Last year we announced that we're working with Nottingham Building Society to help the organisation improve customer service levels by making it easier and faster for employees to access data from all branch and office locations.
By implementing a high-speed Internet Protocol Virtual Private Network (IP VPN), we were able to give the building society the bandwidth it needs to ensure that customers receive a fast and efficient service in branches. As well as boosting customer service, the new network is helping the company grow by making it easier to open up and connect new sites.
To find out more about how technology is changing the financial services industry, I got in touch with Jack Cutts, who is head of IT at the building society. Here's what he had to say:
What motivated you to make the investment with Virgin Media Business?
We have to spend a lot of money on our IT infrastructure – it’s something we have to get right, otherwise day to day business operations would suffer, simple as that. We were starting to find that our old network was becoming a bottleneck so we needed to reassess and implement a more flexible alternative. The Virgin Media Business network is quick and scalable, so it provides a strong platform for what we might want to do in the future.
How can technology impact the level of customer service that you provide?
We’ve all been in a queue in a shop where the customer service operator turns and says “I’m sorry, the systems are slow today.” We never want that to happen to Nottingham Building Society customers. IT should be seamless and go unnoticed by the customer; if you notice IT then I’ve failed in my job.
What keeps you awake at night?
Information security, always. You just have to look at the Government’s recent announcements on the rise of cyber threats to see how significant it is – it’s a constant battle. When we installed the network, security was paramount to everything we did.
What are your three most important IT must-haves?
An effective strategy, a great team to implement it and a supportive board – IT doesn’t come free.
How do you see IT affecting the future of banking services?
In 2017-2018 we’re going to see the complete demise of cheques. At this point I think mobile technology will really come into its own. We’re starting to see the adoption of mobile banking services with tools like SMS allowing people to check their balance from their handsets. It may not be there quite yet, but we still have a few years to crack the challenge!
