The summary
de Volksbank partnered with Ohpen to simplify its fund investment operations and reduce the cost and complexity associated with its existing systems. By outsourcing its investment IT and operational processes to Ohpen, the bank could focus more of its teams’ time on customer service while Ohpen managed the technical back end.
Following a formal tender process, de Volksbank moved its investment operations to the Ohpen Platform. The migration was completed in approximately nine months, creating a cloud-based foundation designed to adapt and scale with the bank’s needs.
The challenge
Simplifying investment operations
de Volksbank had successfully built a standardised banking platform but wanted to outsource the IT and operational processes supporting its investments.
The decision followed a redesign and simplification of its investment proposition. By outsourcing these non-core activities, de Volksbank wanted to dedicate more of its teams’ time to customer service.
The bank defined ten key attributes it was looking for in a fund investments provider. These included knowledge of the Dutch market, an understanding of the people, a quality platform, the ability to manage processes and take responsibility for the technical back end, and the ability to provide 100% uptime.
Following a formal tender process, Ohpen’s track record and ability to meet de Volksbank’s criteria led to the implementation and resulting partnership.
The solution
Moving investment operations to the cloud
Ohpen provided de Volksbank with a Software-as-a-Service solution designed around simple processes, uptime and performance.
The platform enabled de Volksbank to move its investment operations to a cloud-based environment while Ohpen took responsibility for the technical back end.
Ohpen’s experience in the Dutch market and fund investments was also an important part of the implementation.
“The team Ohpen provided for the project were not only experts in the Dutch market, but also had decades of experience in the field of fund investments. This meant that both the sophistication of the software and knowledge of the team matched the products we provide to our customers.”
– Marc Clarijs, Head of Savings and Investments, de Volksbank
The platform was continually tested throughout the implementation to ensure it was working as planned. Only small adaptations were required to tailor the cloud platform to de Volksbank’s needs. The migration from beginning to end took approximately nine months.
The impact
More focus on the customer
With Ohpen managing the technical investment operations, de Volksbank could focus its efforts on customer interactions — the primary reason for outsourcing its back-end investment processing.
Correct order processing, high uptime, early fault detection and aftercare contributed to the relationship between the two organisations.
“Delivering 100% uptime is a bold claim, but it has remained true of Ohpen throughout our partnership.”
– Marc Clarijs, Head of Savings and Investments, de Volksbank
The relationship also developed beyond the transactional supplier relationship de Volksbank had originally envisaged. As Ohpen continued to provide its technology and expertise, the relationship evolved into a trusted partnership.
Supporting regulatory change
Legislation and regulation have a significant impact on financial institutions and their operations. One example during the partnership was MiFID II, which introduced additional transparency requirements.
The Ohpen Platform enabled de Volksbank to provide information clearly to its customers in response to these requirements.
“Finding a collaborator that enabled us to redirect our focus to front-end customer service to innovate, expand and support new areas, is invaluable. A solid back-end is intrinsic to our operations.”
– Marc Clarijs, Head of Savings and Investments, de Volksbank
The partnership established a foundation for de Volksbank as it considered outsourcing back-end solutions across other products, including loans and pensions.