How transformational has a dedicated data strategy been in providing the next generation of services to your clients?
We believe that data is the lifeblood of any organisation. A well-executed data strategy allows us to achieve three things:
1 – Create innovative solutions with our clients.
2 – Transform our operating and servicing models with our clients.
3 – Enable a competitive business model that differentiates us from the competition.
Gone are the days when data was only needed for reporting. Now, data is required for management information systems (MIS). Clients are asking for sophisticated data that needs to connect seamlessly into their ecosystem while reducing data latency between them and us.
At Standard Chartered, we believe that a well-defined data strategy, combined with AI, will create a competitive advantage. If data is efficiently delivered to clients, it will also help transform the servicing ecosystem.
What steps are you taking to improve data integration and transparency for your clients?
As an asset servicing provider, bringing clients closer to their data and workflow is definitely a challenge. So, how do we address this issue of data integration and data transparency? We approach it in three steps:
1 – Data Sourcing
We pull data from various back-end systems. It’s crucial to ensure that this data is normalised and rationalised.
2 – Data Integration
We integrate all data components related to asset servicing. It’s not just about securities information; we also integrate cash and FX information because that completes the ecosystem we provide to our clients.
3 – Data Consumption
Achieving steps one and two is pointless without enabling step three. Here, we offer discovery channels tailored to client personas and demands. If we align all these steps, we can effectively and efficiently address data transparency and integration challenges with our clients.
How has Standard Chartered managed to tackle issues around data fragmentation and ensuring data quality?
Data fragmentation is a real challenge, and there’s also the issue of data consistency. Standard Chartered currently operates in 39 markets, most of which are frontier and emerging markets, while also providing access to an additional 60 markets. To achieve data consistency is difficult because we must account for local nuances and varying market practices.
So, how do we align all this data to a standardised base that is suitable for client consumption? We do this through a consistent and robust data quality framework.
We have a clear data dictionary that defines how we extract data from our various infrastructures to our own data lake. Additionally, we have clear sign-offs in place to ensure that the data we pull from the back-end is accurate, timely, and fully aligned with our data models.
With all of this in place, we must also ensure that the entire SCB employee cohort is aware of the importance of data quality. Each of us has a part to play in contributing to this effort. Various initiatives within SCB have been launched to upskill our staff, ensuring they know how to enhance overall data quality.