ReportWire

Tag: Operational efficiency

  • Modern banking, reinvented: CIBC’s blueprint for successful AI transformation – Microsoft in Business Blogs

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    Financial services organizations continue to navigate the same realities: rising regulatory demands, growing cyber risks, and operational processes that still depend heavily on manual effort. Yet 2026 marks a turning point. With AI rapidly advancing, the sector is facing an inflection point – an opportunity to reimagine complexity and unlock a new era of efficiency, resilience, and growth.

    Frontier Firms are already leveraging this once-in-a-decade opportunity. With AI, they’re building modern data foundations, optimizing workflows, and further empowering teams to drive real business value. CIBC, one of Canada’s largest banks, is among the leaders of this shift. The bank is using Azure to modernize core services, transform client experiences, and fuel a culture where developers innovate faster, and employees deliver more meaningful impact. Its experience offers a blueprint for the future of finance.

    Modernization built on education and security

    CIBC’s approach to AI starts with people. The bank chose a step-by-step adoption model, ensuring teams understand the technology, feel safe experimenting with it, and have the right tools and guardrails to use it responsibly.

    “We began with education, starting with our board and senior leaders through deep, hands-on AI immersions,” says David Gillespie, EVP, Infrastructure & Modernization at CIBC. “From there, we expanded to every executive with a full-day learning session, and then to the entire organization, where teams have now completed more than 37,000 training courses.”

    This focus on learning created momentum quickly. AI went from an experiment to an everyday tool. “There was a moment when it clicked, AI was suddenly in everyone’s hands,” enthuses Parth Parekh, Director of Application Development at CIBC. “People kept exploring, testing ideas, and building solutions that cut hours or days from their workflows, and honestly, it amazed me to see how quickly the creativity spread.”

    Alongside education, CIBC strengthened its architecture and platforms to create a foundation that enables the bank to scale AI responsibly and manage risk with confidence. Solutions like Microsoft Azure and Microsoft Purview play a supporting role, providing the secure cloud infrastructure and governance capabilities that make this transformation possible.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbUA6WBeQkE

    “Azure underpins our resilience, security, and data gravity. Most of our consumable data now lives in Azure to power AI responsibly,” explains David Gillespie.

    Impact:

    • 37K+ AI trainings completed
    • 50%+ of all consumable data now in Azure

    Experimentation that translates into real business results

    With AI literacy high and governance in place, CIBC accelerated from small pilots to production-grade solutions using Azure AI. Instead of experimenting in silos, the bank took the successful patterns from early projects and turned them into reusable frameworks that teams across the organization can now build on.

    • Capital markets workflow: 10–13 hours → ~10 minutes
      CIBC built its first AI-native corporate banking application, turning a highly specialized, 10-hour manual process into a 10-minute workflow powered by Azure AI.
    • Mortgage operations transformed through “shift left”
      By using AI to read documents, extract data, and auto-populate adjudication packages, later tasks now occur instantly, reducing errors and accelerating client experiences.

    “We’re reimagining business services end-to-end. We start with process engineering, then build digital frameworks with AI at the core. This is where banking is heading, we plan to redesign all our core journeys this way,” says David Gillespie.

    Empowering developers to innovate

    CIBC also invested in the people who bring AI to life, its engineers.
    More than 1,700 developers now use GitHub Copilot to remove repetitive tasks and focus on higher-value work.

    “I’m a developer at heart. I still code, and I love it,” says Parth Parekh. “That’s why GitHub Copilot feels like a true partner, a pair programmer that’s always there. It handles the heavy lifting like boilerplate code and tests, so people can focus on the hard thinking: the domain, the problem, the architecture.”

    His message is simple: AI doesn’t replace creativity, it amplifies it. And his advice to developers is equally clear: stay curious, stay open to change, and master the fundamentals so you can innovate confidently as AI evolves.

    A partnership designed for progress

    CIBC’s progress is powered by the foundations it has built – and strengthened by its long-standing partnership with Microsoft. With Azure providing the secure platform, GitHub boosting developer productivity, and Purview enhancing governance, CIBC innovate faster. Microsoft Unified adds hands-on expertise along the way, helping CIBC refine solutions and scale what works across the business.

    “Microsoft Unified has been an assurance that we always have a partner, someone who analyzes the problem and brings the right experts to solve it,” highlights David Gillespie.

    With support from Microsoft experts, CIBC optimized its early AI solutions, raising accuracy from ~30–45% to ~95% through advanced tuning and architectural guidance. CIBC now uses evpthese refined approaches across new projects, speeding up delivery while reducing risk.

    Impact:

    • 1,700+ developers using GitHub Copilot
    • Accuracy lifted to ~95%

    Where AI goes from here

    CIBC is now focused on scaling agentic patterns, solutions that reason, plan, and act with human oversight. Standardized rails are helping teams move faster from idea to impact while keeping security, governance, and risk top of mind.

    “We’ll deliver hyper-tuned advice in real time, automate work we never could before, and strengthen risk management as we embed these tools. The entire client experience – attended and unattended – will evolve. It’s a real game changer for the industry and for day-to-day banking,” concludes David Gillespie.

    A framework any leader can apply

    CIBC’s journey offers a clear, actionable model for enterprises in any regulated industry:

    1. Lead from the top
      Executive buy-in accelerates everything: culture, governance, and investment. Leaders need to encourage adoption by example.
    2. Build a secure, “safe-to-try” environment
      Mandate AI literacy, enforce governance, and design layers that protect people, data, and clients. Establish the right foundation so your “AI-house” serves you for years to come.
    3. Shape a curious, resilient team mindset
      Encourage experimentation. Celebrate iteration. Help people master fundamentals so AI amplifies their knowledge and skills.

    Want to start your transformation journey?
    Discover how to turn your ideas into real innovation

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  • A blueprint for leaders: How Allegis Group unlocks, sparks and drives AI innovation – Microsoft in Business Blogs

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    At Allegis Group, empowerment is a mindset. As a global leader in workforce and business solutions, the organization has a common purpose: to create significant opportunities for people and companies to grow and thrive.  

    That purpose drives how Allegis Group operates both externally and internally. When generative AI began reshaping the business world, the organization didn’t wait on the sidelines. Instead, it leaned in and asked: 

     “How can AI help us work better and faster?” 

    What began as a spark of curiosity quickly ignited a movement, reaching HR, operations, IT and delivery teams to reimagine how work gets done. 

    Turning excitement into confidence  

    Here’s what made progress real: 

    • Education-first rollout. Teams got hands-on through demos, pilots and safe environments that made AI approachable. From rewriting Outlook emails with Microsoft 365 Copilot to extracting insights with Azure AI, employees were encouraged to ask, “what if?” and see what was possible. 
    • Leadership-driven transformation. Senior leaders didn’t just endorse AI, they championed it. With backing from the CIO and enterprise architects, AI became a clear priority, giving teams confidence to experiment and adopt new workflows. 
    • Culture of exploration. Curiosity was celebrated. Managers invited AI ideas into team discussions, and employees shared creative use cases that built momentum across departments. 

    “We weren’t focused just on leveraging the technology,” explains Pervez Nadeem, Chief Enterprise Architect at Allegis Group. “Our goal was to reshape processes, remove inefficiencies and free people from the routine tasks that can slow them down.” 

    Real change, real results 

    • Faster time-off requests. PTO calculations that previously took an average of 31 hours now close in just 13 hours with 100% accuracy, thanks to an AI-powered solution built on Azure AI.
    •  Smarter translation at scale. With the Azure AI-based Allegis Language Translation Assistant translations now happen in minutes, saving an estimated $1.5 million year-to-date and ensuring consistency across regions.
    • Everyday productivity. Administrative tasks are now streamlined with Copilot in Microsoft 365 apps and Teams, empowering employees to redirect their time and energy toward the work that matters most.
    • Better candidate experiences. As demand for digital skills accelerates, Allegis Group uses AI to match candidates with personalized job recommendations, speed up onboarding and improve communication, helping customers in every industry connect with top talent faster. 

    “AI is helping us move problems out of the backlog and tackle them faster,” says Anshuman Jain, Enterprise Architect for AI, Allegis Group. 

    Kelly Quick, Compliance Controller at one of Allegis Group’s companies adds: “AI also makes our work more efficient, giving us time back for critical thinking, deeper data analysis and better interactions with colleagues”. 

    The new mindset: AI as a co-pilot 

    For Allegis Group, this is just the beginning. With strategic support from Microsoft and implementation guidance from TEKsystems Global Services (TGS), Allegis Group’s internal systems integrator and a trusted Microsoft partner, the organization is building on its foundation with: 

    • Multi-agent solutions for complex workflows 
    • AI-powered training and onboarding experiences 
    • Intelligent search and knowledge assistance at scale 
    • Enterprise-wide innovation, where every new solution becomes a stepping stone for the next 

    At its core, Allegis Group’s AI journey shows that when people and technology work hand in hand, the results ripple outward. Customers benefit from faster placements, higher retention and cost savings. Candidates gain more personalized opportunities, smoother onboarding and stronger support throughout their careers.  

    Allegis Group_Assets_Quote 1

    By putting AI to work across its business, Allegis Group is reimagining how work gets done internally and reshaping the future of professional services.  

    Read the full case study to see the transformation in action.

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  • iBPM solutions: A strategic opportunity to sharpen competitive edge and drive operational efficiency – Banking blog

    iBPM solutions: A strategic opportunity to sharpen competitive edge and drive operational efficiency – Banking blog

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    In turbulent economic times with inflation more persistent greater than expected and pressure to review staffing levels/efficiency in various industries, corporations across the globe are looking into new ways to sharpen their competitive edge. Often, declining profitability and inefficiency in internal operations are among the most common hurdles. Intelligent Business Process Management (iBPM) solutions have emerged that enable corporations to get back on track toward efficiency and growth. Discover below why leveraging the full potential of iBPM tools can drive the strategic value for an organisation.

    In our previous publication on Enhanced process optimisation with Business Process Management (BPM) solutions for Financial Services, we introduced the historical roots of BPM and the types of tools and their capabilities, as well as we outlined relevant banking use cases for their application.
    Slide1

    In this second blog, we are answering the question: Why do Intelligent Business Process Management (iBPM) solutions enable organisations to drive their business strategy and sharpen competitive edge? We look at:

    • The strategic value delivered by iBPM solutions*,
    • selected real-life iBPM success stories in banking and
    • the challenges and risks to consider.

    Note*: In this blog, we focus on iBPM, the most innovative and advanced type of BPM solution, using the latest technology available on the market.

    Strategic value delivered by iBPM solutions

    iBPM tools are key technological enablers for corporations aiming to achieve enhanced operations transformation. They can be scaled throughout the organisation and tailored to the needs of the business. The benefits from exploiting the full potential of these solutions are summarised in the figure below.
    Slide2

    1. Process Optimisation: iBPM solutions enable corporations to improve how they run operations by simplifying complex processes and automating inefficient, long workflows. They produce tangible results, with faster case processing time, more automation and higher usability to free up time and enable employees to focus more on tasks with greater added value for the business. The technological capabilities of iBPM solutions such as Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) and Process Mining empower corporations to fully utilise the potential of these tools, enabling streamlined operations across the firm regardless of the size of the business. See Example 1 in figure below.
    2. Profitability: iBPM applications enable corporations to drive profitability by generating increased revenues and also reducing operating costs. Higher turnover is supported by more efficient processes and greater speed to deliver products and services to clients. Reduction of costs is enabled by streamlining processes, standardising operations across the organisation, allowing staff to focus their time on value adding tasks. Additionally, iBPM can help to reduce errors and repetitive tasks, leading to reduced costs. See Example 2 in figure below.
    3. Business Agility: Utilising iBPM tools enables corporations to improve operations in a flexible and agile way. The tools are modular. Features can be added to each other to achieve the target degree of improvement. For instance, a low-code workflow solution can be delivered in a matter of weeks, then enhanced with further automation components, such as APIs. This ultimately enables corporations to respond quickly to ever-evolving markets. See Example 3 in figure below.
    4. Real-Time Insights: iBPM solutions not only process data in a structured and automated way; they also enable data visualisation. Organisations can obtain a holistic view of a business process within one application, combining for example a case management tool with a KPI dashboard. This enables rapid decision-making. The ease of access to data and storage helps cater for any reporting or audit requirements from regulators, easing a burden in the financial sector. See Example 4 in figure below.
    5. Customer Experience: iBPM solutions go beyond delivering advantages only for the internal part of an organisation. They also provide tangible benefits to enhance the customer experience. Firms can leverage the advanced capabilities of iBPM to improve the user-friendliness of interfaces, and/or level of customer information provided. This results in more engaged, loyal customers, and improved brand reputation. See Example 5 in figure below.

    Overall, unlocking the powerful potential of iBPM solutions enables corporations to significantly improve their competitive edge thanks to higher productivity, reduced complexity (i.e., across business & IT functions) and enhanced efficiency. As a result, iBPM represents a key enabler for corporations to increase their market share and drive growth for their business.

    Selected real-life iBPM success stories

    Numerous operational improvements can be realised through using iBPM solutions. The figure below provides an overview of several successful achievements in the banking space.
    Slide3

    While the strategic value of utilising iBPM solutions is clear, they also come with several challenges and risks that need to be considered.

    Challenges & risks and how to overcome them

    To choose the right iBPM solution it is crucial to assess the challenges, risks and implications that may affect the business to ensure that objectives are met. The operational hurdles that can be faced are summarised in the figure below.

    Slide4

    • Compliance & Legal Risks: In the regulated banking industry, financial institutions must comply with evolving regulations (e.g., AML and KYC). iBPM can help by automating compliance checks and meeting documentation and audit requirements. However, there is a risk that an iBPM solution may not be adequately configured or updated to reflect changes in regulations, which could lead to compliance issues. To mitigate (or avoid) this potential risk, there should be careful monitoring of regulatory updates and impact assessment exercises.
    • Resistance to Change: Implementing an iBPM tool often involves substantial changes to processes and workflows. This can meet resistance from employees accustomed to the existing way of operating. Achieving buy-in and adoption from all stakeholder groups can be a challenge. In addition, employees may consider these changes a threat to their job or autonomy. A clear change management process and internal communication on the relevance of iBPM is key to addressing concerns and doubts.
    • Process Complexity: Processes in banks are often complex, spread and span across different functions, divisions, teams, and tools. Planning the implementation of an iBPM solution demands a thorough review of the existing set of business processes and the IT infrastructure supporting them. Process mapping and dependency identification are crucial to navigating these complexities.
    • Integration with Legacy Systems: Many well-established financial institutions are still reliant on legacy systems. Outdated and non-strategic tools still in place and not yet replaced can lead to additional costs, delays as well as increase the complexity of an iBPM integration. Businesses should cautiously assess the impact of integrating iBPM tools and mobilise resources (financial, IT, and business) to create a consensus on delivery.
    • Data Quality: iBPM solutions generate vast amounts of data. However, it can be challenging to extract meaningful insights or derive the right interpretations. The root problem is often poor data quality that originates from numerous and siloed processes tools and systems. Businesses must have the right tools and expertise to analyse data effectively and identify areas for improvement in order to realise the full potential of iBPM.
    • Technology Dependence: iBPM relies on a range of different state-of-the-art technology components which also have their own set of challenges. While iBPM offers a great deal of functionality out of the box, it requires ongoing maintenance and updates to ensure that it continues to deliver strategic value over time. Over-customising an iBPM system can create a risk of high maintenance costs, more software errors and bugs, and a loss of efficiency. Therefore, corporations should strike a balance between tailoring an application and its long-term sustainability with other existing systems.

    Conclusion

    Market interest in iBPM solutions is growing rapidly. Financial institutions aiming to improve their business operations should consider the potential of these innovative technologies. Whilst several challenges and risks must be evaluated carefully, organisations willing to invest in iBPM solutions should begin with an assessment of the best provider to support their defined business objectives. Depending on the level of iBPM maturity, organisations should start with small pilots, then further scale the solutions across divisions and functions to unlock the full benefits of iBPM.

    In our next edition of this blog series on Business Process Management (BPM), we will dive further into the operational aspects by addressing the “How?” and “When?” of implementing these solutions.

     

    Sergio cruz blog

    Sergio Cruz, Partner, Consulting

    Sergio is the lead Partner of Deloitte’s Business Operations practice in Zurich and has more than 25 year of experience in Consulting. He focuses on large scale front-to-back digitalisation programs in financial services and has worked on several large assignments both in Switzerland and abroad, covering the implementation of regulatory requirements and the definition as well as implementation of target operating models and process optimisations.

    Email | LinkedIn

    Tobias

    Tobias Vancura, Manager, Consulting

    Tobias is a Manager in Business Operations | Cloud Engineering with over 5 years of consulting experience. He is highly experienced in working with international teams and effectively implementing automation into business processes to reduce complexity and support steering. He supported clients as a lead for large- and mid-scale Cloud Transformation projects in retail, communication, and life science industries.

    Email | LinkedIn 

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    Lena Woodward

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  • Enhanced process optimisation with Business Process Management (BPM) solutions for Financial Services – Banking blog

    Enhanced process optimisation with Business Process Management (BPM) solutions for Financial Services – Banking blog

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    If you are reading this blog, there is a high likelihood that you are an employee or client of a bank. What would you think if you knew that global banks are still partly performing some client-centric processes using paper forms sent by mail for processing? You may think, rightly, that this is highly inefficient and not ecologically friendly. Even worse, these operational bottlenecks can be found in multiple corporate functions. However, this is where BPM solutions provide a remedy for these operational shortcomings.

    In this blog series on Business Process Management (BPM) solutions, we aim to:

    • provide an in-depth analysis of the capabilities of these solutions
    • explain the value they create, with some real-world examples
    • highlight any challenges that may occur when implementing them

    Picture1

    This first blog provides an introduction, focusing on:

    • the historical evolution of BPM
    • an explanation of the developments from workflow solutions to BPM and finally iBPM
    • a deep dive into their features and the opportunities they offer

    Global financial institutions continue to perform a significant amount of mundane, repetitive, and low-skill tasks manually, generating little value while stretching their pool of available talent. Consequently, employees spend a large proportion of their time on routine activities which could be automated. Business Process Management (BPM) offers an opportunity to shift the focus of the employees’ time more towards clients, business-generating and value-adding activities.

    Historical evolution and business setting of BPM

    BPM as a corporate concept dates back to more than forty years ago, when IBM first introduced a semi-automated process to route documents by applying pre-determined business rules. In the 1980s, business processes supported by BPM software led to significant improvements in the industry.

    Picture2

    The business environment is changing rapidly, competition is intensifying, and financial institutions are under pressure to remain competitive and operationally efficient, whilst also complying with local and global regulations. Over time, organisations have shifted to a more customer-centric business approach and have started to use digital technology, including BPM solutions, to accelerate business transformation. Today, BPM tools can interpret vast amounts of data to create meaningful insights and can also be used to streamline processes and drive operational efficiency. Overall, this results in a more rapid creation of greater business value, improves customer satisfaction, and thereby increases competitiveness. New market entrants such as Challenger Banks have found innovative ways to overcome the shortcomings of well-established and less agile institutions by using best-in-class technologies (including BPM) to create more effective banking operating models.

    From Business Process Management (BPM)…

    BPM is an approach to orchestrate process automation and improvements, spanning across people, systems, and technologies within an organisation. Business Process Management enables companies to:

    • evaluate
    • measure
    • change
    • monitor

    processes by identifying new methods for achieving their objectives.

    BPM applications can be divided into three distinct types, depending on the business use case:

    • workflow tools
    • “standard” BPM
    • intelligent BPM (iBPM)

    All three types of application map standard business processes to identify and eliminate bottlenecks, reduce costs, and increase operational efficiency. The Figure below shows an overview of the different types of BPM solutions:

    Picture3

    BPM helps drive strategic operational change through process orchestration, automation, process modelling, API connectivity and user-friendly interfaces. The advantages from using BPM solutions range from cost and time reduction through automation to better alignment of customer needs and a reduction of operational risk. Overall, BPM aims to increase operational efficiency by enabling employees to perform tasks better, faster and at a higher quality, creating a strong competitive edge.

    …to intelligent Business Process Management (iBPM)

    iBPM, compared to traditional BPM, enriches complex business processes with additional capabilities such as artificial intelligence, process mining and cloud features. iBPM tools utilise business rules, data mining, machine learning, cloud computing and event processing features to provide real-time analytics and cutting-edge data insights. iBPM constitutes the most advanced type of BPM software solution. The Figure below provides an overview of the capabilities of iBPM:

    Picture4

    Selected use cases for the application of BPM and iBPM solutions

    In the financial services industry, there are numerous opportunities to apply a workflow or BPM/iBPM solution to automate processes. On the one hand, a workflow tool may be very well suited for simple task automation due to its rapid implementation time and low cost.

    For example, an email-based requests process can lead to an unmanageable number of queries received daily and an overflowing mailbox. Instead, a workflow application can apply decision management rules to transform an email query automatically into a case created in a dedicated workflow-based digital process, add a label based on content recognition and channel it to the relevant team. Workflow solutions also enable user-friendly interfaces and KPI dashboards, rolled-out in record time. Thereby, the solutions offer several features within one single application, reducing the need and complexity of having separate systems for one business purpose.

    On the other hand, BPM and iBPM tools both have wider applications than just workflow management as they aim to improve overall business benefit across functions. Consequently, corporations might aim to first analyse and create readiness in the envisioned area(s) of improvement (e.g., client-centric modules, business management, payments processing etc.) in the business function in scope before selecting the right BPM capability to enhance its productivity. The Figure below illustrates selected iBPM uses cases in financial services, with a focus on Client Lifecycle Management (CLM):

    Picture5

    Additionally, iBPM allows to execute and track processes from products/services to customer communications, due diligence, and KYC verifications while maintaining highest standards of risk management, and compliance.

    Conclusion

    Global financial institutions are looking more than ever for ways to increase operational efficiency, reduce costs and retain their competitive edge. Now is the perfect time to act. End-customers are becoming less tolerant of inefficient processes, which can have serious consequences for a business. Clients expect simple, intuitive, and user-friendly processes supported by suitable technologies which drive the overall user experience, for example through customisation and automation. BPM solutions present a tremendous opportunity for firms aiming to deliver change and digitalisation, not only in their internal processes but also for their customers. While a workflow tool may constitute an excellent choice for companies considering BPM solutions for the first time, an iBPM suite will be more suitable for a “BPM-advanced” institution aiming to scale and automate operations further.
    In our next blog, we will consider in more detail: “Why use BPM solutions?”, by highlighting their strategic business value whilst also shedding light on the challenges brought about by the BPM and iBPM solutions.

    Source:
    Gartner IT Glossary

    Sergio cruz blog

    Sergio Cruz, Partner, Consulting

    Sergio is the lead Partner of Deloitte’s Business Operations practice in Zurich and has more than 25 year of experience in Consulting. He focuses on large scale front-to-back digitalisation programs in financial services and has worked on several large assignments both in Switzerland and abroad, covering the implementation of regulatory requirements and the definition as well as implementation of target operating models and process optimisations.

    Email | LinkedIn

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    Lena Woodward

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