging System that includes checks, documents and almost anything that was ever on a piece of paper.
4. A Customer Database that leaves the clutter behind and looks at value, history, potential, loyalty and willingness to go to bat for the bank. When I worked for a large consulting firm, we loved all our clients, but within each organization, we had a “marine.” We could always count on him to get things done. And in the sixties it was a “him.” Women were not there yet.
5. A Housekeeping System. That’s my term. It includes all the ancillary apps that operate the bank.
6. A Business Intelligence System. Think of it as the engineering department of the bank, not the factory.
7. A portal to the world, but not like our U.S. borders. Let legal interests in, send legitimate data and answers out, track and audit the activity, and protect interested parties.

I just did the simple task. Now you’ve got the tough job of finding the 169 resources that constitute the seven major pieces of the technology pie. And don’t be discouraged if you have to work with five to seven vendors to get the right solutions for your bank. If one vendor claims they are the one-stop vendor, it just means they have one very slick salesman.

Enjoy your Labor Day with labor, the cerebral kind. I’ll be at my beach, now that all the tourists are gone.

This is a public forum. CMP Media and its affiliates are not responsible for and do not control what is posted herein. CMP Media makes no warranties or guarantees concerning any advice dispensed by its staff members or readers.

Community standards in the message center do not permit hate language, excessive profanity, or other patently offensive language. Please be aware that all information posted to this forum becomes the property of CMP Media LLC and may be edited and republished in print or electronic format as outlined in CMP Media's Terms of Service.

Important Note: The Message Center is NOT intended for commercial messages or solicitations of business.