Capital One 2014 Annual Report Download - page 9

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workspaces in talent-dense locations that rival those of leading technology
firms. Our digital facilities in San Francisco, Manhattan, Chicago, Plano,
and the Washington, DC, region are a platform for future growth. We are
bringing in native digital talent – hundreds of engineers, product managers,
designers, and data scientists – to supplement our skills and challenge how
conventional banking works.
While not always the most visible aspect of our journey,
our efforts to build the infrastructure and capabilities of
a technology leader enable everything we do. We’re using
iterative software development methods and modern
architecture to accelerate innovation. We’re streamlining our
core systems and applications to enable faster deployment.
The use of open-source and cloud technology is expanding
across the company. And we are re-inventing our internal
processes, operations, and governance to ensure that we
have the agility to get to market quickly and securely.
Great design will be a key differentiator for banks. Banking
should be as simple, intuitive, and inspiring as the best
experiences in other areas of consumer technology. At
Capital One, we’re building a strong in-house design
practice. We’ve hired leading designers from prominent
technology firms and leading educational institutions,
including Stanford’s design school. We have widely
adopted design thinking principles that help us empathize
with our customers, rapidly develop prototypes, and test
new ideas. Our on-premise usability labs enable us to
explore in real time what delights or frustrates customers and to put those
insights into action in the products and experiences we deliver.
In 2014, we acquired Adaptive Path, a legendary San Francisco-based
pioneer in UX design and orchestrating end-to-end service experiences.
This acquisition brings world-class design talent to Capital One. The people
of Adaptive Path are outstanding, and they have already begun to apply
their expertise on some of our most interesting and important opportunities.
Big data is creating big opportunity everywhere. Capital One was founded
two decades ago on the belief that we could use data, technology, and
testing to transform the credit card industry. We believed that enabling