SmartStream
services, I can control the amount of compute power a user can access.”
Through a managed services engagement, clients can easily scale up their access to SmartStream’s solutions, eliminating the need to build and maintain their own technology infrastructure at great expense. They are handing over their systems infrastructure to a service provider with in-depth knowledge of the cloud and of banks’ service requirements, as well as the ability to leverage AI and ML to address specific operational needs. “With a data lake, the amount of data does not
matter,” Smith adds. “Any new data goes straight into the data lake and it is still available in real time. There is no data lag. So, it is a lot more flexible. Clients have reliable, real-time access to that data and can easily query it in any way they choose.” Added to that, clients can take advantage of TLM
View, which SmartStream launched three years ago and allows clients to design self-service dashboards. Not only is all of their data readily available, but users can configure how they view that data to meet their own specific needs.
Built around the customer The curation of the managed services portfolio, the development of the solutions it contains and the cloud-based architecture on which it is delivered, reflects the fundamental ethos of SmartStream – constant innovation to keep pace with market trends. “Clients come to us with challenges, and they ask us to solve them,” says Smith. “Banks have always had
limitations on their reporting capability and creating new reports comes with a cost. Now, it is much easier for them, and it has no impact on productivity.” From his time working in the banking sector, Smith knows that there are some issues that take precedence over all others. In the age of digitalisation, security is one such topic. No matter how seamless the service delivery, and how slick the solutions, if an outsourcing partner cannot keep a bank’s data completely secure, then everything falls apart. Understandably, security has become as important an issue for SmartStream as it is for its clients. In July 2020, SmartStream achieved Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) certification version 3.2.1, level one – the highest level. This means that it is certified against one of the most trusted and, in many instances, mandatory qualifications for solution providers. SmartStream’s reconciliation platform and its on-demand software as a service (SaaS) capabilities – encompassing many of its flagship solutions, including TLM Reconciliations, TLM Aurora and AIR – have all been certified to the highest level of security standards. SmartStream has now begun to offer its clients a service designed to specifically test how secure their data is. This involves simulating a cyberattack on a computer system in order to discover vulnerabilities and potential points of exploitation. Usually, a bank would engage a third-party specialist to conduct this testing, but it is now key to SmartStream’s offerings. “As demand for managed services is growing, we are partnering with third-party vendors to handle penetration testing – known as ‘pen testing’ – which means it becomes another part of the service we offer,” Smith explains. “The process is done with full impartiality, so it enables our clients to show regulators that their data is fully secure but without having to organise their own pen testing exercises.” For Smith, this is indicative of the company’s approach, which does not try to build new capability in-house and then persuade clients they need it, but rather looks first at the challenges, banks are facing and the cumbersome tasks they must execute, and then defines how SmartStream’s AI, ML and cloud- based technologies can best be applied to solve those problems.
“It is all about the outcome for the client, and all of our developments are based on client feedback,” Smith says. “We are always driving change. Everyone is moving to cloud services now and we can help them with that transition. If I were in a bank and I were looking to do something strategic, it could take a year from RFP to vendor selection and implementation. With our constantly evolving managed services offering, that transition is much quicker.” ●
32 Future Banking /
www.nsbanking.com
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