BankInvest*

Several years’ growth and a complex IT environment presented BankInvest with a dilemma. On the one hand the IT department needed to have the expertise to support the business, and on the other it needed to be profitable in relation to the size of the business. The solution was outsourcing, and the criterion was for the provider to deliver both the required consolidation and the right degree of attention. With KMD, BankInvest enjoyed reliable collaboration too.

With 40 years’ experience BankInvest is one of Denmark’s largest asset managers and unit trust providers. Its objective remains to ensure its 250,000 private investors and close on 100 institutional clients a secure way of getting the maximum possible yield from combined savings of approx. DKK 144 billion, and this places demands not least on the IT systems:

“We swear by straight-through processing, in other words the entire transaction chain is automated and IT-supported. At the same time we have systems that vary greatly in nature and must all be scalable, and we keep a constant eye on both Danish and international legislation. As the scope and complexity increased, the solution was initially to hire in external consultants, but we soon decided to consolidate the area by means of genuine outsourcing,” explains Flemming Selchau, senior IT manager at BankInvest.

Totally new IT environment
After market reconnaissance, the choice of provider fell on KMD and in the subsequent transitional period BankInvest continued to run its own equipment while KMD developed a brand new IT environment in parallel. The transition began in March 2009, and at the end of November BankInvest’s data was migrated to KMD in eight waves.

“Financial aspects played a part of course, but the primary motivation was achieving consolidation of expertise and raising the quality. In addition we wanted a partner that wasn’t so big that we risked being lost in the crowd. We gained the impression that KMD was the best in the sector. They have a high level of ISO certification, and seemed to be a competent organisation that we quickly felt able to trust,” comments Flemming Selchau on the choice of KMD.

Collaboration in the transitional phase took on an extra dimension when BankInvest’s IT employees started to leak from the department as early as the consideration phase. The solution was to borrow systems employees from KMD.

Needs to work on a day-to-day basis
“The situation illustrates the importance we attached to the agreement: on the one hand, of course, everything needs to be written down, but on the other hand there needs to be an understanding of our business, and a wish for and the flexibility to make the collaboration work on a day-to-day-basis,” says Flemming Selchau.

BankInvest is now independent of physical equipment when it comes to IT systems. Instead, a powerful connection from KMD to BankInvest in the Nordhavn area of Copenhagen ensures that IT is something that comes from a socket in the wall.

“We’re satisfied with the collaboration and the systems department we now have in the form of KMD. The transition has been satisfactory but it’s in everyday operation that the system must prove its worth. However, what we’ve experienced so far gives me confidence. Should there be any problems, my expectation is that we would resolve them from a position of mutual trust that guarantees the collaboration will continue for many years,” concludes Flemming Selchau.

The systems agreement between KMD and BankInvest runs for an initial period of four years until October 2013.