Bank of Montreal 2015 Annual Report Download - page 8

12
BMO Financial Group 198th Annual Report 2015
BMO Financial Group 198th Annual Report 2015
13
This mindset shapes how we think about the
role technology should play in deepening customer
loyalty, driving profitability and rewarding our
shareholders.
Technology is part of our strategy
Without question, 2015 confirmed how much our
substantial
–
and forward-looking
–
investment in
technology transformation has been reshaping the bank.
Over the past five years, we’ve reengineered our systems
to enable a clear, relationship-based view of all relevant
information with a bank-wide data aggregation platform
and distributed analytic capabilities. We’re making it easy
for customers and their bankers to access a wealth of
knowledge as they explore options and make better
decisions. And through what can only be described as a
passion for deepening customers’ sense of control over
their own finances, we’re also giving them confidence that
we’ll uphold our promise to protect their interests while
keeping their information secure and managing risk.
As we integrate advanced digital and mobile capabilities into
all of our businesses – from our award-winning smartphone
and tablet apps to BMO SmartFolio, our automated
investment portfolio – each new solution is built on the
powerful platform we’ve put in place. Our highly reliable
core systems have been configured to efficiently meet the
competing demands of multiple stakeholders – the most
fundamental of which is customers’ anticipation that their
needs will be perfectly met. Equally important is the
expectation that BMO’s various businesses will deliver
services as one bank, and our employees’ corresponding
need to have a single view of every customer. And right
alongside is the drive to adopt more agile work processes,
with faster release cycles for new products and services;
the rigour we’ve brought to strengthening compliance
disciplines such as anti-money laundering; and our
continued vigilance around issues of privacy, information
security and consumer protection.
To simultaneously address these interrelated goals,
achieving each without compromising the others, has
required an unprecedented investment of time, energy,
capital and creativity. We’ve been listening closely to
customers’ feedback, and sharpening our analytics to
better understand their priorities and behaviours, as we
expand and rethink the banking experience. Expectations
around response times in a mobile, connected world
have dramatically increased the speed at which innovation
needs to happen. And because our work calls for new
knowledge and skills, we’re developing and recruiting
people with the specialized expertise to find alternative
solutions and reinvent existing models – including our own.
As we accelerate these efforts, we’re alert to the potential in
collaborating with third parties who are using technology in
new and interesting ways that complement our own thinking.
We’ve long seen the value of working with external specialists
in the service of our customers. BMO was a founding partner
of the 10-million-member AIR MILES rewards program. We
work closely with companies such as Shell Canada to offer
more rewards to BMO MasterCard customers. And in the past
year we announced relationships with two providers of
specialized services to small businesses: FreshBooks for
financial management tools, and e8ight Business Services
Inc. for help managing online and social media presence.
Collaboration makes sense when we can see the opportunity
to speed up change at an advantageous cost.
Technology is one part of innovation
It’s sometimes suggested that banks themselves need to
become technology companies. In BMO’s case, we have
a legacy of technological innovation dating from initial
signs of digitization in the 1970s, when we were the first
Canadian bank to connect our branches nationwide across
a real-time network. From the earliest fully automated
cheque-processing systems in the United States to ABM
cash withdrawals requiring only a smartphone, we have
a long history of combining breakthrough thinking with
continuous experimentation to make banking better for
our customers.
What’s different today is that instead of simply finding
faster, smarter ways of doing what banks have always
done, we’re using technology to unlock new sources of
value for our customers and shareholders. Because in our
experience, a changing landscape conveys advantage to
those who are willing to disrupt, accept some degree of
trial and error, and try again.
Our bank has an advantage that would be challenging for
a startup to duplicate: more than 12 million customers
who are ready to try new solutions and provide invaluable
input as we refine and enhance them. We’re able to assess
the impact of smart ideas quickly, and we can spread the
investment over a diverse, established base. Above all, we
know that unless a new development yields tangible
Chief Executive Officer’s message
Achieve
industry-leading
customer loyalty
by delivering on our
brand promise
Enhance
productivity
to
drive performance
and shareholder
value
Accelerate
deployment of
digital technology
to transform our
business
Leverage our consolidated
North American platform
and expand strategically in
select global markets to
deliver growth
Ensure our strength
in risk management
underpins everything
we do for our
customers
Our
strategic
priorities*
1543
2
*Updated fiscal 2016