"As an added level of complexity, the imaging, workflow and document management capabilities required for banking solutions are usually inconsistent, non-standard, and do not conform to each other"

Anil Cheriyan
Corporate Exe. VP and CIO
SunTrust Banks, Inc.

Anil is responsible for SunTrust’s Enterprise Information Services (EIS) division, the organizational unit that provides the company’s overall technology, operations and information related support.

Challenges in technology to meet enterprise needs in 2013 and expectations

In this challenging marketplace, the technology providers that drive pragmatic solutions leveraging “big data,” mobile platforms, social media, cloud technologies, collaborative tools and high security will be welcome partners to the financial services industry. Several of these technologies are still “raw” and not yet ready for primetime in a way that they cannot be depended upon to operate in a resilient manner.

The areas in business environment where solutions do not yet exist or not up to the mark, and which if existed, would've made job easier

The core operating business platforms required to run a bank have all evolved significantly in today’s more competitive and regulated environment. None of the traditional players, or new ones for that matter, have developed technology solutions that can be readily deployed in banks with scale and complexity. As a result, banks are forced to heavily customize these solutions or build their own. As an added level of complexity, the imaging, workflow and document management capabilities required for these solutions are usually inconsistent, non-standard, and do not conform to each other.

Manner in which data is used to head off problems and complications before they happen

Data, whether it is structured or unstructured data, is one of the most valuable assets a bank can leverage. Use of data in driving marketing and client/channel sales campaigns, managing various aspects of risk, detecting fraud or other adverse events and identifying/managing expense are all in various levels of maturity in the Bank. One of our lessons learned here is that these type of data and analytics efforts are usually ineffective when driven in a large, centralized enterprise program. Smaller, more entrepreneurial, and decentralized efforts with a “light” enterprise touch in key areas such as data governance and provisioning, can drive to faster and more meaningful outcomes.

Thoughts on how IT strategic planning supports organization-wide efforts to improve quality, cut costs and improve efficiency in the financial sector

The IT strategic planning process needs to be conducted in parallel with, and intertwined with, the overall corporate planning effort. If run independently, it will result in a very “silo’d” and possibly very inefficient (from an expense perspective) IT function. Strategic alignment to business goals and strategies has to be a key imperative of any IT planning process.

Technology trends impacting enterprise business environment

The six mega technology trends that affect the financial services industry are “big data,” mobile platforms, social media, cloud technologies, collaborative tools and high security. Of the six, it is difficult to pick 1-2 of the most significant. However, “big data” and mobile platforms appear to have the biggest impact especially in consumer retail banking.

My roles and responsibilities as a CIO

The financial services industry has always recognized the synergies between operations and technology. The delivery and fulfillment of most financial products and services are typically done by leveraging operational processes and technology. As a result, the role of the CIO in a financial institution is generally more effective when the CIO is intimately familiar with business processes and operations. As the need for innovation grows in product as well as business/operating model innovation, the CIO needs to be a strategic advisor to the business- leveraging his or her operations and technology capabilities.

Lessons learned and advice for fellow CIOs

The CIO is probably most effective if he/she can be viewed as a strategic partner to the other senior leaders of the business. However, the role of strategic partner has to be earned and is rarely assigned.