March 2021

LOW-CODE: HOW IT'SDRIVING SPEED AND

AGILITY IN BANKING ANDFINANCIAL SERVICES?

INDEX

Introduction and summary

The problem

The need for a paradigm shift

What low-code can do for Banking and

Financial Services sector?

Low-code in Banking and Financial Services:

Real-world example

Conclusion

Appendix: References

02

03

04

04

08

12

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Page 02March 2021

The low-code approach makes it easy to build applications faster, is extremely

simple as opposed to traditional development and provides the flexibility needed

to transform business operations. From integrating multiple systems to

optimizing processes, to automating repetitive tasks, low-code development has

the potential to bring in a higher degree of operational efficiency and generate a

good ROI in the long run. One real-world example of a wealth management

company in Africa shows how leveraging low-code for digital transformation

managed to double their transactions and cut down errors by 70%. This

whitepaper delves into how low-code development is driving speed and agility in

Banking and Financial Services sector and why it's being hailed as the future.

INTRODUCTION ANDSUMMARY

The actual capacity

of IT firms across the

globe to deliver

throughout 2021-22.

Reports indicate that the

requirement and demand for

Application developmentwill be growing as fast as

5Times

Reports indicate that the requirement and demand for application development

will be growing as fast as 5 times the actual capacity of IT firms across the globe to

deliver throughout 2021-22. Traditional development and legacy systems pose

challenges when it comes to meeting the needs of Banking and Financial

services industry. It's no secret that the sector is rushing to innovate and

transform their operations. Today's financial landscape is dynamic, and it requires

speed and agility that conventional approaches fail to deliver. There's a rising,

more promising approach that can equip banks and financial institutions with

the tools needed to evolve rapidly and offer the agility to scale up as required.

Page 03March 2021

The shortage of high skilled IT resources can impact the overall operational

efficiency which makes it difficult for banks and financial institutions to deliver

on requirements efficiently. Today, almost every organization has its small

software firm within itself. With the ever-expanding advent of digital

breakthroughs, it has become a challenging task to revamp their internal as well

as external functions.

At present, the financial services industry is undergoing drastic change. Moving

beyond just a supporting function, there's heavy reliance on IT to shape

operations, business models and service delivery.

As an increasing number of customers switch to online interactions wherever

possible, enabling digital experiences and devising new offerings to meet the

needs of the consumers becomes necessary.

THE PROBLEM

A study predicts that

next 3 years

of account openings,

deposits, customer loans

and credit card

applications will happen

remotely over the

70%

Moving on from legacy systems, revamping core banking processes and

building software aimed at different functions is now a must in the financial

services industry. Simply put, simplicity, speed and agility are the need of the

hour. Accomplishing this would require a departure f rom traditional

development, and the ability to build quickly and meet change rapidly.

Page 04

Today's need of the hour is all about advancing the technology of application

development. Having the right set of tools enables the firm to extract the most

value from the data, process efficiency, and speed of the workflow.

And for banks and financial institutions looking to excel while getting the most

out of their investments, there is one platform that offers the promise of getting it

straight: LOW-CODE Forrester coined the term “LOW-CODE” back in 2014 and

defined it as:

THE NEED FORA PARADIGM SHIFT

Traditional systems and applications working in siloes and driven by manual,

cumbersome processes, can slow an enterprise down and introduce costly

inefficiencies. To bring in the speed and agility that the Banking and Financial Services

sector requires, low-code automation provides the best course. Low-code automation

can enable businesses to build apps quickly, improve data transparency, optimize

processes and automate manual, repetitive tasks, thus bringing in a higher degree of

efficiency and providing cost benefits in the long run.

WHAT LOW-CODE CAN DO FOR BANKINGAND FINANCIAL SERVICES SECTOR?

March 2021

The Banking and Financial Services sector now has the perfect weapon to deliver

the results easily and rapidly by empowering the IT/non-IT processes with low-

code platforms.

Low-code platforms employ visual, declarative techniques instead of

traditional lines of programming. Both developers and non-developers

can use these products, and they require less training to start. Common

features include reusable components, drag-and-drop tools, and

process modeling. Individuals or small teams can experiment,

prototype, and deliver apps in days or weeks.

““

Traditional developmentLow-code development

Vs.

Page 05

Here's how low-code development can help the Banking and Financial Services

sector:

#1 FLEXIBILITY

In any financial institution, different projects comprise different types of

workflows, each with different levels of expectations. However, it is seen that

people tend to treat every workflow and project in the same way. It happens

because the enterprise has set rules and strategy planning which they expect to

run in every project. As a result, they usually miss out on the said outcome or

deliverable. Low-code development platforms make the BPM easy with their

flexible and easy usability. From loan processing to customer onboarding, every

process can be approached with a tailormade strategy and treated as a unique

entity.

#2 SIMPLE & FEATURE PACKED

In today's digital era, the users are heavily spoiled by the choices they are offered. It

also makes their expectations blow through the roof. Everyone wants to use a

framework that is quick to learn and intelligent. The key here is SIMPLICITY. Low-

code provides the user with ease to manage the workflow and also learns and

transforms the applications to be simple from the word GO. It also facilitates with

its features which can put any conventional platform to shame.

#3 REDUCTION OF FAILURE RATE

Large Projects have an astonishingly high failure rate. It happens because they are

challenged due to cost, strict deadlines as well as ambiguity in expectations . As

per a recent survey, around 37% of the projects face failure just because they do

not have a defined objective. It can be rectified by the firms by adopting low-code

app development. It helps the project move faster without hiring expensive IT

professionals.

March 2021

Page 06

It reduces the rate of failure by a huge margin which is further associated with

cost or schedule overrun. Moreover, when the firm develops the application by

themselves, the possibility of failing is also eliminated.

#4 HIGH-SPEED DEVELOPMENT CYCLE

Conventionally, one has to develop huge codes and programs for any project

area, and that too with frequent maintenances. In the case of low-code, the

development time for any program or workflow gets cut off from months to mere

days! Here, you are not only taking the developed app to the market much faster

but also working on the user feedbacks and changes accordingly. The outcome is,

if you want a change made, you can go from idea to app in weeks, as opposed to

months.

#5 COST REDUCTION

Where do you think the most of any organization's budget goes to every year? It

goes into maintenance of their systems. This is the reason why there is very little

or nothing left to spare for new and upcoming projects. The sad part is, the same

organization tends to push for innovation. This is where low-code comes as a

savior. With the low development time and high speed, it requires fewer

resources and money for developing an application. It gives banks and financial

institutions an open mind to invest the money in other technologies.

#6 REDUCTION OF BUGS

In comparison with the conventional codes and developments with huge bug

issues and continuous testing, low-code with its lowered amount of coding and

maintenance leads to having lesser bug issues as well. With the low number of

bugs, the development leaps forward as well as the time gets further reduced

many times.

#7 INTERCONNECTION

Social Media, Mobile Technology, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, and

Big Data have transformed the world in many ways. Every business needs to

make its presence felt. This requires them to be connected across data, devices,

people, and processes. Low-code gives the perfect platform to integrate the apps

and ensure that they work seamlessly with each other. It also works with cloud-

based data storage systems.

March 2021

Page 07March 2021

#8 MULTIPLE DEPLOYMENT

Earlier, banks and financial institutions used to develop specific programs and

codes to function any area of the project work efficiently. Moreover, it is a

headache to build synergy within the codes. This problem is solved with the

introduction of the low-code development platform. It enables businesses to

build & deploy applications for multiple platforms at the same time. It further

leverages this to provide the low-code mobile app development for more

accessibility and control.

#9 RAPID PROTOTYPING

Gone are the days when developers used to create long strings of programs and

codes. After creating those blocks of codes, they would be A/B tested to prove

their efficiency. Now low-code platforms and applications allow the user to have a

crystal clear picture of what needs to be included and excluded in the application.

This rapid prototype testing saves time, reduces costs, and avenues to research

more often.

#10 VISUALIZATION

Low-code advancement platforms step forward by including the visual part of the

portrayal of registering and/or local ideas. They concoct a basic framework to help

their language for representation. It additionally helps in eliminating the tussle

between making and running the last application.

By 2024, low-code application will be

responsible for more than 65% of

application development activity65%

One of the largest wealth management companies in Africa primarily focussed

on building long-term wealth for investors, was able to double its transactions and

observe a 70% reduction in errors and zero loss of cases by shifting from legacy

systems and leveraging low-code automation to transform its business

operations. Here's the full case study on how this was achieved:

LOW-CODE IN BANKING AND FINANCIALSERVICES: REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE

2x 70% 0rise in

transactionsreductionin errors

lossof cases

Page 08March 2021

Using a number of old and monolithic legacy systems made it

difficult to maintain and proved challenging to move forward,

scale up and build new functionality. The existing systems

also require extensive training to carry out a basic job and

failed in user-friendliness. The drawbacks with the current

infrastructure made it difficult to process thousands of client

instructions a day, one at a time. During tax seasons, handling triple the volume

proved extremely challenging. Due to the volume, manual execution and

inefficient processes, there were a considerable number of errors in the work.

THE PROBLEM

THE OBSTACLEThe processes were largely driven by manual efforts and

relied on legacy systems and had to be overhauled without

any business impact. Adopting a new solution and

implementing it across the organization needed

meticulous planning, approvals and quick turnaround of an

MVP in order to yield ROI in the shortest time possible.

Page 09March 2021

THE SOLUTION

Vuram developed a smart solution using Appian's low-

code platform to overcome the limitations of the existing

systems and processes. With a focus on user-friendliness,

the solution devised by Vuram enabled consultants to

pick up more tasks easily. The priority of the tasks were

clearly laid out and overdue tasks could be easily assigned

or reassigned by any consultant. A Bulk Action feature

was also one of the distinguishing factors. It enabled

team leads to reassign, assign tasks in bulk based on the

given user's workload and allowed consultants to action all spam requests and

close them in bulk.

The solution also included a document management utility that helped them

to upload, split and link/unlink documents across multiple split requests. Auto

link document feature provided the ability to link all split documents to all the

new service requests created. The records and report dashboard on Appian

provided real-time information on completed tasks enabling users to prioritize

work easily.

HOW IT MET THE REQUIREMENTVuram's solution considerably reduced the manual effort,

saved time and improved efficiency with its bulk action and

auto linking feature proving highly effective in the same. The

dashboards and queue feature provided a clear picture of the

workload during the day enabling users to plan their resources

proactively during the day. The solution also increased the

transparency by showing a full audit history of who is doing

what, when, and why.

User-friendliness also had to be factored in, to keep the learning curve to a

minimal. A collaborative approach had to be taken at every step with the

customer's consultants in order to fast-track the development and stay in line

with the vision.

Page 10March 2021

VURAM VALUE ADD

Vuram maintained continuous engagement with all

stakeholders throughout the solutioning process, right

f rom requirement analysis to post-implementation

support. Adopting an agile development approach allowed

production of MVP solutions that could quickly achieve ROI.

We also worked collaboratively by providing the customer

with in-depth knowledge of latest Appian features and

guiding them to build the right solutions. Ensuring a strong on-site presence

enabled development of an MVP very quickly. Vuram also ensured development

of flexible reusable processes by adopting the best practices that could be easily

extended to all transactions.

Another highlight of our engagement was our role in empowering the customer

to building in-house Appian capabilities. This has allowed them to build a sizeable

Appian team with the requisite skillset.

Real-time dashboards and reports increased the overall visibility of the work for all

the managers and team coordinators allowing better tracking of task completion.

The rework reports provided the source of information for enhanced tracking and

prevention of errors. The performance reports provided more transparency to the

consultants fostering healthy competition amongst them to complete tasks

quickly and take in more tasks.

TRUST AND GROWTH

Vuram maintained open communication channels and

complete transparency with the customer to deliver

solutions aligned with their business roadmap. With a

flexible and dynamic team that was readily available and

approachable, Vuram was quickly able to garner trust and

establish a strong relationship. Working on a hybrid team

model with Appian consultants from both ends and playing

a pivotal role in upskilling the customer's Appian teams further strengthened the

relationship. In addition, on-time delivery, reliable deployment, ability to deliver

MVP solutions in weeks compared to months on large monoliths and scale up

Appian infrastructure as and when needed, helped gain trust and allowed the

account to grow.

Page 11March 2021

BUSINESS BENEFIT

With Vuram's low-code solution, a massive time

reduction was achieved in completing the work

and a record earliest finish times were achieved

during the tax season in the last 5 years. The work

output doubled from completing 300 transactions

per day to 600 transactions per day per consultant.

There was also a 70% reduction in linking errors achieved and reduction in

two FTEs who were able to focus on other operational tasks.

BUSINESS IMPACT

The increased transparency enabled the customer to

identify the reasons for errors or rework data at source

which in turn helped the operations team to take

preventative and corrective measures to reduce the

errors. 70% reduction in internal errors increased the

trust of all the financial advisors and investors involved.

The increased productivity and reduced manual effort

created a zero loss of cases which built a healthy, stress-free environment

for consultants. Minimal user training was needed for the job, and new

users could quickly pick up pace and be guided through the system. The

improved consultant experience drove organizational change and

adoption, which generated an interest in other departments in making

the move to Appian.

Vuram is a hyperautomation services company that specializes in low-code enterprise

automation. Since its inception in 2011, Vuram has been maintaining 100% customer success

and 100% customer references. Powered by 600+ passionate people, Vuram—an HFS hot

vendor (Q3 2020)—has served 125+ happy enterprise customers and has successfully built

750+ applications. In 2020, Vuram ranked 10th among the top 50 Great Mid-Size Workplaces

in India certified by Great Place to Work® institute.

Vuram’s hyperautomation technology stack encompasses business process management

(BPM), robotic process automation (RPA), optical character recognition (OCR), document

processing, and analytics.

ABOUT VURAMDigital Transformation has been ranked

as a top priority by technology executives

consecutively for two years. We will be

happy to share with you our insights on

what paves for a successful digital

transformation program and discuss your

enterprise road map and challenges. Please

write to ask@vuram.comwww.vuram.com

To get more information, visit

Ÿ One in four retail branches to close in Europe as digital

interactions mushroom - Kearney

Ÿ Low-code basics: What is low-code?

Ÿ Are low-code platforms the future of business agility?

Ÿ Low-code Vs. traditional development

Ÿ The state of application development

APPENDIX: REFERENCES

With the rising need for agility, low-code brings with it renewed promise in

helping banking and financial services sector meet the dynamic challenges

head on. The shift towards it has already started and the movement is fast. Low-

code development proves itself to be a streamlined, reliable approach towards

digital transformation across the Banking and Financial Services sector – and

the momentum is only expected to gain steam with time. From digital

innovation to flexibility in scaling up as needed, low-code equips modern banks

and financial institutions with the speed and agility that have become a must

in the current ever-evolving landscape.

CONCLUSION