You need to choose your thugs, buy ski masks, some guns, have a meeting and then you’re good to go. When you’re smart, there doesn’t even have to be any blood and you can have a feeling of a job well done (while contemplating behind bars).
At least, that’s one way to do it.
We at Cleverlance had a slightly different approach to “doing a bank”. We helped build it up and became a part of its transformation from a savings bank to Creditas Bank – we are creating a substantial part of its new IT. And since we always look at the bigger picture (we are “doing a bank”, after all ☺) and the benefits to the client’s business rather than just “delivering a system”, we are better attuned to the needs and priorities of the client. Our delivery speed is much higher than that of other big players on the Czech banking market. This is partially due to the simplicity (structure of the bank, IT as well as services and products for the client), but mostly thanks to the unique IT product that we use.
I work as a project manager at Cleverlance and in this article I will show you a few situations to illustrate what such a cooperation looks like.
Scope of the solution
We are glad that our company provides a variety of services for Creditas – from the initial scope of the project (Internet Banking and Mobile Banking), the project grew to include also the development of the branch application. Along with the app, our colleagues also prepared a public web on the Liferay platform available at www.creditas.cz and we’re providing services in the field of infrastructure, safety and digital signage.
Did you know that you can log into our online banking and confirm transactions also on your phone by receiving so-called push notifications to the mobile app? This means no more annoying re-typing of an SMS code from your phone to access online banking.
Another handy feature – you can log into the app using your fingerprint. And, in your phone you can also confirm a transaction created by your accountant and awaiting your approval. Isn't that great?
Everyone can make a website. This one, though, has pretty calculators and is fully responsive (i.e., it adjusts to your devices, be it a mobile phone or a large 4k screen).
Cleverlance Multichannel
Probably the most impressive and technologically interesting feature is Cleverlance Multichannel – a system providing functionalities for users in individual linked applications, which allows the sharing of a business logic and interconnects customer care with various sales channels. Our project is unique in that it is developed using visual modelling. 95% of work on the development is not classic programming but rather consists of the definition of objects and actions in a graphical tool, where a model of the app's logic resembling a flow chart is created. Thanks to this method the development is fast and independent of ever-changing front-end technologies (for example, the modeller has never heard of the React library used to display the app to the user, and still they are capable of creating a complete solution).
If you liked playing with models (of anything, really) as a kid, you’d feel right at home in this project. The biggest team is the modeling team, who come to work to “play” with their models. They probably wouldn’t call it that after a long, hard day at work, but what really is modelling other than playing? In this specific project, they work on the above-mentioned visual model of the application: you can imagine a flow chart that graphically depicts individual actions in the app and the forms that the user sees.
Example of a model for making withdrawals at a branch office
You might have guesses that Cleverlance Multichannel offers a wide range of functions and supports the interconnection and orchestration of back-end and front-end systems. It is also highly flexible in terms of future development, which is appreciated by our clients. The picture below illustrates what it is made of and what online channels we provided to Creditas.
Cleverlance Multichannel – diagram of individual solution layers
Project team
As I already mentioned earlier, the core of the delivery lies in the customization of the Cleverlance Multichannel product, which we are developing with our team working predominantly from an office in the European Business Center (EBC) in Prague. A part of the team is shown in the picture below, other colleagues are in Brno and Bratislava.
This is us – some of us, anyway.
In addition to modellers, the project also includes other typical roles – analysts, architects, testers... I, as the project manager, am in charge of making sure everything works as a whole. There’s always work to be done and we are continuously looking for new colleagues. If you’re interested, contact us at job@cleverlance.com.
Comments on the project
Kamil Rataj, CIO Creditas and project sponsor: “Cleverlance became a key supplier and co-creator of the bank’s IT transformation. Even though we decided to implement the systems on 31 December late at night when most people are celebrating the New Year, we assembled an implementation team that made sure everything went through without complications.”
Ondřej Brom, executive director for banking v Cleverlace said (with a smile): “On one hand we feel the high expectations of our clients and sure, it is a lot of work, but on the other hand, it’s a great feeling to see things work as they should.”
Jakub D., Cleverlance, architect: “Creditas is a unique opportunity for me to design and implement the distribution channels of a bank from scratch with only a minimum number of compromises in the architecture. I believe that further development of Cleverlance Multichannel with also benefit Creditas as a bank thanks to the innovative and efficient information system.”
Jakub Ď. (not to be confused with Jakub D.), Cleverlance, analyst: “The cooperation with Creditas on the project is interesting and new in that we are creating a large portion of the IT environment while defining processes and procedures in the bank itself. This opens up a lot of space for creativity in many different areas.”
Jan M., Cleverlance, modeller: “A huge responsibility for a secure and functional application that is trusted by thousands of people.”
