Case Study - Strategy & Advisory

Tackling technical debt in the banking industry

An overarching strategy for a complex technology landscape

The context

Large financial organisations have complex technology environments with critical applications where any interruption can attract severe penalties and have profound negative impacts on the broader economy.

As one of Australia’s most prominent financial institutions, the bank recognised that its existing approach to infrastructure technology was unsustainable.

The technology leaders wanted to understand how they should do things differently and engaged Alyve to define its strategic approach for infrastructure and build a compelling case for change.

Our approach

Alyve partnered closely with the bank's Operations and Infrastructure teams to gain a comprehensive understanding of the processes, capabilities, and evolving technology environment.

Our assessment found that there were highly skilled and dedicated teams, with well-considered plans in specific areas - ranging from infrastructure, cloud, security, to application design and operations - but there was no holistic strategy bringing these elements together towards common outcomes.

Additionally, despite cutting-edge technologies being in place, the ecosystem and configuration of these lacked consistency, which was a driver of complexity and unsustainable technology debt.

The results

Alyve's approach and close engagement proved highly effective, with the strategy and proposed work initiatives gaining full executive support and business case acceptance.

The endorsement and commitment from top management, the bank's board, and stakeholders throughout the business were pivotal, providing the bank with a clear directive for a refreshed approach to technology, indicative costings for budget approval, and a defined view of the target state.

Combining these elements has positioned the bank to bring its transformation to life.