How Deutsche Bank Group Plans to Boost Banking Efficiency with Cloud, Generative AI, and Blockchain
The Deutsche Bank Group(DB Group), the bank’s capability centre that offers a range of services to the bank’s global businesses and infrastructure functions has multiple technology enablers at its disposal that are being carefully leveraged, including distributed ledgers or blockchain, AI-ML, and a robust cloud transformation journey with Google Cloud Platform. However, the offshore entity of Deutsche Bank does not believe in adopting any black box technology without fully understanding its inner workings and potential pitfalls.
The technology centre of Deutsche Bank is exploring the possibilities of Chat GPT, Generative AI, and other ML-related technologies in partnership with Google cloud and Nvidia. Alongside this, the bank is leveraging the services offered by Google Cloud Platform to hasten the process of product development, improve operational efficiency, and make it easier to deliver products to customers.
Srikanth Gopalakrishnan, CIO for People, Procurement, Legal and Head of the India Technology Centre, Deutsche Bank Group, spoke about the importance of technology in banking. He emphasized that every industry, including banking, is a technology industry today. Customer experience is the forefront of what technology can bring to the table and faster transaction processing is enabled by technology in the background such as processing customer requests and fraud detection, which assists in faster transactions. Multi-mode interactions, such as voice-based and chat-based interactions, are becoming important, with tools like Whatsapp gaining more importance.
The cloud transformation journey, AI-ML, and blockchain technology will enable the bank to continue to grow and innovate in the coming years. Gopalakrishnan discussed the importance of collaboration between banks and fintech companies. He believes that there are areas where Fintech’s can fulfil white space and collaborate with banks to provide better services.
Sharing insight on the cloud journey, he said, “Our aggressive pursuit of cloud transformation is driven by multiple factors including efficient and expedited product development, seamless delivery to our customers and internal consumers, and positive operational impact. Additionally, we recognize the value of leveraging the Google Cloud Platform with its vast array of services that enable us to accelerate the end-to-end product development cycle. Elasticity is also an essential benefit of the cloud, which makes a critical 10-year journey for us, and we’ve just completed three year.”
He further stated, “As for our exploration of distributed ledgers or blockchains, we’re excited about their potential use for digital assets, specifically digital asset custody. In fact, we’ve already applied to the German regulators for approval to operate from a custody standpoint. Our goal is to stay at the forefront of technology by adopting innovative approaches that enhance our products, services, and operational capabilities.”
The DB group is also putting efforts on the importance of continuous learning and upskilling. The Technology center’s initiatives, such as the cloud initiation program and hackathon, which are aimed at promoting a culture of curiosity and experimentation. The technology center is currently working on several projects aimed at transforming the way they do business and improving operational efficiencies. These include strengthening controls, fraud detection, and using AI and ML for identifying patterns.
From a technological standpoint, DB Group growth has been significant. In 2022 alone, it added 2,200 people to its local team. This feat is a testament of its global assortment of technology centres, with one in the US, two in Europe, and two in India.
“Our technology development is done in-house, with India playing a pivotal role in both our strengths and the value we bring to the organisation. Our teams not only conduct research but also contribute significantly to the global ecosystem, making groundbreaking deliveries. Moreover, we’ve made significant strides in leveraging the Google Cloud Platform. More than 2,000 of our team members have gone through a cloud initiation program and are now certified engineers or architects. This focus has allowed us to accelerate our cloud work, which is primarily conducted in India.”
The DB Group recognises that in the tech industry, learning never stops. To ensure its employees don’t fall victim to becoming obsolete, it encourages 40 hours of learning every year. “This non-mandatory initiative is critical in keeping our skills up to date, ensuring we stay ahead of the curve in the ever-changing technological landscape, ” he concluded.
Stay tuned for a comprehensive video interview that delves deeper into the digital initiatives and upskilling endeavors of Deutsche Bank Group (DB Group)
