December 2023

2023 saw the extraordinary rise of generative AI – most notably ChatGPT. Going into 2024, major tech players are developing their own large language models (LLMs) and platforms, and more and more businesses (perhaps your competition?) see the potential in Gen AI and are experimenting with use cases throughout their organizations. 

Where do you stand on Gen AI? Take our short quiz and let’s get a benchmark on where your organization is in your Gen AI journey, and how we may be able to help you with what’s next. 

Start here – Gen AI Visionary Quiz: Unveiling Your Business’s Potential 

By Gunjan Goel, Lead Partner, Banking & Financial Services – Prolifics

In the Banking and Financial Services (BFS) sector, contact centers are vital for driving customer stickiness and unlocking untapped revenue opportunities. Advanced technologies such as cloud migration, intelligent analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) provide insights that empower smarter decision-making, enhance customer service, and improve profitability.

Ignoring these digital tools can result in missed opportunities and reduced service quality. Embracing them, however, ensures efficiency, personalization, and long-term customer loyalty.

Let’s explore the four major trends shaping BFS contact centers today.

1. Moving to the Cloud

Traditional on-premises contact centers are gradually giving way to cloud-based solutions, offering financial institutions flexibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness.

Over the past two years, the number of organizations moving analytics, CRM, knowledge management, interaction recording, and workforce management systems to the cloud has increased by nearly 50% (Wall Street Journal).

Benefits of Cloud-Based Contact Centers

• Operational efficiency: Streamline workflows and reduce infrastructure costs.
• Scalability: Adjust resources up or down based on demand.
• Agility: Ensure optimal performance during peak hours.
• Remote capabilities: Empower agents to deliver seamless service from anywhere.

2. Utilizing Analytics for a 360-Degree Customer View

Advanced analytics is revolutionizing how banks and financial institutions understand and engage with customers.

By leveraging data from multiple touchpoints, contact centers can build a 360-degree customer view—revealing preferences, behaviors, and transaction histories.

Key Advantages of Analytics

• Anticipate customer needs proactively.
• Personalize customer interactions.
• Improve service quality and satisfaction.
• Strengthen customer loyalty and retention.

Analytics ensures contact centers deliver experiences that are data-driven, relevant, and efficient, boosting both satisfaction and stickiness.

3. Harnessing Business Intelligence with Power BI

Business Intelligence (BI) tools like Microsoft Power BI are becoming integral to BFS contact center operations. They transform raw data into actionable insights through interactive dashboards and reports.

How BI Enhances Contact Centers

• Monitor key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Track agent performance and efficiency.
• Visualize customer interaction trends in real time.
• Support faster, informed decision-making.

With Power BI, leaders can make data-backed decisions, drive productivity, and foster employee engagement through transparent performance insights.

4. Driving Value from AI Investments

AI is reshaping the future of customer experience management. To automate both customer interactions and agent support, contact center leaders are increasingly prioritizing AI adoption.

According to Wall Street Journal,

• 74% of organizations are testing or deploying customer-facing chatbots,
• 64% are adopting virtual voice assistants, and
• 60% are using agent-facing chatbots.

How AI Powers Modern Contact Centers

• Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML) enable real-time response recommendations.
• AI chatbots handle routine tasks, freeing human agents for complex queries.
• Sentiment analysis tools help assess customer emotions to refine engagement strategies.

By integrating AI, banks can enhance speed, accuracy, and empathy in customer interactions—leading to better outcomes and long-term trust.

Future of BFS Contact Centers

In today’s dynamic BFS landscape, contact centers must evolve to meet changing customer expectations. With cloud, analytics, business intelligence, and AI, organizations can elevate service delivery, optimize operations, and stay ahead of competition.

Prolifics’ Banking and Financial Services team combines deep domain expertise with digital transformation capabilities to help financial institutions leapfrog competitors and achieve sustainable growth.

About the Author

Gunjan Goel is an innovator, change agent, and leader with over 25 years of BFS consulting experience across North America, Europe, and India. He specializes in process improvement, customer experience, and analytics, leading digital transformation initiatives that deliver measurable business value.

Reach him at gunjan.goel@prolifics.com

About Prolifics

At Prolifics, we enable clients to accelerate their digital transformation journeys across Data & AI, Integration & Applications, Business Automation, DevXOps, Test Automation, and Cybersecurity.

Our automation-first approach helps organizations reduce costs, minimize errors, and deliver results faster.

Data privacy rules and regulations are constantly evolving – states are adding new laws while others are adding new measures to existing laws. So, it really is a matter of when, not if, you’re going to have to address data privacy.

We talked with the data privacy pros (DPPs) here at Prolifics and learned that there’s a bigger picture to data privacy that we all need to consider.

Q: Okay, so I’m a company coming in to see you all one day and I say, “Hey, I just realized I have a California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) problem, and I need some data privacy answers. But I only want the minimum viable for California, that’s the only thing I want to address.” Does that happen and how do you respond?

DPPs: Yes, it does. We see this with a lot of customers, and they do just that. “We only want the bare minimum. We don’t want a big investment here.” The problem is the bare minimum is still holistic. You have to consider all your data anyway because you’re on the hook for it. It’s everything or nothing. You can’t have half of your data being CCPA compliant and half of it not. You can’t have your structured data being CCPA compliant and your unstructured data not. It just doesn’t work that way under the law. You’re still leaving yourself wide open for fines and penalties. And that’s not just CCPA – all privacy laws follow similar logic. So, there’s no real fundamental difference between CCPA compliance and larger, overall data governance.

Q: If I need to consider all my data, are you saying privacy laws are in a way forcing data governance on me?

DPPs: The data privacy campaign or policy that’s put into place is data governance. Without the rigors of governance, meaning if you’re not following some core tenants, which is collect the data, scan the data for PII (personally identifiable information) and then catalog the data, you’re not complying with the privacy law. Those three things – scanning, identifying, and cataloging – are part of governance. Governance means you know where your data is, you know who’s using your data, internal or external, who’s accessing it and when. Companies should already have governance related to privacy issues. For example, “Hey, that individual’s name is not encrypted on this site. It’s related to a database over here where you can get access to a social security number. I need to prevent that from happening.”

Q: How do you get people to look at the larger data governance point of view?

DPPs: So, there’s no real fundamental difference between CCPA compliance and data governance. It’s all the same. You might have one policy for CCPA. Most likely you’ll have about 10 to 15, but for governance, you might have 1,000. Many healthcare organizations, like payers, have tens of thousands of policies for their governance, because they have that much data and that much information to collect and to be compliant on. So, when we’re getting into it, we’ll point out that you already have architecture, you already have hardware, you already have the information in there. Let’s broaden the scope more – beyond California, beyond whatever state will enact privacy legislation next. Let’s get a holistic data governance solution in place.

Q: Does that resonate well with clients?

DPPs: Yes, it does, because the benefit of data quality then becomes apparent. Everyone will agree that the key driver for data governance is data quality. Most companies have so much data collected, they just don’t know what they have. So, when they try to use the data in a specific way, for example marketing wants a “know your customer” (KYC) initiative, they realize they have disparate systems all over the place with different and competing data about the same customers. Then we hear the grumblings about the bad data quality they have. It’s the same bad data that makes data privacy compliance so difficult. At Prolifics we say that data is the most important asset a company has. A holistic data governance approach treats data like the valuable asset it is.

Learn more about data at Prolifics here.

Curious about the latest industry insights on data governance trends? We’ve gathered key findings from recent discussions, including insights identified at DGIQ East in Washington, D.C. These observations span diverse industries – manufacturing, education, government, and insurance – each encountering unique challenges and opportunities in their data governance practices Here’s a summary of the current data governance landscape in 2024:

• Data quality and accuracy: The emphasis on ensuring data quality and accuracy remains a focal point in the industry. Managing messy data poses challenges that can significantly impact decision-making. The consensus is clear – a robust data quality strategy is foundational for any successful data governance initiative.(1)
• Data lineage and transparency: Understanding data lineage emerged as a key theme. Companies emphasized the importance of comprehending where data originates, how it transforms, and where it ultimately resides. This knowledge is fundamental for ensuring transparency, compliance, and informed decision-making. (2) and (3)
• Identifying Data Owners and Roles: Expert advice on identifying data owners, stewards, and defining roles is paramount. Establishing a clear chain of responsibility, along with securing executive sponsorship, is pivotal for effective data governance.
• The Role of Data Catalogs: A comprehensive data catalog plays a vital role in streamlining data management processes. Creating a centralized repository for metadata not only facilitates efficient data discovery but also enhances overall data governance capabilities. (4) 
• Presenting Business Cases to Leadership: Crafting persuasive business cases for data governance initiatives is essential. The focus is on articulating the tangible benefits of improved data quality and governance to the leadership, emphasizing the positive impact on decision-making and organizational success. (5)
• Top-Down Approach to Data Governance: Initiating a data governance strategy requires a top-down approach. Securing buy-in from leadership is a critical step in aligning organizational goals with the data governance roadmap.
• Shaping Student Success with Predictive Analytics: In the education sector, a significant trend involves leveraging predictive analytics to identify students at risk of academic challenges. The application of data to predict and prevent student dropout rates showcases the potential of data-driven approaches in the education domain. (6)
• AI’s Impact on Enhancing Data Quality: Within AI data governance, a key highlight is the role of AI in enhancing data quality. Practical examples, such as leveraging AI models like ChatGPT, illustrate its contribution to improving data governance. Discussions explore AI applications for predictive analytics, sentiment analysis, and the creation of data based on customer reviews to enhance overall data governance and quality. 
• Navigating AI and Governance Considerations: Examining the intersection of AI and governance, discussions address ethical and operational considerations when employing AI in data governance. A shared concern emerges around ensuring the responsible and transparent use of AI. (7)

The many ways Prolifics can help you manage your data 

Prolifics knows data. We work with companies from many industries on a wide range of issues, providing our clients with inventive, cost-effective and technology agnostic solutions. Let us help power your success. 

• receiving data   
• the quality of the data   
• data’s role in an architecture that is purpose built   
• defining, understanding and using metadata  
• tracking data lineage   
• securing the data   
• making it available to the end users and systems 

For more on our data governance practice and client success stories, visit our Data & AI expertise page. 

Related Resources

1. Data Governance Drives Informed Choices At Top Health Insurer
2. Understanding The Value Of Data Lineage For Your Business
3. MANTA And Prolifics Announce Global Partnership  
4. How To Leverage Data Repositories For Improved Customer Experience
5. Selling Tech To Your C-Suite – 3 Tips To Make Them Say “Yes”
6. Predictive Modeling, A Tool For Student Retention
7. Avoiding AI Pitfalls with AI Governance

About Prolifics

Prolifics is a digital engineering and consulting firm helping clients navigate and accelerate their digital transformation journeys. We deliver relevant outcomes using our systematic approach to rapid, enterprise-grade continuous innovation. Contact solutions@prolifics.com or visit us at prolifics.com. 

Budgets are tight, and we’re all being asked to do more with less. At the same time, technology continues to advance, and customers are demanding more. So, how do you make the case for your organization to invest in new technology? Here are three pointers to help you get a “yes” for your major tech project.

1. Know Who Your Audience Is

Who are you trying to convince? Are you presenting to your immediate boss, another influencer, or directly to the C-suite? The final decision-maker—often the person “writing the check”—is the most critical audience.

Consider the following:

• Is the C-suite person technical or business-focused?
• What matters most to them?
• How many steps exist in the approval process?

Tip: Tailor your message to the decision-maker. Avoid preparing presentations based on your perspective—focus on what convinces them. Business benefits are often more persuasive than technical details.

2. Focus on Benefits, Not Just Features

Understanding the difference between features and benefits is crucial:

• Feature: Something the item has or does.
• Benefit: How the audience gains or uses that feature.

Best Practices:

• Don’t mix features and benefits.
• Don’t assume the audience understands the benefit just by listing features.
• Connect each benefit to your audience’s goals.

Example:
Real estate agents describe a house as “having a big backyard.” The feature is the backyard. The benefit is the experience it enables: “a big backyard where the grandchildren can play.”

This principle applies to technology as well. For example:

• Feature: Integration of warehouse operations with carriers.
• Benefit for C-suite: Faster deliveries leading to higher customer satisfaction and repeat sales.

Always highlight benefits that resonate with your decision-maker.

3. Don’t “Bury the Lead” – Include a Clear Call to Action

C-suite executives are busy. Long, complicated explanations often bury the key message.

• Lead with the most important outcome.
  Example: “This technology can generate $10 million in new sales.”
• Be concise and direct.
• Include a specific call to action.
  Example: “Please approve this new integration software purchase by month’s end so we can start generating more repeat sales.”

Clear messaging with actionable steps increases the likelihood of approval.

Key Takeaways

• Know your audience.
• Emphasize benefits over features.
• Highlight critical information upfront.
• Always include a call to action.

Following these steps will help you successfully engage your C-suite and drive key business decisions.

About Prolifics

At Prolifics, the work we do with clients matters. From improving access to medical care to protecting supply chain integrity, innovation, AI, and automation are central to our approach.

While competitors may throw more bodies at a project, we apply AI and automation to manage costs, reduce errors, and deliver faster results.

We accelerate your transformation journeys across Data & AI, Integration & Applications, Business Automation, DevXOps, Test Automation, and Cybersecurity, treating digital deliverables like customized products using agile practices.