Using automation technology can create repeatable, effective steps for updating software when faced with the above challenges. In doing so, banks are able to create a balance between 'lights on' and innovation projects, enabling development staff to focus their efforts more efficiently, while fully understanding and managing the impact of the changes they make.
Through automated application understanding, software development and test data software, banks can find the right code and then fix and test it quickly and efficiently, without exposing sensitive employee information and introducing new risks. Additionally, this more efficient approach can help to keep costs low by updating on a case-by-case basis rather than ripping and replacing all applications.
Intelligent application portfolio management technology has been used to great effect on mass change programmes forming the backbone of many organisations' maintenance activities, including handling the change requests emerging from mandatory regulation.
This technology helps business analysts to work with developers to identify and isolate impacted sections of the application portfolio and provide a 'single source of truth' for all stakeholders, regardless of role or function. This increased insight impacts positively on risk and productivity, which can be scaled up to support more strategic IT planning and portfolio management initiatives too.
Help in finding where to make changes is also critical. Intelligent application portfolio management solutions can provide developers with a 'to-do' list, focusing them on impacted areas and dramatically reducing the learning curve associated with unfamiliar code. From there, the right technology enables developers to get the job done quickly and accurately, avoiding re-work and high-profile system failure.
Developers then need to effectively test data, including protecting sensitive data through various forms of automated masking. By doing so, they can continue to adhere to rigorous privacy regulations and remove the risk of personal information falling into the wrong hands when company property is stolen or mislaid.
Some organisations go even further, using those same tools to reduce the size of their datasets while keeping full referential integrity. By using smaller, more precise, and secure test datasets, organisations can run their testing lifecycle in a shorter time, at a higher quality and with a lower cost.
TRP: Do you have any final thoughts?
DB: Banks can adapt their technological approach to regulatory changes in order to reduce the complexities faced in servicing the needs of the compliance officer, while satisfying the business innovation agenda.
By introducing appropriate technology, organisations can get ahead of the game – not just of compliance, but of their entire 'lights on' burden. This enables IT decision makers to support the business growth the company needs and which IT can deliver.
