OutSystems
Modernizing Banking through Low-code Application Development

New fintech and big tech competitors are slowly peeling away the higher margin pieces of the retail banking business that previously stayed within the four walls of the bank. Many retail banks have adopted consumer-facing applications and new channels in order to compete, but often they are met with a tepid response from consumers. Banks often acquire customer-facing applications over time to answer a specific problem e.g. a retail banking mobile app or a mortgage application solution. This has created product and channel silos with teams aligned to products, not the customer, leading to complexity, inability to adapt quickly and a restrictive view of customer actions. While many larger banks have been fairly successful in tackling this legacy issue, small and mid-sized bankers often lack the resources to undergo a full digital transformation. “What we have found is that many banks have approached digital transformation in a very myopic way. We recently surveyed banks and found the vast majority-- 84% -- are transforming their technology to improve customer experience, but only 26% are devoting budget to back and middle office technology changes. We feel this unbalanced investment strategy is greatly impacting a bank’s ability to provide a great user experience on the front end,” states Michael Douglas, Product Marketing Manager, OutSystems, Inc. With over 17 years of experience in low-code application development, OutSystems understands the importance of breaking down channel silos from both a team and a technology perspective. The company empowers developers to design omnichannel enterprise applications without entering deep into the alleys of traditional coding language.

As a provider of a low-code software development platform, OutSystems’ approach is pretty unique from both the cost and efficiency standpoints. The company’s platform allows banks to build front-end, middle office, and back-end applications in a visual development environment. “We have a drag and drop user interface that enables an organization to build an application, on average, ten times faster than traditional development methods without a huge team of developers, and there is no need to build everything from the grassroots,” notes Douglas.

What we have found is that many banks have approached digital transformation in a very myopic way

In addition to helping banks to modernize their traditional IT systems, the platform also addresses the need for security and scalability, enabling the bank to grow without restriction. Along with it, the flexibility of the platform allows clients to build apps across any platform, for any device, on a single code base. Also, updating the applications across all operating systems is very straightforward and can be done within hours.

A success story that best exemplifies the effectiveness of OutSystems’ robust platform is with Banco BPI, a large bank in Portugal that was unable to have a true 360-degree view of their customers and had separate teams implementing changes within siloed channels. Using OutSystems, they were able to unify application development through a single code base, and move from multiple siloed teams to a single omnichannel team allowing them to focus on the customer journey instead of serving up products. These changes enabled the bank to gain a 360-degree view of their interests and requirements and allowed them to provide customized offerings to the right channel at the right time for the right customer.

To drive such success stories further, the company strives to sharpen the edge of its offerings. OutSystems 11 is a significant part of the platform’s evolution, which allows developers to break the gridlock of legacy systems. It takes a microservices approach to legacy modernization, meaning that it allows banks to peel away small layers of legacy systems that are detrimental to the customer journey while leaving the rest of their systems intact. This is a more cost-effective way to improve the customer experience with minimal disruption to the overall system.