Business Review Europe magazine - April 2017

A p r il 2017

INSIDE DEUTSCHE TELEKOM How tech is evolving customer service

NLDC finds sustainability in green data TOP10 countries for colocation data centres

www.businessrevieweurope.eu

YORKSHIRE BUILDING SOCIETY: A digital journey to the new world

Phoebus powers up to extend online offering They have a bewildering number of labels: Generation X, Generation Z, the Internet Generation, iGeneration, Millennials and Post-Millennials to name but a few. They all have one trait in common: widespread use of the internet from a relatively young age.

This immersion in technology leads to a view of the world where online is not just normal – it’s actually preferable. It means that all businesses need to meet the needs of this growing demographic with products and services that provide an experience that these users are comfortable and familiar with. While 10 years ago it would have been far-fetched to suggest that banking would have much in common with gaming, this is exactly what’s now happening in the market Take Atom Bank as an example. It’s the UK’s first bank built exclusively for mobile. Taking inspiration from gaming technology, it’s redefining what a bank should be, making things straightforward, personal and easily accessible.

And it’s available through an App with log-in supported by face and voice recognition.

For Phoebus Software Limited (PSL), the emergence of Atom – in tandem with a genuine hunger by ‘traditional’ players to want to up their game – posed a challenge: How do you take one of the industry’s most reputable lending and savings platforms and make it more relevant to today’s market?

As PSL’s sales and marketing director Richard Pike explains, the jump is not as fanciful as it might first appear. “PSL is not just about delivering a great product that is

fundamental to the success of all our financial services clients. As a company we place great value on partnerships and are driven by the needs of our clients, which means that we continuously innovate on their behalf,” he says.

So when Atom was searching for a partner to provide servicing across its commercial and residential lending propositions, the Phoebus solution – together with a willingness to be actively involved – made a perfect fit.

After agreeing a five-year contract, the two companies worked together closely to deliver Atom’s commercial lending solution within six months of agreeing the requirements, with the first applications now being processed. The Phoebus commercial lending solution provides the platform for Atom’s internal team to originate loans for customers through intermediary lending. The implementation of Phoebus’ software also includes many additional interfaces and integrations to support Atom’s state-of-the-art digital offering.

Craig Iley, managing director business banking at Atom says: “Servicing a business loan should be simple, straightforward and add value to the customer’s overall management of their finances.

We chose PSL for the depth of functionality that already exists in their servicing platform and their willingness to work with us to adapt their system to support the innovative technology.”

Yet PSL is not solely working with digital-only entrants who are developing new ‘green

field’ solutions for the market.

More ‘traditional’ players are also investing more heavily in online and digital for a number of important reasons.

First amongst these, is the significant commercial benefits that online capability delivers.

Companies can drive significant costs out of their businesses by encouraging online behaviour. For customers, having the ability to see balances and check payments online reduces the need for telephone calls and letters.

In addition to lending, originating and servicing deposit accounts has always been a strength of the Phoebus solution and with the UK securitisation market remaining flat, the traditional method of raising funds through deposit taking has become more attractive for bank and lenders, with online and digital offering a viable route to this funding. In 2016, PSL launched its latest online originations solution for retail and commercial deposits to accommodate this market requirement.

“There is now a real demand in the market to take advantage of the many benefits that online can deliver,” observes Richard Pike.

“As a result, PSL has committed significant R&D to ensure our clients can take advantage of this channel and we have a number of new solutions now available. This is all built on the robust and proven loan and savings management solution which our clients rely on and trust, but which now offers a different dimension and opens up a range of commercial possibilities.”

www.phoebus.co.uk

EDITOR’S COMMENT

PLAIN SAILING HELLO AND WELCOME to April’s Business Review Europe. We kick off with an exclusive insight into the world’s most prolific broker of yachts, Fraser Yachts. CEO Raphael Sauleau talks to us about the industry and his plans for the company.

Our cover story looks at Deutsche Telekom and how the German telco is digitising its customer service functions in a bid to offer choice to its consumers. I speak to three of the main protagonists behind the transformation, which so far has delivered some tangible results.

I also spoke to three key personnel behind the rise of digital at Yorkshire Building Society, discussing how simplification of various mortgage application processes has led to a huge improvement in broker NPS ratings. This is one of several improvement programmes undertaken over recent months.

Sticking with digitisation and technology, we have insightful comment on the place for hybrid cloud in business in 2017, while our top 10 charts the countries of Europe with the most colocation data centres.

I’ll finish with a nod to sustainability and Ball Corporation, manufacturer of drinks containers for some of the globe’s most famous brands. I chatted to Ramon Arratia and Matthew Rowland-Jones about the potential for the aluminium can to be the sustainable future of drinks packaging.

As ever, join the conversation @BizReviewEurope

Enjoy the issue!

Tom Wadlow Editor tom.wadlow@bizclikmedia.com

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F E AT U R E S

SETTING A NEW COURSE

12 Hybrid cloud: Why it’s time to get on board

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April 2017

30 TOP 10: EUROPEAN COUNTRIES FOR COLOCATION DATA CENTRES

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PROFILE

SETTING A NEW COURSE As Fraser celebrates its 70th bir thday, CEO Raphael Sauleau looks ahead to a new era in the yachting industr y, steering the company’s image in line with a new, younger clientele with an added focus on transparency and responsibility Wr it te n by: TO M WA D LOW

PROFILE “THE YACHTING INDUSTRY is becoming more transparent and doing a better job of displaying itself as a real industry that provides livelihoods for people,” comments Raphael Sauleau, CEO of Fraser.

Indeed, 2017 marks seven decades of Fraser supporting the livelihoods of mariners, manufacturers, craftsmen, and crew workers around the world. It is the world’s largest luxury yacht service provider, with 150 employees and 12 offices in different corners of the globe.

And while the 70 year milestone is no

small achievement, Sauleau is as keen to look forward as he is to celebrate the past. “To mark the occasion we are running several internal events with our employees,” he explains, “but there won’t necessarily be a big major party. We want to of course celebrate that we have been around for 70 years but also send the message that we are here for the future as well.”

New heading For relatively new boss Sauleau, who joined in April 2016 after

Heliad II at anchor with swimming platform in position

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SETTING A NEW COURSE

“ The yachting industry is becoming more transparent and doing a better job of displaying itself as a real industry that provides livelihoods for people” –R APHAEL SAULEAU, CEO, Fraser

being in the shipping business for 15 years, the job is not only to maintain the company’s alreadyformidable reputation but also install a fresh impetus and focus. Targeting younger audiences, communicating transparency and encouraging social and environmental responsibility form the crux of this subtle re-imaging.

Sauleau continues: “The first six months was partly spent understanding exactly how yachting brokerage, management and charter retail works. I put things together and also had the opportunity to review the company’s image, how this has been formed over time and how we can try

to strengthen this. I don’t expect a revolution, more of an evolution which consists of some new projects which have been evident since January.

“We have an established line of customers but it is equally important to try to attract new customers who have not yet been exposed to yachting.

They might not be your buyers, but if we can expose them to yachting they may start with chartering and then one day buy a yacht from us when the time is right. The approach to this generation is different, and we are trying many things, some of which have 15

PROFILE generated some strong interest. It is about encouraging them to try yachting and share the experience, starting up a long term relationship that could lead into a yacht purchase later on.”

One such project has been the launching of a brand new Fraser website. A huge leap forward from its predecessor, the softer branding and sleeker interface makes for easy navigation and clear messaging throughout. Sauleau once more returns to the topic of transparency, pointing towards how the website acts as a new portal of news and information outlining company activities, there for all to see.

New print collateral has also been reinforcing Fraser’s branding evolution.

“We have just made a beautiful new catalogue for people’s coffee tables and we have sent this to over 4,000 people,” Sauleau says proudly.

“What is important, however, is that as soon as you get an inquiry, you have to be the first one to answer. The initial contact, the first impression, is so often the lasting factor.

“However, while we are seeking new customers, our existing customers are still possibly our greatest marketing tool. They are the ones who talk to their friends and say you should go to 16

April 2017

these guys, so we are working harder than ever to keep them with us.”

Flagship With more and more competition entering the market, the need for effective customer retention alongside attracting new clients is more important than ever before.

For Sauleau, this is a sign that the industry is in good health and heading in a largely positive direction. “2016 was another very good year, even though it was not quite as strong as 2015,” he explains. “This is a growing industry and one which has taken big steps to professionalise itself in regards to new regulations and maritime laws.”

Such growth has fuelled the rise of a myriad of smaller, agile brokers eager to challenge the yachting establishment – a trend which Sauleau sees as a boost for innovation and extra motivator for companies like Fraser.

“It is a competitive industry,” he says. “There are eight to 10 bigger companies but also a lot of small brokerages who are taking their own piece of the pie, so you have to be on top of your game. This is not only true in terms of marketing and getting your name out there, but also in

SETTING A NEW COURSE

“ The market is vibrant, things are happening” – R APHAEL SAULEAU, CEO, Fraser

PROFILE terms of staying close to your client, making sure they stay with you and recommend you to others. The market is vibrant, things are happening.”

RAPHAEL SAULEAU: A BRIEF BIO Raphael Sauleau joined Fraser as Chief Executive Officer in April 2016, having previously held the position of CEO of a UHNW Monaco based family office operating the prime real estate of the Parkview Private Collection, including developments in Monaco, bay of St Tropez, London and Beijing.

Raphael focused on ultra-deluxe, iconic concepts and brands including the mega yacht SALUZI. His wealth of maritime experience was accrued during his fifteen years spent working at VShips, the leading global maritime provider specialising in high value maritime assets, and from which Fraser’s Executive Chairman Roberto Giorgi also originates. Sauleau held the position of Executive Director of Crew Operations for VShips leisure division worldwide, responsible for all cruise lines, yachts, hotels and resorts as well as led the V.Ships Cargo Crew Division of Monaco, responsible for 60 shore staff and 8,000 crew members.

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April 2017

Transparency Although already boss of the world’s leading luxury yacht provider, Sauleau is determined to establish points of difference in other areas from environmental stewardship to flag bearing for the industry as a whole.

To mark the company’s 70th birthday, Fraser is partnering with Plastic Oceans, a charity dedicated to cleaning up oceans and shifting attitudes towards waste. More than eight million tonnes of plastic is dumped into oceans every year, oceans which are crucial in stemming the tide of climate change. Far beyond a birthday celebration gesture, the company has been working closely with management and yacht owners on sustainable practice and technology.

Sauleau adds: “We are making big efforts to become more involved in environmental work, and while we have just started with Plastic Oceans, this is something we view in the long term and want to see through. Yachting has a big role to play in ensuring

SETTING A NEW COURSE

Hanse Explorer ’Parked’ in the ice at the Antarctica

the preservation of our oceans.

“The yards themselves are also working hard at developing new technologies in an effort to become more sustainable. Yacht owners are playing a big role in this cleaner approach, for example using battery technology to save fuel.”

Supporting and publicising these projects all helps to transform perceptions of the industry, which feeds into Sauleau’s long term ambitions.

“Often we see yachting as a somewhat glitzy, rich and famous world, but at Fraser we want to display

yachting as an industry which provides employment all over the globe, and an industry which has rejuvenated traditional craftsmanship which is in danger of disappearing,” he says.

“The job is to make sure we’re here for another 70 years. As a company of course we want to maintain our position as the biggest seller, but also as a leader in terms of transparency and image. We want to be building partnerships and helping to preserve our oceans while educating the general public about the positive role the industry plays around the world.”

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TECHNOLOGY

HYBRID CLOUD: WHY IT’S TIME TO GET ON BOARD Olivier Robinne, VP EMEA at Veeam, charts the rise of hybrid cloud models and explains why it is a sound investment BUSINESSES ARE NOW accustomed to maintaining multiple datacentres for their failover, backup, recovery and availability needs. But they need to apply the same principles to data storage in the cloud – whereby a single cloud will no longer suffice.

The integrity of data and services is a major priority for businesses. It’s therefore important to get the right 22

April 2017

W R I T T E N B Y: OLIVIER ROBINNE

mix of on-premises and various as-aservice offerings, to ensure data is always available and synchronised across various platforms. The key to this is hybrid cloud.

Hybrid cloud is set to be one of the biggest, most valuable technology opportunities for businesses over the next few years. Research firms have confirmed this trend, with IDC stating

that organisations will require a mainly cloud-based IT environment by 2019, while 451 Research has claimed that public storage spend will double in the next two years as demand for on-premise storage declines.

Indeed, our 2016 Availability Report found that, despite investing in their datacentres, 82 percent of businesses admit suffering an

availability gap between how fast they can recover applications and how fast they need applications to be recovered. They are therefore unable to meet end-users’ requirements for an always-on business.

Predictions of hybrid cloud’s promise are already being reflected by the world’s largest technology organisations laying major plans 23

TECHNOLOGY for a hybrid future. For example, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and Microsoft recently joined forces to create an innovation centre in Seattle that will speed up hybrid cloud adoption and help customers test hybrid solutions and use cases, such as HPE / Azure Stack environments.

AWS and VMware have also partnered on a hybrid cloud offering that Amazon claims will allow customers to use VMware’s virtualisation and management software to deploy and manage workloads across all on-premises and AWS Cloud environments.

While back in November, NetApp announced that it will be moving the focus of its business to the hybrid cloud, claiming that the transformation to organisations relying on flash and the cloud for data storage was “inevitable” in the next few years.

And, perhaps most tellingly CERN, the European organisation for nuclear research, is piloting a hybrid cloud scheme to support its high-performance data-intensive research. The project will be powered by 7,000 servers and 190,000 cores and is being partly funded by the European Commission.

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April 2017

Why hybrid?

These examples highlight the growing importance and potential of hybrid cloud. Disruptive leaders across all industries are increasingly embracing the public, hybrid and multi-cloud space, and those that still aren’t will soon find themselves left behind.

Hybrid is gaining in popularity as it provides the flexibility and data deployment of private cloud, along with the security assurance of on-premises, private cloud – effectively giving businesses the best of both worlds.

As the name suggests, it allows businesses to store data in both public and private cloud environments, with both communicating over encrypted connections independently of each other. This is a key point, as organisations can now store their most important or sensitive data on the private cloud while storing other resources on public networks.

But before making the leap into hybrid cloud it is vital to consider the reasons for doing so. Businesses must map out the implications of the move, the types of workloads they want to use it for and the business outcomes they are looking to achieve before

HYBRID CLOUD: WHY IT’S TIME TO GET ON BOARD

Veeam Availability Platform for the Hybrid Cloud Private Cloud / On-Premises

Veeam Cloud Connect

Veeam Availability Orchestrator Disaster Recovery Orchestration for Enterprise

Veeam Cloud Connect Veeam Cloud & Service Providers (VCSPs)

Veeam Availability Console

Private Cloud & Virtual Workloads

Veeam Availability Suite

Public Cloud & Physical Workloads Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows

Veeam Cloud Connect

Veeam Agent for Linux

Managed Cloud

Public Cloud Compute

Storage

they embark on the hybrid journey.

Guarantee data availability The rising demand for cloud is ultimately being fuelled by businesses wanting to embrace the digital transformation process. The modern enterprise needs to be founded on key technologies provided by virtualisation, modern storage systems and cloud technologies to be fully transformative. But this puts strain on the availability of data and information as it involves updating legacy systems and investing time and money.

It is therefore critical that availability is put at the forefront of any digital

Networking

Hyperconverged

transformation or hybrid cloud strategy. This will ensure that when applications and workloads are being moved across various infrastructures there’s a backup and disaster recovery plan in place to guarantee that downtime is not an issue. Success in digital transformation will ultimately be reliant on data and application availability in the hybrid cloud.

Businesses and consumers alike increasingly expect their data to be available at all times, wherever they are. The new generation of IT workers are used to a world where around the clock services aren’t just a convenient, nice-to-have feature, but a guaranteed 25

TECHNOLOGY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Olivier Robinne joined Veeam in 2011 as vice president, Southern EMEA before being promoted to vice president, EMEA in April 2015, also adding the South Asia region to EMEA in 2016. He is in charge of driving sales and revenue for the EMEA region, as well as coordinating all marketing operations and services.

Prior to joining Veeam, Robinne spent nine years with Dell, in roles including sales director for Strategic Accounts, and vice president, Southern Europe Global Accounts, where he was responsible for developing value-add sales offerings. Prior to this, Robinne was sales manager at BMC Software and Sterling Software. Robinne is a graduate of L’Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Arts et Métiers.

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matter of fact. The growing popularity of Software as a Service, and hybrid cloud, allows public cloud services to differentiate themselves from their competitors by ensuring customers can operate around the clock.

Therefore, nothing less than 24.7.365 access to data and applications will be acceptable as enterprises look to new technologies that help them to deliver on customers’ increasingly demanding expectations – and this need has never been more important. The growth in data is already high but it’s going to reach exponential levels that will put even greater strain on legacy IT systems.

The hybrid opportunity Companies that succeed in getting ahead of the competition by going cloud-first will be those with a hybrid approach. However, there still aren’t enough enterprises leveraging the lower cost and flexibility benefits of the public cloud, and there remains an assumption that data must be kept on-premise due to perceived security issues. As attitudes change, enterprises must look to go beyond simple application testing in the public cloud environment.

HYBRID CLOUD: WHY IT’S TIME TO GET ON BOARD

Hybrid cloud needs to be used in a way that benefits the individual organisation, and its workloads. For example, a university may choose to move some of its workloads to the public cloud to benefit from its scale and responsiveness at particularly busy times during the year. Events like A-Level results day and clearing will see the university dealing with a vast influx of data, which its on-premise setup may not be able to handle.

Ultimately when it comes to cloud deployments, if you aren’t ahead then you’re already behind. This means that companies must have a clear cloud strategy in place before they invest properly in cloud infrastructure. At the core of this is ensuring data and information is available at all times.

The days when consumers and businesses were willing to accept downtime for any service are long gone and, while the next few years will bring plenty of uncertainties, we can be assured that the importance of data availability — anywhere, anytime — will only grow.

Enterprise Continuity Recovery Service Level Objectives of less than 15 minutes for ALL applications and data; Disaster Recovery (DR) orchestration

Workload Mobility Availability for workloads across any cloud or location, to maximize IT investments and increase flexibility

Compliance & Visibility Proactive monitoring and reporting, and automated testing & documentation, to ensure business and regulatory requirements are met 27

TOP 10: EUROPEAN COUNTRIES FOR COLOCATION DATA CENTRES Where in Europe will you find the most colocation data centres? We take a look at 10 of the most populous nations on the continent, according to research from www.datacentermap.com Writ ten by: TO M WA D LOW

TOP 10

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TOP 10

10 ROMANIA NUMBER OF CENTRES: 43

More than half (22) of Romania’s colocation data centres reside in the capital city, Bucharest, with the rest spread across nine other regions in the country.

The Romanian telco sector is being expanded and modernised rapidly, resulting in vastly improved domestic and international service, especially in wireless telephony. This has led to an increase in demand for data centre providers.

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09 RUSSIA NUMBER OF CENTRES: 47

Data centres are going nuclear in Russia, with Rosenergoatom in the process of building a nuclear powered data centre in Udomlya. The first phase is expected to come online in March 2017, with the second phase arriving in summer 2018.

The estimated cost of the project is some $975 million.

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TOP 10

08 SWEDEN NUMBER OF CENTRES: 48

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the lion’s share of colocation data centres in Sweden are to be found in Stockholm (29). Sweden boasts a highly developed telecommunications infrastructure ranked among leading countries for fixed-line, mobile-cellular, Internet and broadband penetration. Luleü is home to a data centre used by Facebook.

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07 ITALY NUMBER OF CENTRES: 53

Milan (19) dominates the Italian data centre space, with others evenly spread around the likes of Rome, Florence, Bologna and Turin.

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TOP 10

06 SPAIN NUMBER OF CENTRES: 56

Among Spanish data centre operators is Itconic, the largest Carrier Neutral data centre services provider in Spain and Portugal, operating five top tier data centres. Most of Spain’s data centres are housed in Barcelona (14) and Madrid (19).

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E U R O P E A N C O U N T R I E S F O R C O L O C AT I O N D ATA C E N T R E S

05 SWITZERLAND NUMBER OF CENTRES: 70

The safest nation on earth for data storage. Combining independent data from the United Nations, World Economic Forum, Transparency International, Global IntAKE and Control Risk, the new international benchmark from Artmotion examines a range of key security factors - from the quality of digital infrastructure, to political instability, to the potential risk of natural disasters. The benchmark identified Switzerland as the least risky nation for data storage, receiving a “potential risk score� of only 1.6 percent.

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TOP 10

04 NETHERLANDS NUMBER OF CENTRES: 89

The Netherlands is one of Europe’s hot-spots when it comes to connectivity and therefore also colocation data centres, due to its central location compared to the large nations in Europe and the fibre routes in to the region. The primary internet exchange is AMS-IX, that is one of the world’s largest and available through multiple facilities in Amsterdam.

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03 FRANCE NUMBER OF CENTRES: 141

With more than 140 colocation data centres, France is key player in the European market. There are facilities spread out all over the country, but the capital city Paris is also the primary location of the nation’s data centres and internet traffic exchange as well. Paris is also a key location for European networks, with traffic exchanged at for example France-IX, POUIX and SFINX. 39

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02 GERMANY NUMBER OF CENTRES: 182

In December OVH announced that it is setting up in Germany, where the cloud expert has just acquired a facility. It is the group’s first data centre in this country, and two more are planned over time. With a capacity of about 45,000 servers, this German data centre will be located less than 1 millisecond from Frankfurt. It will benefit, via this PoP, from a direct connection with Brussels, Strasbourg, and Zurich, and then Paris, Amsterdam, London, and Milan. This data centre is expected to be operational in April 2017.

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01 UK NUMBER OF CENTRES: 239

London is Europe’s data storage heartland, with more than 70 colocation centres scattered through the UK’s capital. London Docklands is the most attractive location, where the central internet exchanges LINX and LoNAP have their bases. Interestingly, Tariff Consultancy’s recent Datacentre Europe Pricing report has spotted a shift by operators away from inner cities to further afield, citing reasons such as terrorism, real estate costs and power security.

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FROM DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION TO MOBILE INNOVATION As the importance of digital in almost all companies grows, there is increasing emphasis on the Chief Digital Officer (CDO), not just as a spearhead for digital transformation but as a ‘jack of all trades.’ Many believed, wrongly, that the role of the CDO was essentially to make his or herself redundant - in achieving full digital transformation at a company, there would be by definition no reason for the role to exist. But this belief failed to take into account one of the defining features of digital: It’s ever-changing. The constant and dizzying evolution of technology demands a similar evolution in the C-suite, and where the CDO was once vying for a position at the table, it now commands a leading role.

Alongside the rise of prominence of the CDO, mobile has exploded and is now a key strategic concern for businesses the world over. Mobile users in the UK spend an average of 66 hours a month browsing on a smartphone, and mobile recently overtook desktop as the primary medium for internet consumption. This presents both huge challenges and equally exciting opportunities for brands. Mobile means that companies can reach their customers wherever they are, and the opportunity for location-specific marketing is only beginning to be properly explored now. The growth of chatbots and messaging app integration is something all brands should be aware of, too, and the very relationship brands have with them.

But mobile doesn’t just affect the customerfacing aspects of a business. We are now at the point where it is impossible to separate mobile from the wider role of digital in a business’ daily operations. Employees can be very feasibly more remote and round the clock availability is possible (if not always desired).

With this is mind, this 27-28 April will see Innovation Enterprise play host to the Digital

Innovation Festival London. At the home of Chelsea Football Club, Stamford Bridge, the Chief Digital Officer Forum will take place alongside the Mobile Innovation Summit. Across the twoday event, the pertinent issues from both huge industries will be discussed at length, from some of both industries’ leading voices.

The Chief Digital Officer Forum will focus mainly on adapting business culture following digital transformation, as well as driving innovation and implementing digital development. It will cover everything from the differing role of the CDO in traditional and online companies to how to get your team onboard with data & analytics. Among those speaking at the event will be Philips, the BBC, the NHS, HSBC, Lloyds, News UK, BBC Sport, Clarks, Time Inc., and many more.

At the Mobile Innovation Summit, attendees will hear insight from the likes of American Express, Compare the Market, Virgin Active, UNEP, Shazam, Telegraph Media Group, Daily Motion, and many others. The key topics of the event will be the implementation of mobile-first strategies, the importance of user experience (UX), the growth of mobile payments, how brands can capitalize on mobile advertising in 2017 and how to build an effective mobile app.

On top of the insight from digital and mobile’s leading voices, the festival will provide opportunities for attendees to meet, discuss the industry and share ideas with other executive-level decision makers.

Through panel discussions and organised networking sessions, the summit will ensure that every attendee has the opportunity to be heard and potentially find the next great solution for their company.

All readers are entitled to £200 off two day passes using the code BRE200 on either registration page.

O FFERI N G T H E D I G I TA L CHOICE Written by Tom Wadlow Produced by Danielle Harris

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Deutsche Telekom has embarked on a digital journey to transform its customer service offering, from introducing new smart services to adopting agile working methods internally

I

t is difficult to think of a job that is being transformed more by digitisation than a customer service agent.

The days of the traditional call centre are numbered. In its place, multichannel contact centres that deal with enquires not only by phone, but also email, web chat, text and social media across numerous devices.

Deutsche Telekom (DT) is one organisation embracing this new world of digital customer service.

One of the world’s largest telecoms operators with 156 million mobile customers and 225,000 employees spread across 50 countries, provision of support to customers is no mean task. In Germany, some 68,000 people are dedicated to ensuring its consumer base remains happy.

However, in order to remain happy in the future, customers are demanding a choice of different ways of being served. Almost 85 percent of under

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30s expect access to services around the clock, while one in four euros will be spent online by 2020.

Digitisation is coming, and DT has already started to make its move.

Step-by-step Indeed, the company’s progress towards digital customer service can be grouped into four major parts: new digital services, working mode and culture, communication and education, and robotics and AI. At the forefront of the transformation is Gero Niemeyer (Managing Director Customer Service, Telekom Deutschland GmbH), Franz Weisenburger (SVP Customer Experience Management) and Dominik Bauersch (SVP Customer Service/New products & Services).

Asked how far the company has travelled already, Weisenburger points out that there are, technically,

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“We took a very clear decision to adopt a mobilefirst approach, whereas before it was about websites” –G ero Niemeyer, Managing Director Customer Service, Telekom Deutschland GmbH w w w. t e l e k o m . c o m

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“IN THE END, IT’S ABOUT AN INTERACTION OF PEOPLE AND TECHNOLOGY.” Sebastian Zeiss, VP Automation & Department Development at Deutsche Telekom Technical Services, explains how smart robotic process automation (RPA) can be used to digitise customer and technical services.

>>

Deutsche Telekom uses over 500 software robots and more than 20 internal processes are automated to 90 per cent.

Nevertheless, the involvement of humans is indispensable.

Sebastian Zeiss

Visit us at www.anothermonday.com

» What prompted you to digitize your service divisions?

Consumers worldwide increasingly communicate through a variety of communication channels, including email, chat, telephone or social media. We want to give our customers the freedom to choose how they wish to communicate with us.

However, there are also business motivations: Digitisation can help to cut costs in this area significantly.

Software robots support us along the way of automating customer and technical services.

» How do you digitise your

service areas? Can you tell us about some of the challenges with the implementation?

has developed numerous robots for us. At present, Deutsche Telekom uses over 500 software robots and more than 20 internal processes are automated to 90 per cent. Nevertheless, the involvement of humans is indispensable.

» What are, in your view, the

advantages of using RPA? How has the process automation improved the service functions of Deutsche Telekom?

It allows, for example, to design processes more efficiently and cost-effectively in this area. As a result, we are achieving above-average automation rates of between 80 and 99 per cent and potential savings of more than 75 per cent.

What is more, customers are very happy about the service and this is a very important aspect for us. The use of software robots from Another Monday has led to significant efficiency gains, higher productivity and improved customer satisfaction. RPA technol-

>>

of looking up basic information. As a result of the more efficient workflows, employees can concentrate on complex queries. Customers and employees benefit equally.

» With artificial intelligence and

machine learning, the possibilities are continually evolving.

How do you see the evolution of your customer services against this background?

We need to follow developments in this area very closely. Another Monday is a key partner for us on

Another Monday not only offers us the required technology, but it also researches the future of RPA.

In the process of digitising customer services, aspects such as all matters of smart process autoartificial intelligence and robotic mation. Another Monday not only process automation (RPA) play a offers us the required technology, key role because they help to make but it also researches the future of processes more efficient. Concrete RPA. At the same time, it also enexamples include screen navigation, sures that the impact of using RPA copy-paste functionality and the is not too drastic, and instead serves digital assistant. In the area of techas a cooperation model with nical services, an humans. Despite all the innoRPA app on mobile The use of software robots from Another Monday vations and developments, devices helps us to has led to significant efficiency gains, higher it is important to bear in manage the deployproductivity and improved customer satisfaction. mind that technology cannot ment of our technicompletely replace agents. cians very efficiently.

While bots are an important At the beginning of addition, they are not a substitute in such a project, it is essential to deogy has become an integral part of several areas of the communication fine precisely where you are headed our everyday work. It allows us to process. and to have a reliable partner to acrespond to questions quickly and company you along the way. In this reliably across the various commuregard, we rely on the support from nication channels. Digital assistants Another Monday. The company has resolve problems independently and been involved from the outset and rapidly. If a bot is unable to meet a has played a crucial role in shaping challenge, the query is immediately the roadmap. Within a very short routed back to the agent. The auperiod of time, Another Monday tomation is focused on the process

>>

DEUTSCHE TELEKOM

another three years of the five-year programme to go. However, as Bauersch adds, it is more complicated than running across a timeline.

“It is difficult to answer exactly how far we’ve come to date,” he says. “It is not a result of a disruptive move, more of a step-by-step approach. We always start small, run pilots, carry out trials, ask for feedback and find out if things work. If they do work we start to let them grow. For example, our webchats started on a tiny base for one to two years, then we decided to go for it.”

Despite the complex nature of the transition, some tangible markers have been laid down. Already DT is seeing 5.6 million visits a month to customer

service websites, while solution rates have risen from 32 to 42 percent, helping online customer satisfaction reach 120PP, versus 80 for call. It is also being proven from an economic standpoint, the company predicting the period 2015-2019 will deliver about €350 million in cost reductions.

While the benefits of digitisation appear overwhelming, Bauersch is quick to emphasise that this is about offering a quality choice of services.

“I think an important point to make is that this is not a digital-only plan for customer service,” he explains.

“We believe in offering customers the choice between digital and a personal service like a call back.”

Deutsche Telekom’s Magenta App. has been downloaded more than a million times

TECHNOLOGY

“We don’t believe in discriminating channels - that’s the reason we don’t hide phone numbers on our website” – Franz Weisenburger, SVP Customer Experience Management

And Weisenburger adds: “We don’t believe in discriminating channels - that’s the reason we don’t hide phone numbers on our website.”

New digital arrivals Deutsche Telekom’s most significant new digital service comprises the reinvention of the Magenta App. Downloaded more than a million times in the space of seven months,

customers are taking to the new features, which include bill details for fixes or mobile contracts, actual data volume, video-chat and easy contact options, along with options for customers to manage contracts and receive push notifications. It is one app for all service and sales functions.

“Fifteen months ago we had an app which was rated at 1.5 stars,” says Weisenburger. “We had to change nearly everything, from the team to the way we work, in order to become more agile. There are a lot of new features which have stabilised the app and now we have a rating of 4.5 stars and 4.5 million users.

It has come a long way in a short time. We have just won an award for the best telco app in Germany.”

For Niemeyer, who heads up the customer service team containing Weisenburger and Bauersch, a shift in focus has been the key to recent progress. “We took a very clear decision to adopt a mobile-first approach, whereas before it was rather about websites, keeping them up to date and doing the back-end integration. We relocated a lot of

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ALMATORobots at your Service.

perform better.

Deutsche Telekom Implements Robotic Process Automation Project with ALMATO „We are thrilled to be the company chosen by Deutsche Telekom, as it shows that we, as a German RPA company, could convince through our expertise as well as local proximity.

It confirms once again that we have taken the right path early on: the automation of previously manual processes leads to a considerable increase in efficiency and a significant competitive advantage for our customers.“ Peter Gissmann Managing Partner, ALMATO

R

obots have already conquered factory floors. Now, robots are entering more and more offices. Since March of 2015, Deutsche Telekom has implemented almost 400 software robots with ALMATO, one of the pioneers in Robotic Process Automation (RPA).

Higher efficiency through automation RPA‘s digital robots automatically handle a wide range of different business processes, e.g. chargebacks or contract changes.

Within less than two years, ALMATO has automated more than 40 different processes, including complex ones with handling times of more than 10 minutes.

With RPA, Deutsche Telekom was also able to implement new, innovative processes that would have been too costly without automation.

Using digital robots, employees are freed from mundane work so they can concentrate on more challenging tasks.

The fully automated handling of processes enables higher efficiency compared to manual work and leads to time and cost savings as well as more satisfied customers through an increase in service quality.

Seamless integration and significant cost reductions

„RPA integrated seamlessly with our complex system environment.

By automating key processes with high volume we were able to achieve significant cost and time reductions after just a short time.“ Christoph Bill Head of Infrastructure and Workflowmanagement, Deutsche Telekom

“We created our own center of excellence to speed up the adoption of automation. Throughout all project phases, whether analysis, robot creation or operation, the collaboration with ALMATO is very professional.”

Sebastian Zeiss VP Automation, Deutsche Telekom

Over 300.000 automated business transactions each month Overall, the robots currently work with over 30 different applications (e.g. e-mail management, SAP, Siebel CRM, routing and ticketing systems) and successfully complete 320.000 business transactions each month. The project is still evolving, with new processes continuously identified and added to the automation roadmap.

ALMATO GmbH Obere Wässere 9, 72764 Reutlingen info@almato.com www.almato.com

DEUTSCHE TELEKOM

design capabilities and budget into mobile, and now the app and mobile is the most important area we focus on. It has proven to be a very good decision – we are a lot more agile in our development.”

Whether wanting to call, receive a call-back or use webchat, customers can now choose the best option for them via a magic button on the app and in the future on DT websites. By selecting the appropriate service issue, they will be able to see waiting times for available experts and make a choice on which channel is best to proceed with their enquiry. Customer data is then transferred to the agent with the most appropriate expertise to deal with the question at hand.

Even traditional call methods of customer service have been brought into the digital age thanks to SMS and IVR call-backs. “Our call-back function is grounded in smart data,” says Weisenburger, “so if you’re using our Magenta App for moving houses then the call back will connect you with someone who specialises in moving houses. We try to deliver a seamless experience, even when you

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decide to switch between channels.”

In addition to traditional call back, Deutsche Telekom has developed and launched a personal call back service which allows you to reconnect with the agent you have recently spoken to. “That’s one of the most annoying things for customers – calling several times and explaining the while story again from the beginning,” adds Weisenburger, who also points out how this has impacted the role and mindset of the service agent. “This is a benefit for the customer but also impacts the culture and way our agents work. There is added accountability.

If I don’t deliver excellent customer service then any complaint will come straight back to me. The customer has my name and number and I am in charge of making sure they are happy.”

Community collaboration Sometimes the best placed person to answer a question is a fellow Deutsche Telekom subscriber. Telekom-Hilft is an award-winning digital feedback platform with more than two million unique visitors a month, a platform to discuss all things telecoms from a

TECHNOLOGY

“We relocated a lot of design capabilities and budget into mobile, and now the app and mobile is the most important area we focus on” –G ero Niemeyer, Managing Director Customer Service, Telekom Deutschland GmbH w w w. t e l e k o m . c o m

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TECHNOLOGY

B2C and B2B perspective. Now fully between the customer community functional on mobile, it is a hive of and web development teams. discussion and debate for DT users.

“Every year we invite the 30 top “Managing this platform is somewhat community engagers, who answer different to managing a contact centre, more than 1,000 customer queries as customers are not looking for an or conversations a year, making answer from a Telekom service agent,” it quite a time intensive hobby for explains Bauersch. “A big proportion them. We discuss the Community of these customers want to exchange IT improvements roadmap and ask with other customers, though some them what they need to improve use it to share complaints, so the service they deliver we have to be prepared to their peers in the for both uses.” community. This is not If a customer has just about technology a request which – it is about dialogue definitely requires and feedback Annual revenue input from a service management,” of Deutsche rep, then DT will Bauersch explains.

Telekom respond within two hours, “You need great whereas general questions teamwork and a common into the community will be left spirit between IT, Website for 24 hours before an intervention and Customer Care teams.” providing another customer has not already answered appropriately.

Education: bringing “Often we just give a like to digital to the masses a response on a community For customers who may not be as discussion, to confirm that the digitally savvy as those in the nucleus answer from the user is good of Telekom-Hilft, service agents are advice,” adds Weisenburger, who playing an active role in communicating describes the close collaboration the benefits of going digital.

€70bn

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DEUTSCHE TELEKOM

For example, if a customer is calling up to ask about a bill, a more convenient alternative to a phone conversation may lie in one of many self-service options such as the app or website. Having answered the query on the phone, a customer service agent will then explain the other options for future reference, sending a personal email explaining the digital solutions.

“We are finding that satisfaction

“This is not just about technology – it is about dialogue and feedback management” – Dominik Bauersch, SVP Customer Service/New Products & Services

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rates are higher when we do this,” says Bauersch. “We were not sure how customers would react to the selfservice offer because we do not want to make it seem as if the customer is not welcome in our service centre. The usage of self service has increased, so the approach is working.”

Click through rates on links and services sent in these emails is above 30 percent, much higher than

TECHNOLOGY

most B2C emails which often are sent out in automated campaigns.

“It is very different from a CRMbased email campaign,” adds Niemeyer. “The email is part of the personal one-to-one conversation and also part of the solution to the customer’s question in itself.”

Agility Much of the digitalisation work to date has been facilitated by an internal

shift to more agile working practices.

It is something which Niemeyer and his management have worked hard to instil from the top, a culture which has trickled down the whole customer service organisation.

“It is always a bit tricky to say how we do this, and how to make sure it sticks,” Niemeyer says. “It is a lot about leadership and top management leading by example and using these different approaches,

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DEUTSCHE TELEKOM

not just making their teams do it.

“We also found it works better to use different methods on concrete things, what I would describe as ‘normal business’. Often you see workshops on ‘how do we become agile’, which is a thing in itself. Instead, we did workshops on specific things that can make us more efficient – things that are, on the face of it, boring things like scanning documents and document fraud. We are trying to apply

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agile, different methods to normal things we deal with every day.”

The Magenta App development is a prime example of this agile culture and cross-collaboration in practice.

In a short space of time, 23 different versions were created and delivered to customers, with 371 completed stories and 1,018 bugs identified and fixed.

Alongside the bigger projects, an UX squad approach involves interdisciplinary teams (internet,

TECHNOLOGY

customer service reps, ux designer, AI enhancement programmer and texter) working The fourth and final major element together to improve minor elements of of DT’s customer service digitisation the customer journey on a daily basis. involves the use of robotics and artificial By analysing customer behaviours, intelligence to enhance processes. the team fix one (sometimes tiny) issue Costing just €6 an hour to run, the every day in what is a continual process company already operates with 500 largely left alone by management. The robots which have automated up to team has defined its own success 90 percent of more than 20 internal KPI: happy website visitors. processes, from screen navigation Communication has been and data entry to copy of critical importance, and paste activities. and this has come from At the customer the top. Bauersch facing end, DT’s first adds: “We launched digital assistant is a team day initiative carrying out about The number of several years ago, 5,000 dialogues staff at Deutsche where teams can a week, helping Telekom go and talk about customers to resolve trends in the industry and problems without having at Deutsche Telekom, and last to call a contact centre agent. The year we focussed on digital culture, pilot chat bot has been successful digitisation. There was a video so far, despite some initial caution message from us and discussions from the likes of Weisenburger. “In around how we can use new tools the early days we were not sure if our to improve customer service and customers would be willing to use this, why we start to sell our self services but it has been received very well. It is like products. As Gero mentioned, it solving problems quickly and clearly.” starts at the top and it was important But what if the robot cannot get it that we led those discussions.” right 100 percent of the time? Niemeyer

225k

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“For me the next logical step is to take the chat bot conversation and continue this with an agent conversation in webchat” – Dominic Bauersch, SVP Customer Service/New products & Services 64

April 2017

TECHNOLOGY

explains: “The chat bot follows the same decision tree as the tech guys in the service centre do, so what we have learned in the service centre regarding the best ways to respond we have programmed into the chat bot.”

“If the bot cannot solve your problem, it will advise you to call the service centre, “Bauersch adds. “For me the next logical step is to take the chat bot conversation and continue this with an agent conversation in webchat. You don’t have to switch the channel, the agent simply takes over from the bot.”

Rise of the machines We end our conversation discussing how much integration of AI can and should take place over the coming year. For Bauersch, a key target is the early stages of conversations between service agents and customers.

“For instance, the first minute of the conversation is always the same – how can I help you? Do you need help with mobile or fixed line? May I have your customer ID, address and date of birth?

We believe this part of the conversation can be handled efficiently by a bot.”

Another potential avenue for a

pilot bot to thrive, with Deutsche Telekom about to trial on Facebook and Twitter an automated feedback process. If the customer reveals to the robot after the dialogue that their question was not answered, they will be reconnected to the agent.

The level of success regarding implementation of AI is all about finding the appropriate balance, as Weisenburger states: “We don’t believe that technology will replace agents completely within the next years, rather it will help them to give better responses.” Indeed, Niemeyer adds that “technology is not yet advanced to a stage where you can replace whole processes. It is more about which part of the interaction can be supported by a bot.”

Fast forward to 2020 and the end of Deutsche Telekom’s five-year customer service transformation programme, and it will be fascinating to see what this balance looks like.

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YBS: on a digital journey to the new

world

Written by Tom Wadlow Produced by George Tweed

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YORKSHIRE BUILDING SOCIETY

Yorkshire Building Society’s mission is to become the UK’s most trusted financial services provider, being simply brilliant at delivering mortgages and savings services across all available channels

“

People don’t care if you’re back office or front office. They care about the end-to-end transaction and the level of service,” says Stephen White with a degree of assured honesty, describing how digital has broken down boundaries once seen in traditional finance organisations.

“A group of smaller financial services players, I believe, will emerge in the next five to 10 years and be seen as providing something fundamentally different – a new world of finance.”

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BUSINESS SERVICES

Stephen White Executive Director and Chief Operations Officer Stephen is responsible for the Group’s Operations functions, including Lending, Customer Services, Arrears and Collections, Property and Procurement, the Group’s IT, Information Security and Change Management. Stephen has 20 years’ experience in financial services, most recently as Group Chief Operating Officer at Allied Irish Bank. His previous roles also include Executive General Manager at National Australia Bank and management roles at Ernst & Young, Royal Bank of Scotland and Abbey National, where he started his career as a branch manager.

And for Yorkshire Building Society to lead that group, this means delivering on the vision to become the country’s most trusted provider of being simply brilliant at mortgages and savings.

White has been Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer at Yorkshire Building Society (YBS) for just over a year.

He is fully aware of the magnitude of the task ahead, but equally

convinced it can come to fruition.

“Back in the 60s the bank manager on high street was one of the most trusted people you knew, up there with doctors and lawyers. The financial crisis in 2008 destroyed trust in financial services companies across the board. The trust is not there. I was approached

by YBS to try and recreate something different in the market.

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YORKSHIRE BUILDING SOCIETY

“I’m not saying we’ve achieved it yet but we certainly can achieve it. Building societies have a unique opportunity because we’re not a bank and don’t have shareholders, we have members and can really focus on that service proposition, the key differentiator.”

White’s new world vision emanates from time spent in Asia and Australia, regions with different approaches to banking. A proud Scot, he is the first to admit the UK has fallen behind other more innovative parts of the world.

“That really shaped my thinking around what the realms of possibility are for financial services here,” he adds. “From 2009-2014 I was in Australia with NAB, in charge of customer processing and payments, and part of that role was also looking

after the customer servicing in the international offices, which included Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, New York and London. This gave me real exposure to different forms of technology and digital and what was happening elsewhere in the world.”

A new challenge Family priorities brought White back home in the summer of 2014, where he initiated a digital restructuring and transformation journey at Allied Irish Bank (AIB). Approached last year by YBS, he decided to take on a different, though not dissimilar challenge.

Such a challenge can be outlined in three major strands, the first being complexity brought about by rapid growth and acquisitions post-2008 crisis. The business doubled in size, and with that came new brands and

“Do we want to become more digital?

Yes. Do we still believe in branches?

Yes. We want to provide a seamless experience across all of our channels” – Stephen White, Executive Director and Chief Operations Officer

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product ranges. Second is cost control and pressures created by new regulation, coupled with the need to innovate. This has created a necessity to become as efficient as possible without sacrificing the final component of the challenge – meeting ever-heightening customer expectation. The demand for easier, accessible and more personal services has grown exponentially alongside the proliferation of multichannel communication.

“I believe YBS is small enough to be nimble but at the same time large enough to meet these challenges and change the market,” White comments. “This is a five year journey, and five years is not even an end point. However, we’re already starting to make a difference.”

Indeed, YBS already sees significant volumes of online traffic.

More than 560,000 of the building society’s three million customers are registered to use its online services, amounting to 3,000 daily transactions.

YBS also has a history of being an early mover. Back in 2007, it became the first bank or building society to

YBS at a glance Bricks and mortar: 99 agencies, 208 branches Reach: 3.1 million members, more than 560,000 using online services Assets: £39.6 billion People: 4,500 employees Diligence: 8,500 members on panel to review products and services

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YORKSHIRE BUILDING SOCIETY

facilitate debit card payments as a way of paying mortgage fees and into online savings accounts. A year later, YBS became the first UK lender to allow mortgage applicants to complete an entire application online. Conveyancing was also brought into the online mortgage application process in the same year.

mortgage and savings applications process on mobile.” The amount of existing borrower transfers being carried out online has also risen, last year seeing a jump of 60 percent.

Webchats are also being incorporated into the YBS website, again helping customers to achieve more online.

Further enhancing the convenience factor for customers is a Mortgages: the 10-minute mortgage meat and drink agreement in principle And it is mortgages service, rolled out last where the most year. “If you’re looking impressive to buy a house, one progress has been of the first things an The year Yorkshire made in recent estate agent will ask Building Society months too. Enter is whether you have was founded Nick Mortimer, Head a mortgage agreed. of Marketing and In terms of ease, Ecommerce, responsible simplicity and confidence, for key brand messaging and it really helps,” Mortimer continues. driving ecommerce activity.

Overall turnaround times were “Mobile devices, especially halved during the course of tablets, are delivering much greater 2016. Average turnaround for an volumes of mortgage application application now lies at around 11 traffic,” he explains. “Around 40 days, compared with 23 just over a percent of our applications begin year ago. Central to this has been through mobile devices, and we are listening to feedback from brokers, about to launch a fully-responsive who account for around 60 percent

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BUSINESS SERVICES

The secret to satisfied customers?

Top talent.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is the market leader in customer satisfaction, rated by 1500 CXOs across 13 countries in Europe as the company they were most satisfied with in the IT Industry. We believe that the main driver of satisfaction is our extremely talented workforce of 371,000 global professionals. Our relentless focus on hiring and retaining the best talent, has seen us recognized as a top employer in Europe yet again in 2016. Nothing drives customer satisfaction quite like top talent. No company drives certainty quite like TCS.

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YORKSHIRE BUILDING SOCIETY

Award winning Yorkshire Building Society recently enjoyed a triple success at the PEX Network Process Excellence Awards, held in Florida. The world’s most prestigious process excellence awards, YBS won two of the three categories entered, finishing runner up in the other.

The recognition at PEX includes: Winner of Best Start Up Business Process Improvement Program (Under 2 Years) – Our Improvement Journey to Success Winner of Best Process Improvement Project Under 90 Days Bereavement Process Review Runner up in Best Project Contributing to Customer Excellence - Improving Broker NPS for Mortgage Applications The Group claimed also fared well at the Moneynet Personal Finance Awards 2017. Yorkshire Building Society was named Best First Time Buyer Mortgage Provider and Best Offset Mortgage Provider, while Norwich and Peterborough Building Society (N&P) picked up the award for Best Fixed Rate Mortgage Provider for the third year running.

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of YBS lending. Introducing a system where individual underwriters take ownership of cases has proven key to speeding up the system.

This had led to a remarkable improvement in Net Promoter Score (NPS) ratings, with brokers (and customers) up and down the country benefitting from the newly streamlined process. Broker NPS has risen from -11 to 46 in the space of a year.

Another important metric underlining these improvements comes from KPMG Nunwood and its Customer Experience Excellence Analysis, which ranks YBS 27th best in the UK across all industries examined.

Though much has undoubtedly been achieved, more is required.

Head of IT Andy McCleod, already a key protagonist in White’s team, will have an important role to play. “There are so many other things to focus on once you have your mortgage offer, and we are starting to ask whether we can intervene in other parts of the process,” he says. “The typical home buying process takes 120 days – what can we do to improve that? Working with our brokers has been one way

BUSINESS SERVICES

“This is not necessarily about big projects, rather making sure that everything we do is grounded in customer understanding and insight” – Nick Mortimer, Head of Marketing and Ecommerce we have successfully explored.”

“How do we get it to less than five days?” White asks. “How do we get it to one day? These are the questions we are now asking ourselves.”

Behind the scenes Reaching a one-day mortgage turnaround may appear like a huge project to be undertaken, but YBS’s success to date boils down to a series of smallerscale, fast moving initiatives.

“This is not necessarily about big projects, rather making sure that everything we do is grounded in customer understanding and insight,” explains Mortimer. “What we did last year was examine every fine detail that matters to our customers, making a series of small changes. Our NPS

improvement is all down to these small, detailed bits of work we have done with the customer at the centre.

Commercially we also had our best ever year online. Our agile, fleet-footed approaching is paying dividends.”

White agrees, adding: “The whole concept of how we deliver change is evolving. Twenty years ago you would create a project, give it some money and implement it, and for some things that works. But once you start a project it is very hard to stop it, because that is the way the organisation’s culture works – you give the money to see it through.

So what I did at AIB was bring in an experimentation culture I found in Australia, which involves setting aside some investment to learn fast and move fast. If it works, great. If it

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ENABLING USERS AND THEIR BUSINESS

Computacenter is Europe’s leading independent provider of IT infrastructure services, enabling users and their business. We advise organisations on IT strategy, implement the most appropriate technology, optimise its performance, and manage our customers’ infrastructures. In doing this we help CIOs and IT departments in enterprise and corporate organisations maximise productivity and the business value of IT for internal and external users.

Get in touch to find out how Computacenter could enable your users and business www.computacenter.com | enquiries@computacenter.com | 01707 631000

BUSINESS SERVICES

doesn’t, close it down and move on.” from Adobe SiteCatalyst, which Mortimer’s ultimate objective is offers visibility of how consumers to open up digital space to more of are using YBS web services and the YBS customer base. This will points out possible inefficiencies. involve a mixture of promotional Clicktale software records customer and educational activities with sessions and displays heat maps customers, as well as making showing patterns of click throughs, digital processes simpler. which can help YBS to place its most “I see my role in this digitisation important messages in parts of web journey as the voice of the displays where customers customer,” he says. naturally look.

“There is something in Running in tandem the DNA of YBS that to this is what puts the customer Mortimer calls at its heart, and I “common sense speak about this from stuff”. Whether Number of employees this be simply my own experience at Yorkshire at bigger banks. spending time in Building Society The competitive contact centres product portfolio talking to customers and customer experience directly about their becomes a powerful combination, experiences, gathering colleague and my job is to communicate that suggestions based on what they to as many people as possible.” hear on a daily basis, or monitoring Mortimer and his team use a huge social media, it all contributes array of insight tools to track and to creating a bigger picture. analyse customer behaviour, helping “We listen to all of these feeds and to inform investment decisions. This have a very long list of things we want includes use of segmentation models to achieve, and filter these based on through to more detailed analyses what can deliver a genuine difference

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for both the customers and the Group,” Mortimer adds.

“There are two broad ways our customer insight work joins up with our change teams. We’re constantly looking at tactical fixes and quick wins, for example testing different versions of websites and seeing which ones work best with our customers before deploying live.”

Accessible appointments The second type of outcomes are more structural changes which deliver new capability.

Mortimer points to a recent breakthrough in mortgage appointment booking as the perfect

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example of this in action.

He begins by outlining the issues identified with the legacy system. “We recognised that from a cross-channel perspective it was pretty clunky in terms of customers requesting to get an appointment in branch – it was a very manual process which involved call backs between branch staff and customers. We have all had call backs at times when we’re either at work or not by our phones.”

Customers can now book a branch appointment directly into a mortgage advisor’s diary via a fully automated

system, also receiving free email alerts and text prompts. This has led to a higher proportion of applications being completed, which in turn is boosting satisfactions ratings and even led to YBS being shortlisted for Best Digital Service Initiative at last year’s Banking Technology Awards. A project lasting a total of nine months, this involved close collaboration with BookingBug, and has led to more than 3,500 appointments being made online, which translates to around 15 percent of all appointments.

Mortimer continues, pointing to another feature of the new

Nick Mortimer Head of Marketing and Ecommerce Nick is accountable for the Group’s brand strategy, marketing communications and e-commerce capability. Prior to joining YBS Nick held a series of senior leadership roles at Barclays Bank in strategy, commercial and marketing positions across retail, premier and business banking divisions

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system. “We can also do some prequalifying studies with the customer as part of this process, where we set out what we need from a mortgage customer.” Not only does this save time a for a customer who YBS would not be able to lend to, but also helps staff to schedule appointments that are more likely to result in a completed mortgage journey.

Partner power The mortgage appointment breakthrough highlights the massive benefit to be reaped from leveraging the expertise of partners.

Indeed, the biggest eye-opener for White in Asia and Australia was the potential of partner power, beyond simply outsourcing to reduce costs. “Now it is about a multitude of factors as well as cost, including economies of scale, risk mitigation, access to resources and agility with digital,” he states.

McCleod’s remit as Head of IT very much involves the establishment of a strong, agile partnership network; a network that appreciates and understands each

other’s requirements, ambitions and approaches to innovation.

“The challenge facing the industry at the moment is one of ‘what is a digital strategy for an organisation?’” he says. “Our partners are very keen to understand that so they can respond with services and applications to support and enable it. So while our partners may or may not have a distinct digital strategy, they will understand what our future is and allow us to become more agile by, in many cases, connecting up applications that already exist, rather than building their own.”

Again these partnerships and technology investments circle back to the needs and expectation of YBS customers, with McCleod’s decisions as Head of IT very much intertwined with the priorities of Mortimer’s marketing function.

“Vendors are creating more adaptable models so they can provide unique experiences for each different business, regardless of the industry they are serving,” McCleod continues. “Brand isn’t just about the YBS logo, it is about the

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experience we give. Customers are increasingly basing brand loyalty on values, so this means we must work even harder to deliver compelling communication and experiences.”

Partners in action Often it is transformation at the back end which can optimise internal processes, and thus lead to more effective end-to-end delivery of services for customers. Creating an agile digital workspace is one major priority currently being explored with the help of Computacenter.

The basic premise behind the partnership is to allow YBS colleagues to choose how, where and what device they want to work on.

“We’re not talking about mortgage application workers here, as this is regulatory controlled,” McCleod explains. “We’re talking about knowledge workers and those in leadership roles and how they can become more creative at problem solving. We have a myriad of applications that can help our colleagues but they’re difficult to deploy, often because of

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licensing models being expensive and thus limiting our choice. So Computacenter has been looking at this dilemma to help us give people more flexibility, more freedom and more mobility to work in a way that is most effective for them. It is an interesting and exciting dynamic.”

Enabling further flexibility within the organisation is the work carried out in partnership with HP. The computing giant is helping to renovate YBS’s core infrastructure to establish greater connectivity to applications that have already been built. This will allow more efficient distribution of resources in the future, while helping YBS to consider whether on-premise or off-premise models work best for a particular function. “Business models in our industry are beginning to shift and the ones that are able to connect to other data sources and business model transactions will bear fruit,” McCleod observes.

Another key partner is IBM, especially when considering its work around creating what White describes as a fully functional customer hub. “We have carried

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out a lot of positive work with IBM around our customer hub, and there is still much to do,” he says. “The customer hub maximises our use of data to develop better service for our customers, and IBM will continue to be a key influencer on this.”

Sharing the wealth Away from mortgages and savings accounts, an important line of business for YBS is the facilitation of company share plans. YBS Share Plans offers the full end to end digital customer experience for corporate clients and their employees, whilst recognising the need to support these with traditional telephone and postal processes, enabling customers to communicate with us through their preferred channel. The service covers client on-boarding and all related employee engagement channels through the life of the plan, to the vesting/maturity.

YBS Share Plans connects with other businesses in financial education and wealth management to support employees in making the right choices when joining a

plan or at vesting/maturity, when decisions need to be made taking into consideration tax liability when individual financial advice might be appropriate for example.

This again materialises from a network of partners working in tandem, with YBS at the core. “We work with several vendors to deliver this service, and this ecosystem of clients and vendors use YBS as a hub, which is an important part of that customer’s journey from joining a share plan to realising the growth in their savings and shares over time,” explains McCleod “We are helping customers by connecting them to the relevant information to support them in making the choices that are right for them, taking the lead in the overall project planning and logistics around delivering a cross-industry model; and we believe this is a digital business model in its own right that can be evolved further.”

What does the future hold?

As these lines between traditional financial service providers and

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quick-to-market fintech companies continue to dissolve, a natural endpoint to our conversations sees a discussion on how far YBS will head down the digital road.

For McCleod, the overriding vision is simply for YBS to become the number one in the market. “Our vision is to make YBS the best provider of mortgage and savings experiences,” he says. “To do this we have to compete with everybody and make sure our offering is better than theirs.

If you follow that through logically, we will get to our one-day mortgage experience, and brokers will be able to deal with more customers.”

How much digitisation this will take, is an intriguing question, and one that McCleod believes is an important conversation to be had.

Part of this conundrum is neatly

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summarised by Mortimer. “This is still a complex process,” he says, “and we do not want to trivialise or oversimplify a mortgage application. We need to convey the important messages – this is a big decision for somebody to make in their life. This said, there are ways to communicate this that can help customers navigate the process much better. It is a constant evolution.”

And it is this balancing of the scales which White has pressed from the beginning – the need to excel in all channels, not forgetting that one of those still lies in-branch.

He concludes: “Do we want to become more digital? Yes. Do we still believe in branches? Yes. We want to provide a seamless experience across all of our channels, recognising that our digital channels are going to grow.”

BUSINESS SERVICES

Andy McCleod Head of IT Customer Focused for 29 years.

Background in Property, Surveying, Asset Management, Arrears, Share Plans, Contact Centre Management, Business Process, IT Outsourcing Solutions for Banks and Building Societies, IT as a Service and IT Shared Services, IT Strategy & Business Engagement, Information Security and Mergers & Acquisitions.

More recently working with IT colleagues who are leading the development of engaging IT Frameworks which improve customer service at reduced costs standards.

An ambassador for Digital across YBS Group and charities and organisations in Yorkshire.

Outside of work love to travel, scuba dive, attempt to get fit and will be working hard to energise as many as possible to raise funds for End Youth Homelessness.

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Green Data Written by NELL WALKER Produced by DANIELLE HARRIS

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NL-DC

We talk to NL-DC about its incredible sustainability innovations, and the ways in which its newfound independence from KPN is being utilised

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ith sustainability and green credentials an ever-present and increasingly important issue across all businesses sectors, some companies stand out as champions of innovation in this area. Dutch NL-DC is known for its reliable and energyefficient data centres in Aalsmeer, Almere, Eindhoven, Groningen, Oude Meer, and Rotterdam, all of which are cloud and carrier-neutral and allow optimal access to the world’s telco and data networks.

NL-DC may appear to have burst into the industry as already the leading provider of data centres in the Netherlands, but it has in fact been part of the KPN group for many years, and at the start of this year broke away as a daughter company.

NL-DC is now the name of KPN’s colocation service, allowing it to dominate the market with freedoms not previously afforded to it. The company’s offerings are now able to be far more diverse and customerfocussed, and NL-DC already boasts an enviable reputation.

Building a brand “It wasn’t easy to remove ourselves from KPN and strike out alone,” says Paul Driessen, Commercial Product Manager.

“And it wasn’t done in a day either,” adds Cees Greyn, VP Services.

“We knew we could do better. A project team was created, which both Paul and I were members of, and we investigated how we could do better. We needed more focus, and because KPN is a telco, the market didn’t see our data centres as carrier-neutral. Customers demand carrier neutrality as a major element which should be supplied. We were carrier neutral already, but our name was attached to the provider – KPN – so moving away from that allowed us more opportunities.”

Asked if being a part of KPN proved restrictive, Driessen replies: “It’s fairer to say that we now have more room to maneuver. It’s wasn’t restrictive as such, we just have more possibilities now and focus on data centre business. We wanted to go in a slightly different direction which

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Electrical system

Water mist system

Emergency generator

HVAC

What we do We build high quality electrical systems, HVAC, emergency generators (incl. fuel supply) and water mist systems for data centers. We provide new installations and upgrade or expand your present system.

How we work We always make an all-out effort. We are flexible with qualified and motivated employees. We are your one-stop partner for all technical installations and strong logistics. Our prefab components make sure that your data center has no downtime.

What drives us We have had a strong passion for technology for over 75 years. We are committed to supplying innovative and sustainable technical products and solutions that enhance the security of our customers.

Who we are We are Hamer. We design, install and maintain technical systems. We are located in the Netherlands and Belgium and have over 350 employees.

For more information visit www.hamer.net

Hamer is a NLDC key partner

NL-DC

the customers were demanding.”

Part of this freedom is the ability to move further into international markets. KPN is focussed on the Dutch market, but in Driessen’s words, “the internet and cloud do not stop at the borders of a country. It’s different for telcos because usually the country defines the telecom company, but we knew that a lot of what we try to do and will be doing is coming from abroad, giving us an international perspective on things.”

NL-DC is not, however, planning to build new data centres in other countries for the time being. For now it is more concerned with the expansion of its brand, and the continual improvement of the facilities it already has: “What we’re doing is trying to bring focus to the company,” says Driessen. “If you’re a company that wants to come to Europe, then come to the Netherlands and the biggest Dutch data centre provider there is – that’s us. We have 50 or 60 years’ experience in data centre management, so we know what we do and we’re part of a healthy group.

That’s the news we want to spread.”

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“IF YOU’RE A COMPANY THAT WANTS TO COME TO EUROPE, THEN COME TO THE NETHERLANDS AND THE BIGGEST DUTCH DATA CENTRE PROVIDER THERE IS – THAT’S US” –P AUL DRIESSEN, Commercial Product Manager

Security While NL-DC does not offer digital security, as part of its effort to be as expansive a resource as possible to the customer, it will provide options and point them in the right direction: “It’s like we’re renting out apartments,”

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“FORTOP CRUCIAL FOR OUR RELIABILITY”

Ronald van Veen technical product manager NLDC Harmen Sikkema managing director fortop

NLDC/KPN has been using Janitza meters for twelve years Fortop has been providing Dutch telecom company KPN with Janitza meters/analysers for twelve years now, which is crucial for the optimum availability customers expect from the company. “Thanks to the good connections fortop has with Janitza, the meters are fully adjusted to our specific requirements. This means we can optimize the reliability of our data centres,” says Ronald van Veen from NLDC.

text: Erik Driessen photo: Ben Vulkers | Vulkers Fotografie

NLDC is the new name for the company in which KPN has placed its colocation services since this year.

In this way, the telecom company is better able to respond to market developments. NLDC manages six data centres and uses over twenty buildings.

“These are all equipped with fortop meters. The same applies to the 1,400 KPN buildings,” Van Veen says, emphasizing the close relationship between his company and fortop/Janitza.

Availability is essential Van Veen is technical product manager at NLDC. He designs data centres and sets them up, including the associated installations. He also checks if current data centres still meet the latest requirements.

“The availability of ICT services is essential for our customers. These services have to be available at all times: 24 hours per day, seven days a week. Therefore, we have to provide a sufficient supply of energy and prevent overload. To this end, it’s essential that we have continuous and clear insight into our complex installations. Meters have been fitted in all consumers, feeds and intersections. By intensive measuring we attain high service reliability. Fortop is a vital link in the chain.”

“IT IS ESSENTIAL WE HAVE CONTINIOUS AND CLEAR INSIGHT INTO OUR COMPLEX INSTALLATIONS” However, the Janitza meters do a lot more for NLDC. “In the unlikely event that a problem is detected, we will analyse in detail what may have caused it. In this way, we want to prevent the problem from recurring.

This information, too, is extracted from the meters of fortop,” Van Veen explains. The meters also yield important business economic information. “Data centres consume enormous amounts of energy, and we want to handle these as efficiently as possible. In this process, the meters are indispensable. Another important aspect is the fact that they give us the information we need to be able to send our invoices at the end of the month.”

Van Veen is very happy about the reliability of Janitza.

He points out that the first meters were installed twelve years ago. “Technology will always have its flaws: the question is not if something breaks down but when. We are very satisfied with the life of the meters, though. Many meters are older than ten years and are still working smoothly – an absolute necessity in this sector: they can’t keep breaking all the time.

Luckily, the Janitza failure rate is really very low.”

Van Veen is not only enthusiastic about the quality products of Janitza but also about the added value of fortop. Both companies closely collaborate to their mutual benefit. “Fortop understands very well the importance of availability for us and our customers.

The direct connection fortop has with Janitza comes in very handy for us. Together we have been able to explain clearly what we are looking for, and so the standard products from Janitza are tailored to our needs. Fortop has gained much knowledge, which it can put to good use in other sectors.”

Providing the best possible solution Van Veen likes the idea that fortop intends to be in it for the long haul. “They don’t aim at selling as many products as possible but rather at providing a client with the best possible solution. They do this with a keen eye for detail. It’s the very reason why we’ve been each other’s key partners for twelve years.”

THIS IS FORTOP Complete insight into your energy quality, and the greatest safety and reliability of your machines and installations. Aspects that are critical for your business processes.

Fortop is data centre specialist. www.fortop.nl | www.janitza.com

NL-DC

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Driessen explains, “and we say ‘here’s the key’ and strongly advise you to use a good alarm system – but if you don’t, it’s up to you. KPN offers security measures, but if the customer wants to work with another company, they can implement whatever they want into the environment.”

NL-DC does, however, cover the necessary physical security elements, including fences around data centre premises, high walls, cameras, guards on-site at all hours of the day, and state-ofthe-art locks so that the customer can be assured that there is no physical threat to their data.

“NL-DC MAY BE THE MOST SUSTAINABLE DATA CENTRE PROVIDER IN THE WORLD” – CEES GREYN, VP Services

Partnerships Invaluable to NL-DC’s success is, of course, the company’s partners.

SPIE-ICS is a long-term contracting partner, and is responsible for building the company’s awardwinning tier IV data centre in Eindhoven in just six months.

“That project was very successful from a commercial point of view, on top of winning several awards,” Greyn explains. “People talk about partnerships, but it’s about more than just doing good business together. With SPIE we have a true partnership conducted in an open and constructive way.”

For engineering contracting services, NL-DC relies upon Royal Haskoning DHV, which expands upon the company’s own work in a priceless way.

“We have our own technical team which is responsible for the infrastructure design of our data centres, but when we need to upgrade and build something new, Royal Haskoning brings it to the next level,” Greyn explains. “It’s important

ENGINEERING WORLD CLASS DATACENTERS Royal HaskoningDHV is an independent, international engineering consultancy providing services for the entire living environment. Our work contributes to the sustainable development of the communities we work in all over the world.

We believe meaningful solutions cannot be created without collaboration with our partners, clients and other stakeholders. We enhance society together.

Proud Engineering Partner of

Contact: Martien Arts, Director - Mission Critical Facilities T: +31 88 348 6550, M: +31 6 51846333, E: martien.arts@rhdhv.com

royalhaskoningdhv.com/datacenters

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to have partners which add value to the ideas you already have.

“Hamer is a mechanical contractor which worked together with SPIE on the Eindhoven project – specifically for the mechanical part – and they also work on other data centres in NL-DC,” he continues, “and ForTop Automation & Energy Control supplies us with a measurement system for the electricity used in the data centres.

We measure all the variables and see where we can adjust settings, and can see our customers’ energy usage, meaning they only pay for the energy they actually use. This is a really detailed and efficient system that ForTop supplies.”

Being green Now to the most impressive element of NL-DC – its sustainability credentials, the innovation for which has all been developed in-house by the company’s technical team. In 2015, the company was honoured with two awards for its tier IV data centre, which boasts the unique function of using all of its generated heat rather than wasting it. It is used locally to

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The current number of NL-DC employees heat offices in Eindhoven (on the High Tech Campus), and while this is already remarkable, the company is planning to expand on this idea.

Jeroen Vollmuller, VP Operations, is working with the Aalsmeer community towards using this same technology in the heating of the mayor’s office, a local swimming pool, a school, and several commercial buildings.

As with the offices which are benefitting from NL-DC’s waste heat, this involves NL-DC building a system in an existing environment, which simplifies the process. “It’s a very interesting project and gets attention from other municipalities,” Driessen says. “This is a data centre creating – together with all the mentioned parties – a system in which a heat exchange is placed in an existing environment.”

“As far as we know, it’s the first

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‘People talk about partnerships’ – SPIE is your partner.

The ambition of SPIE is to be the European multi technical service provider for data center owners with regard to design, construction and maintenance.

OUR VALUE ADDING SERVICES: • Industrial approach for designs, construction & smart maintenance. Using a standardized and smart method so we can serve the national and international companies uniformly.

• CSR – HSE Q as part of our daily work we embrace the care of the environment, the safety of your and our people. Therefore we are known with the latest and most efficient techniques which we use to achieve these goals.

• Support provider role we are able to offer our smart hands & eyes on the largest internet hub’s in Europe. With this service we have a focus on data center owners, cloud providers, managed hosting providers, system integrators, enterprise, broadcast and telecom companies with a need for “On-site Support”.

SPIE, sharing a vision for the future Address: Huifakkerstraat 15, NL-4815 PN Breda, Netherlands Tel: +31 (0)76 544 54 44 www.spie-nl.com/ (Netherlands only) www.spie.com/en (SPIE Group)

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28,000M2 / 22.5MW NL-DC current capacity of 28,000 m2 and 22.5 MW offers customers attractive options for rapid deployment time it’s ever been done,” adds Vollmuller. “Everybody talks about it, but nobody has done it. We are preparing it at the moment and we hope we can start delivering it at the beginning of next year.”

More amazing still is the work NL-DC has done to achieve the prestigious DatacenterDynamics Sustainable Data Centre Award in 2016. An award that was offered last year for the first time ever, NL-DC was honoured to receive it, and it stands as a physical representation

of the incredible innovation required to achieve the technology it won for.

“What did we do?” Driessen begins: “Data centres have to be very reliable sources of energy for computer systems. If the power grid fails, diesel engines take over to ensure the customer experience has no downtime – something that we offer as a guarantee. The diesel engines have to go from zero to full power in a couple of seconds to ensure that, but you can’t do that with a cold engine.

If you tried to do that with your car

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NL-DC

NL-DC has also been 100 percent CO2 neutral since 2011, because it only uses a combination of wind energy from the North Sea, and biomass energy from the Golden Raand powerplant in the north of the Netherlands

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99.999999% NL-DC innovations in data center design help to maintain an uptime track record of 99.99999% every time, you wouldn’t get more than 10,000km out of your engine, so what you have to do is pre-heat them – like what happens with fire engines and ambulances – meaning you can go full throttle immediately.

“The heating of those engines is typically done by electrical systems which use nine kilowatts each. In Aalsmeer, we have 14 of those machines in a row, all needing to be pre-heated. That takes a lot of power, so our invention came from the knowledge that we

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need to heat the engines and that we create heat as a waste product. So we created a heat exchange, and figured out we could set the temperature as low as 45 degrees Celsius, which is 15 degrees cooler than the norm.

That’s why we won the DCD award.

Again, it’s something that had been talked about but nobody had done it. How did it feel to win? Brilliant!

Because our peers recognise what we do as being quite special, and something that might have a big impact on data centres worldwide.”

“Heating the machines uses the same amount of energy as approximately 300 households,” Greyn adds, “which is a huge amount, but it can be prevented. It’s good for the environment, good for our children, and for the preservation of the future.”

“Plus the lifespan of this technology is between 16 and 20 years,” says Vollmuller. “The return on investment is around 24 months, so the finance guys are also happy.”

NL-DC has also been 100 percent CO2 neutral since 2011, because it only uses a combination of wind

energy from the North Sea, and biomass energy from the Golden Raand powerplant in the north of the Netherlands. They are both local powerplants, so the energy does not have to travel far, and this is what is called ‘dark green energy’. Of course, none of these achievements are enough for NL-DC, and the company is still striving to be better.

“We want to take everything a step further,” says Driessen, “because a maximum of 10 percent of the total energy available used in the Netherlands is green. Our aim is to try and cut back on the use of energy as much as possible and have as little impact on the limited available green energy as possible all the while maintaining the high quality service we supply our customers with.”

While the company still considers itself to have a lot of work to do, Greyn proudly concludes: “NL-DC may be the most sustainable data centre provider in the world.”

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Up in the cloud Written by Nell Walker Produced by Danielle Harris

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T R A V I X I N T E R N AT I O N A L

Business Review Europe speaks to the CTO of Travix International, Rob McDonald, about how his team has transformed the company’s IT processes and, as a result, the business

S

ometimes, when multiple businesses come together with the view to form something bigger and better, it’s difficult to get themselves organised in a way that best utilises the combination of their strengths. Consolidation isn’t

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easy, and it is at this critical point where companies often employ somebody with experience in business transformation to guide the way.

Enter Rob McDonald, CTO and CPO at Travix International, one of the leading global online travel agencies which is part of the BCD Group, and operates under the brand names CheapTickets, BudgetAir, Vayama, Vliegwinkel, and Flugladen.

As well as flight tickets, Travix offers attractive pricing for hotels, rental cars, insurance, parking, and transfers, and operates across 35 countries with over 500 multi-national members of staff. The company mantra is ‘we move people’, and aims to provide the full package of services necessary for travellers who choose it.

Travix is the combination of

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The company mantra is ‘we move people’, and aims to provide the full package of services necessary for travellers who choose it three businesses (CheapTickets, BudgetAir, Vayama) merged into one in 2011, yet they each continued to operate separately until McDonald stepped in two years later.

“It was pretty challenging,” McDonald admits. “At that point there was no real integration yet; nothing had changed on either the IT

or the business side. Once I joined, we made some quick decisions and said ‘this is what we now need to do’. We changed our strategy and short-term plan accordingly to focus on optimising what we had, so we could drive the maximum business value from our existing platforms. The technology teams were instantly on board and excited to be part of the plan for a big future.”

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Collaboration.

Innovation.

Better Journeys.

For 30 years, Amadeus solutions have kept the travel sector moving – from search to booking, from pricing to ticketing, from managing operations to managing customer experiences. Today, we help our customers all over the world improve the travel experience for billions of people a year.

And we’re just getting started.

We’re committed to making the future of travel even better – to connecting the industry, harnessing new technologies and finding new ways to make travel more rewarding – for 30 years to come.

Let’s shape the future of travel amadeus.com

Success doesn’t happen by chance: embrace evolution with the right technology partner!

In the travel industry, the consumer journey is fast evolving and is on the brink of momentous change: travellers expect answers that are faster and more relevant to their immediate needs than ever before.

Innovative technology, such as mobile personal assistants or chat bots, artificial intelligence and big data are already part of people’s lives. In such a fast changing world, many players’ future could now be at a crossroads. But success doesn’t happen by chance. In adapting to these changes, collaboration is the key to ensuring that travel retailers’ performance is not affected.

Amadeus is a leading technology company dedicated to the global travel industry. Our solutions help improve the business performance of travel agencies, corporations, airlines, airports, hotels, railways and more. Thirty years ago, we started with a vision and worked hard with our partners to build a better way to connect the world of travel.

Our relationship with Travix dates back many years and is based on a close collaboration that has grown

stronger over the years. We’re working together with a view to make booking travel faster, more rewarding and personalised. Today, we’re proud to accompany Travix on their transformation journey. We power Travix’ air content and are helping them diversify their offer beyond air.

Our cutting-edge technology will accompany them to the next level.

Rob McDonald, Chief Technology Officer at Travix says: ‘Amadeus has been our leading technology partner of choice since day one and has been instrumental to our steady growth. With the support of Amadeus innovative technology, we are fully equipped to continue on our journey, which will translate into a better customer experience.’

Sébastien Gibergues, Head of Online, Leisure and Travel Media, Global Customers at Amadeus IT Group, commented: ‘It’s a real pleasure to work with Travix: thanks to their creativity and innovation mindset, they are making the most of our leading technology to stay at the forefront of the industry evolution.’

T R A V I X I N T E R N AT I O N A L

Merging the three While McDonald was forced to build an entirely new business process, this wasn’t entirely new for him. Prior to joining Travix in 2013, he had worked on front end and middle-tier level platformbuilding, but the huge end-to-end scale of this project was uncharted territory.

McDonald admits he sometimes became frustrated that the process couldn’t move as quickly as he desired, due to the sheer number of elements involved, but that was a part of what made it so satisfying: “The team was totally engaged and up for the challenge. In a large scale program like this there are many opportunities for teams to step up and make a difference, and that is what I saw. We were able to adopt new technologies and really up our game across the whole technology stack.”

Prior to Travix, McDonald’s career was predominantly in the travel agency sector, beginning with Online Travel Corporation PLC, a start-up acquired by lastminute.com which he then moved on to, and followed that with a role at the company lastminute. com was bought by, Travelocity.

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500+ Number of employees at Travix International

He then worked for five years for Rank Group PLC, deviating from the theme by delving into the world of gambling with brands like Mecca Bingo and Grosvenor Casino, before stepping into his current role.

Technology McDonald joined Travix prepared for a sizeable challenge, and fortunately the existing staff were ready and willing to take on whatever was needed.

“It was pretty obvious what needed to be done,” he explains. “It was

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just a matter of making a decision and moving forward. I got the senior team on board and said ‘this is what we need to do’, and just went in that direction. The technology teams knew what to do but had previously not been allowed the freedom to go that route, and so the inevitable had been deferred for a long time. Once we got stuck in it took about two and a half years to complete the consolidation of the technology platforms.

“It was very much a consolidation integration story. We had a very

successful and sizeable business, but so much complexity in the technology area. The moment I started we made a big change around in terms of the teams, focussing on our ability to deliver in three layers; front end, platform, and back office (ERP). We had to accommodate all the functionality we needed from all three businesses to make sure that when we migrated, we were ready to go. We didn’t have one system that would work long-term so we re-used parts of our business logic layer, and

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then for the most part built it from the ground up.”

A major challenge that struck during the transformation was in trying to integrate truly global requirements into a single system. One of the platforms had been built from the ground up to suit the North American market: “The US business model for travel is very different; they had a lot of complex functionality and capabilities that we don’t necessarily use in Europe,” McDonald says, “so when we had to migrate their platform – the hardest platform we had to work with – the stakeholders were managed very carefully so we didn’t miss anything. They were relatively happy with what they had and didn’t want to lose anything, but at the same time wanted to take advantage of everything they’d get on the new platform.”

Once the platforms were securely consolidated, the focus turned to tooling in order to streamline each smaller process. Teams were having to use multiple systems for every job, so if somebody in Amsterdam was working on the US or Asian site, they would require different tools for each one.

“Having to learn systems in triplicate or more lowers operational efficiency, and with that, once you smooth it down to a single platform it’s much easier for you to measure the success of the changes you’re implementing,” McDonald says. “The finance operations team went from using three different accounting packages and back office processes to a single platform, which means we can actually

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Travix International flies to 9,000 destinations

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3.5+ million passengers a year report properly as one company, and that makes a huge difference to our business operations.”

Now, the company can track what is happening day-to-day, hour-byhour, whereas previously the team had to wait until the end of each month to gauge its performance.

From the perspective of the customer, the changes that the company has undergone means it can roll all of its services out globally with ease, whereas such a thing would not have been possible historically; Travix would have had to build the

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50+ planes filled every day same product several times – one for each country. The time to market is dramatically improved with this new and improved structure.

The challenge of driving systems consolidation does not necessarily have to slow down innovation entirely.

During this period McDonald and team were able to add hundreds of new features in parallel, which allowed the business to continue its high growth: “A couple of things stand out for me – the first was that we embedded a highly powerful new rules engine into our platform, which allowed the business

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“The more time we can strip off the process of searching for flights and payments, the better the customer experience” – Rob McDonald, CTO & CPO

teams to be extremely creative in how the system behaved. The rules engine controls pricing, filtering, sorting and content sourcing – which means that features which previously had to be built by developers are now controlled and implemented by business teams.”

Travix uses the Agile Scrum methodology for its software development. Scrum allows the delivery of features and functionality in short time cycles, meaning the company can prioritise work and break it into smaller iterations of 2 weeks, continually releasing until the feature or product is finalised: “So we build the most important features in cycles of two weeks and put them live when ready,” McDonald explains.

“The thirteen development teams were focussed almost entirely on this migration project, and the overall

goal was focussed around either front end technology, the platform, or back office finance processes.

“As we got to the end of the program we were able to turn those teams from technical teams to product or features teams, the idea being that each of those teams could then start to deliver features directly into the new platform on their own. Then it became more aligned with the overall business, with a product team working on flight features, one on call centre technology, and so on. They’re all able to deliver specific products and features in their specialist areas, and employee engagement is at an all-time high.”

Technology partners are key to large scale programs of this nature: “We are at our heart a flights business, and our partnership with Amadeus has meant that we can innovate

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across our systems to add new customer experiences and exciting new features. For example we were the first company to show airline branded fares on our sites, which opens up the complex world of airline products in a new and exciting way.”

Another partnership Travix particularly values is that with Google.

McDonald and his team decided early on in the transformation process that they would move straight to the cloud as soon as possible (something which went live nearly 2 years ago), and so Travix partnered with Google, predominantly due to the fact that this meant the business would be immediately influential on the roadmap.

“We built a whole platform new front end platform which would run easily on their cloud platform, and worked closely with Google using the alpha version of their Kubernetes container management system,” says McDonald. “While it’s a little risky to do that, the upside was that we were able to work very closely with Google engineers to fix faults in the platform and help them build key features that would really benefit us. Through that

we formed a really close partnership with the Google cloud team; that’s a big differentiator for us certainly as we grow globally. We need to be closer to the customer so they get the best experience. The more time we can strip off the process of searching for flights and payments, the better the customer experience. Google helps us work globally and optimise performance.”

This streamlining has proven invaluable for Travix, and the customer response has been overwhelmingly positive – and rightly so. After all, McDonald says, “the customer has always been our main focus.

The challenge is to serve them consistently when you’re basically rebuilding functionality from one platform to the next. That doesn’t add value to the customer until the customer is able to use the new platform. There’s a transition period that we have to accommodate there but everything moves much quicker, and all the benefits you have from a single platform kick in.”

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Blockchain: the start of a whole new era of banking Written by Stuart Hodge Produced by George Tweed

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Anthony Macey of Barclays tells us about how Blockchain technology may be set to transform the world of value trading and how some data reconciliation issues may now be a thing of the past

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any banks seem daunted by the revolution happening in trade finance at the moment. New technologies seem to be transforming the marketplace on an almost constant basis and there can be no doubt about how much the goalposts have shifted since the emergence of Bitcoin eight years ago. But for Anthony Macey, Head of Blockchain R&D for Barclays, keeping up-to-date with these technological trends and advances is what gets him up in the morning.

He’s at the forefront of the banking industry’s knowledge base on Blockchain, which has emerged as a decentralised, distributed, peer-topeer network enabling the transfer of value. Blockchain also enables the records of disparate parties within the transaction to be synchronised,

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facilitating a seamless and digital value exchange without the need for a centralised trust or intermediary.

Like most creative ventures, Barclays’ foray into the world of Blockchain all started off with an idea, conceived between Macey and his former colleague Simon Taylor.

“Between the two of us we brought Bitcoin and Blockchain to the attention of the company as something we should probably be looking at,” explains Macey.

“Throughout 2014 we worked to get a better appreciation of what the technology was, the risk play and what we could potentially do with it. At the end of the year, we held a two-day summit where we had a number of people from the Bitcoin and Blockchain space around the world along with academics,

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The financial marketplace is changing and technologies like Blockchain offer the industry the competitive edge to take advantage

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“Sometimes there might be disagreement between two data types and no way of understanding why – so we thought, maybe we can use Blockchain to make sure we never have these reconciliation problems again” – Anthony Macey, Head of R&D for Blockchain

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experts, consultants and a couple will apply different business logic to of people from other banks as well. a data set to get their answers.”

“We identified between 45 and 50 “So very early on we thought, potential use cases and that gave us maybe we can use a Blockchain in a remit to then look at this. Now we’ve order to make sure we never have spent the last two-and-a-half years or these reconciliation problems again. so working on it pretty much full-time.” It’s feasible to use the transparency So how does Blockchain work on and auditability of Blockchain in order a day-to-day basis then and how to track where data is going, how it’s can it benefit a company being used and what logic like Barclays? is being applied to that.

“Being a large “It becomes very corporation we have useful because then, a very large data rather than trying to estate and that identify where the data, for obvious source data is and Number of reasons, is kept very where it’s come from, employees at securely,” says Macey. you can then start to Barclays “There are a number do other things. On top of of types of databases across that, if you’re able to supply secure the company so, when performing data ideas into the platform, then analytics, I’d need to locate the you can run logic based on that.” data, locate the owner of that As well as providing additional data, then pull it over and join it to functionality, Blockchain is also a another data set. Sometimes there potentially quicker, more secure might be disagreement between and more flexible solution, meaning the two data types and no real that from a business standpoint, way of understanding why. That’s visibility can be enhanced, risk because different business areas removed and costs lowered. Barclays

129k+

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Blockchain is a decentralised, distributed, peer-to-peer network enabling the transfer of value.

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believe they’re at the forefront of this emerging technology and two landmarks achieved last year serve to embolden those claims.

In April, the Smart Contract Templates application developed

by Barclays took centre stage in the first ever public demonstration of the R3 Corda platform for shared banking ledgers, in front of more than 800 people at London’s O2 Arena.

The technology has come a long way in a short space of time, as Macey is quick to acknowledge.

“The early idea behind Blockchain was around reconciliation of data across multiple parties, that’s what Bitcoin ledger effectively does, but where things started to get a little more interesting was when a company called Ethereum was founded and they started talking about the idea of building smart contracts,” he says.

“A smart contract is essentially a digital representation of a commercial contract which self-executes based on conditions, similar to the way a vending machine works in the real world – where we put our money,

type in a location code and are provided with what we’ve paid for.

“Our investment banking team did some work on reusable templates that could be deployed and reduce a lot of the inefficiencies and duplication of effort involved in the establishment of standardised contracts.

“That was a world first and they showed that, functionally, this could work – and it’s the starting point for more thinking down that route and the IB CTO Office have released two academic white papers which explain a lot of the detail behind that.

“We then did a lot of work with law firms and legislators around understanding where the difference between just being code and being a legal contract potentially lies, and how to strike that balance.”

And then in September, Barclays and start-up company Wave became the first organisations to execute a global trade transaction using Blockchain technology. The letter of credit transaction between Ornua (formerly the Irish Dairy Board) and Seychelles Trading Company was

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the first to have trade documentation handled on the new Wave platform, with funds sent via Swift.

“From a banking point of view, we had control of that, and had boot-strapped it,” says Macey. However, from a client and open-world point of view we still had to deal with carriers, customs, port authorities and the like.

“I think one of the easiest things to forget when you’re working with this technology day-in day-out, is that it’s still a relatively new thing to most people in the world. So when you go to them with this solution they need to go all the way back to the beginning to start to understand how this technology functions, so that they can be assured of the fact it’s going to work.”

And therein lies the challenge for Anthony and

Blockchain is the technology that will change the financial industry of today

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25.454 Barclays’ 2015 revenue

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his colleagues, but he’s adamant they’re not going to rest on their laurels after such a successful 2016.

“It looks like we did quite a lot of stuff in quick succession and we did,” adds Macey. “But there had been a lot of work before that which really came back to benefit our people and the business last year. 2016 was successful for us because we had the business behind us. You can’t have that kind of success on your own, you need those people sometimes just to give you a reality check in terms of what you’re delivering.

“Granted, it may mean that we are

going to take slightly longer to build something that completely disrupts the financial services market, but that will come and it will come with the support of our business team telling us what actually needs to happen in that space. We’re conscious of the fact that it’s all going to take time but we will get there by each part of the business supporting each other rather than us competing with ourselves.”

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Potentially game changing Written by Dale Benton Produced by Richard Durrant

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In the mining and exploration space, opportunity can present itself in many forms. Greenland is a country rich with mining and mineral opportunity and it is the job of the Ministry of Mineral Resources to present that potential to the major players of the mining and exploration world

“

The mineral potential of Greenland is incredible,” says Henrik Stendal, Chief Geologist for THE MMR. “But it is what we call a Greenfield area, meaning that we don’t have extensive knowledge of the total mineral potential of the area like we do with Canada or Sweden, but we know that there is great potential there,” he says.

The Ministry of Mineral Resources’ remit covers strategy-making, policy-making, legal and geological issues and the marketing of mineral resources in Greenland. In a country that has geology with as much in common as Canada, the mineral exploration industry is still a young one.

Stendal has been head of the Geology department at THE MMR for nine years, but has taken a step back into the position of Chief Geologist. His role?

To work with the THE MMR to raise the profile of the mineral potential in Greenland and attract mining and exploration companies to the area and create a mining economy within the country.

An attractive proposition As Stendal has noted, Greenland has the potential and geological scope of countries like Canada and

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Sweden, which have vast mining industries, and the MMR has invested heavily in creating a strategy that will generate a booming mining economy within the country.

“Greenland is very attractive and we have a number of companies interested, mostly junior companies who then try to attract investors themselves or sell the bigger prospects to larger companies,” he says.

The MMR has a strategy that runs through to 2018 with the goal of having three to five operating mines within Greenland.

While Stendal admits that the country is well on its way to achieving that (there are currently two active mines in Greenland) there has been one particular stumbling block that the ministry has had to address – the lack of proper infrastructure.

“Right now, all transportation

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‘Upon the improvement of the infrastructure, Stendal believes that it will unlock greater interaction between the mineral resources sector and other parts of Greenland’

within Greenland is by air or by sea which immediately brings the cost of exploration much higher than it will be in other countries,” he says.

The Government of Greenland has invested and will invest in a number of initiatives to overcome this challenge, particularly the expansion of port facilities and airports throughout Greenland in the capital of Nuuk, in Ilulissat as well as Kangerlussuaq.

“When you improve infrastructure, it becomes much easier and much more efficient,” says Stendal.

Upon the improvement of this infrastructure, Stendal believes that it will unlock greater interaction between the mineral resources sector and other parts of Greenland. Currently, the largest source of income throughout the country is fishing and some income is generated from tourism.

Enabling economy Stendal, through the MMR, aims to add mining to

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“Greenland has incredible potential.

Through the MMR, we head into new areas and geological locations and we discover something new almost every day and that is inspiring” –

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that list and create an industry that will play a huge role in the prosperity of Greenland, through both the income generated and the employment.

The mineral potential of Greenland is the major incentive for mining and exploration companies and the MMR is creating a large-scale database for minerals and oil and gas that mining companies can access. This data incudes geological scientific studies as well as reports from companies active within the industry so that potential investors and operators can see first-hand the mineral potential.

Over the last 12 months, Stendal and the MMR have attended a number of exhibitions and conferences to showcase what Greenland has to offer to the explorative industry, including one of the largest events in the mining space - the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) - this year.

Having a presence at an event of this magnitude is crucial in achieving the goals outlined in the overarching strategy for mining in Greenland.

“It is really important to be

there and tell the story of how good Greenland is and can be for explorative companies,” says Stendal.

“But there are a number of competition countries who are trying to attract companies and investment and if you aren’t telling your story, these companies will head elsewhere.”

Through adversity Greenland has been experiencing a recession over the last five years and the impact on the economy has definitely been felt in the mining space. To mitigate the impact of a recession, the government has begun to adjust the mining laws and the mining act within the country, as well as the conditions for licencing and mineral policy.

“The government has been working hard through the recession to help keep mining companies within the country,” Stendal says.

Currently, if an exploration company has a mining licence for longer than five years then it is applicable for an extension on that licence. The company is then under obligation

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to invest money into the economy of Greenland.

During the difficult financial climate of the recession, mining companies found it much more difficult to get the necessary finances to operate in the country.

“The government updated the requirements so that for exploration companies with a licence longer than five years there is no obligation to invest in a two year period - it is a much more relaxed approach. This really helped a lot of exploration companies remain in Greenland,” he says.

Throughout Greenland, more than 70 percent of energy used in towns and small settlements is generated through hydropower. Mining and exploration companies that choose to operate within Greenland could gain access to that hydropower which would bring about a much cheaper and cost effective operation.

“The alternative to hydropower is diesel, which creates further costs. There’s diesel engines, which will require refuelling, which will require the creation of a supply chain. You can clearly see the problems that arise from this,” he says.

The Ministry of Mineral Resources works with a number of key partners to help shape and define the mineral exploration space in Greenland, including Air Greenland, Xploration Services, Asiaq and the exploration companies.

It is through the collaborative efforts of these

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“Greenland has incredible potential.

Through the MMR, we head into new areas and geological locations and we discover something new almost every day and that is inspiring” – Henrik Stendal, Chief Geologist

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partnerships that the MMR can continue to support and provide assistance for exploration/mining companies in the country. The level of support that the MMR provides is not financial, it is more administrative and guidance.

“We have an engineering department that goes out and to the exploration/mining companies to assess their operations, including inspections and strategic analysis,” he says.

“It is only then that we can provide support and guidance to these companies to enable them to operate more effectively, efficiently, and unlock the great benefits towards Greenland as a whole.”

For Stendal, his role in the future of the exploration/mining industry of Greenland as well as his ever-growing understanding of the geology of the country is one that often leaves him inspired.

“Greenland has incredible potential.

Through the MMR, we head into new areas and geological locations and we discover something new almost every day and that is inspiring,” he says.

“Taking the data of our discoveries, analysing that geology and understanding the mineral potential of the country excites me. Just think of what it can do for the future of Greenland.”

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A can-do appro

oach to sustainability Written by Tom Wadlow Produced by Jon Cooper 147

Producer of more than 100 billion cans every year for some of the world’s largest drinks companies, Ball Corporation is breaking down the B2B barrier in a bid to engage with consumers and ramp up recycling

A

round one in three of the world’s beverage cans are produced by Ball Corporation.

An astonishing 100 billion units a year filled with the likes of CocaCola, Coors and Carlsberg help to generate $9 billion in revenues. A simple product, an immense scale.

And it is this scale which places Ball at the heart of its clients’ own sustainability objectives. Packaging can account for anywhere up to 50 percent of a large drinks manufacturer’s carbon footprint, making cross-collaborative innovation between clients and Ball’s customerfocused team paramount to the success of the sustainable agenda.

For European Sustainability Manager Matthew Rowland-Jones, formulating how Ball can fulfil the sustainability objectives of clients is central to his work. And with

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new advances in the beverage can, it is the metal container which holds the greatest green potential of any drinks packaging.

Brewers are also buying into the quality. “One of the things that is appealing about cans for the craft brewers as well as the larger brewers is that it is a 100 percent barrier to light and air, offering total protection to the product,” says RowlandJones, pointing to another industry trend which in itself presents a different challenge to Ball - the rise of craft. “The smaller scale does present some challenges to us in terms of production runs, and that is something we will work hard to accommodate. The growth is around micro-brewers and craft beer, albeit working from a small base.”

With the can becoming the container of choice for these brewers,

there is huge opportunity for Ball to lead a sustainable charge in the industry. This is recognised by new Sustainability Director Ramon Arratia: “For me sustainability is a responsibility that we all have, whether that be business, government or society at large. Responsibility also comes with size, and Ball is a huge producer of packaging, even more so after the merger with Rexam, and wants to play a bigger role. Packaging offers a lot of opportunities and I think the superior performance aluminium can in particular has great potential.”

BALL CORPORATION’S 2020 TARGETS

ENERGY

PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP • Cut carbon footprint of beverage cans by 25 percent versus 2010 baseline • Achieve industry recycling rate targets for metal packaging products in developed markets, and work towards measurement and improvement metal packaging recycling in emerging markets • Deliver three major aerospace programs that will provide significant benefits in areas such as climate change, weather, drought, pollution and biodiversity measurements

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We developed V70 through our Safety by Design process, which uses the latest scientific methods to test for endocrine activity, toxicology and migration to preserve food safety, can integrity and market longevity. valPure V70 is a sustainable technology, water-based, low VOC, and maintains existing plant efficiencies. valPure technologies are approved for use around the world for virtually every light metal packaging application.

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ENERGY

Fresh impetus Arratia brings with him a renewed energy, born out of the massive sustainability strides taken under his tenure at global carpet manufacturer Interface.

“We want to push the company and the industry to be much more ambitious,” he says. “What I have seen in a short time so far is that the can is a gold mine for a sustainability professional. It is mono-material, and already has a pretty good recycling infrastructure surrounding it.”

At Interface the ceiling was removed in its entirety when it came to setting objectives, most notably to become carbon neutral by 2020. Whilst almost impossible to achieve, the desire to get there flowed through the veins of the organisation, and it is this can-do ethos which Arratia is looking to strengthen at Ball.

“With a bit of smart policy from government and heightened consumer awareness, along with some innovation on product design from our side, we could cut carbon emissions dramatically. I am very

“The biggest thing we can do is make sure that the packaging is designed in a way that means it can be recycled infinite times” – Matthew Rowland-Jones, European Sustainability Manager

positive that this industry can deliver huge sustainable progress and this will be driven by the growth of the can as a form of packaging.”

It is not just carbon that Arratia is focussing on – for him it is about instilling a wider sustainable can-do culture covering all aspects of the business. He adds: “There are other areas such as use of chemicals and health and safety, and the industry can play a bigger role in the wider health agenda. It is about creating a culture which will deliver on these issues and increase the level of ambition.”

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Consumer conscience This is not to suggest that bold ambition was in any way lacking before Arratia arrived. Such boldness can already be seen in Ball’s 2016 sustainability report, which sets out 10 objectives across four key pillars – product stewardship, operational excellence, talent management and community ambassadors.

Indeed, sustainable standards are a significant part of Ball’s Drive for 10 corporate vision, which aims at leveraging company strengths

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BALL CORPORATION’S 2020 TARGETS

B A L L C O R P O R AT I O N

TALENT MANAGEMENT • Enhance overall employee engagement and talent retention by assessing and continuously improving the processes that support the way talent is acquired, onboarded, developed and moved at Ball • Roll out diversity and inclusion tools globally, expand Ball Resource Groups companywide, and meet the criteria required to secure a place on the Diversity, Inc. Top 50 Companies for Diversity

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Henkel continuously develops innovative products and technologies that offer customer benefits in environmental and health protection, as well as economic and efficiency advantages.

Henkel’s metal packaging product development strategy is focused on green solutions to keep pace with the changing requirements of can manufacturers, including the drive toward more environmentally sustainable products. This is why Henkel is dedicated to providing the industry environmentally safe lubricants, cleaners, superior mobility enhancers and conversion coating options.

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to achieve long term success.

The most eye-catching of these 10 goals is to develop science-based carbon targets, which RowlandJones says could look as far ahead as 2030. Central to this, he says, is driving up recycling rates and ensuring Ball’s products live multiple lives as cans or other metal items.

Ball has the perfect product to deliver this. Already 100 percent recyclable, the can already has the highest recycling rate of any beverage pack which stands at 70 percent globally. It is the other 30 percent which makes up Arratia’s gold mine.

With more than 18,000 employees staffing 100 locations around the world, the company is influencing lives in many communities; communities which form an integral part of Ball’s ongoing sustainability efforts, not least when it comes to reducing carbon footprints through recycling.

“This is a big challenge for us as a B2B business, a challenge that will require a lot of collaboration with customers and those in touch with end users,” says Rowland-Jones,

“It is about getting our plants to engage with their communities about recycling and was a great success in terms of local PR and getting our plants connected with their local populations” – Matthew Rowland-Jones, European Sustainability Manager

who refers to two European programmes which demonstrate this in action, targeting consumers outside and inside the home.

“Our ‘Every Can Counts’ project is running in 12 European countries,” he explains. “We partner with events such as music festivals, shopping centres and sports organisations like the Le Mans 24 hour motorsport race to help engage with consumers

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BALL CORP. 2020 TARGETS

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• Global roll out of Community Ambassadors program • Establish 2030 global volunteer goal that is aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals

April 2017

who are drinking from cans on the go, raising awareness of recycling.”

The second example, Metal Matters, targets UK household recycling. Rowland-Jones continues: “This is revolved around educating householders about what they can put in their recycling collections in terms of metal packaging, not necessarily just beverage packaging.

It is about the whole spectrum of metal packaging, from aerosols and foils to food and drink cans.”

Internally, Rowland-Jones is looking at how Ball Corporation in Europe can on a site-by-site basis inspire communities to recycle, at the same time showcasing the company as a great place to seek a career.

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“It is about getting our plants to engage with their communities about recycling and can be a great success in terms of local PR and getting our plants connected with their local populations. It helps to inspire young people and spread the message that Ball is a great company to work for.”

Cradle-to-Cradle Recyclability was a key factor in Ball’s Cradle-to-Cradle accreditation

achieved alongside Carlsberg.

Approached back in 2012/13, Ball has become an important part of the Danish brewer’s Circular Community of suppliers, working collectively to be the first beverage package certified to Cradle-to-Cradle standards.

The factors contributing towards the certification include the packaging’s recyclability, how manufacturers look at wider corporate responsibility regarding the recycling

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message, and work carried out in factories to reduce energy use.

“We achieved a bronze rating in early 2015,” Rowland-Jones adds. “It was a challenging framework for us to work towards, and has given us some ideas around an improvement plan to further improve the certification.

There is more we can do, for example with renewables and encouraging consumers to recycle more.”

Arratia emphasises the need for joined up action between the industry and consumers further still, highlighting the responsibility for Ball to create the most recyclable packaging possible.

“One key message for us and for packaging is that it is so fast moving,” he says. “You buy the product and consume it quickly and want to dispose of it quickly as well. That means the biggest thing we can do is make sure that the packaging is designed in a way that means it can be recycled infinite times.

“It is like-for-like recycling, which is maintaining the same value of the material at the end of its life – it is not

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down-cycling or bringing waste back to life. If you design something that is going to last hundreds of years in its first use then it is not as a big an issue, but for something that is used and disposed of so quickly, it is so important. This is why the industry as a whole needs to look at the wider infrastructure in an innovative way. Programmes aimed at helping consumers and public legislation are certainly going to help, but the industry can be more creative as well.”

Best practice Ball is already leading the way when it comes to best practice. A member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices, the company has been named industry leader for container and packaging businesses for four consecutive years. The same feat has been achieved with RobecoSAM’s Sustainability Yearbook.

In Europe, Rowland-Jones outlines how best practice is maintained: “We have carried out a lot of work around lean and six sigma processes, which involves work around

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processors and heat recovery in our operations. We will trial in one plant and then roll out best practice across all of our sites very quickly.”

The social side of sustainable best practice is also of critical importance, not least when looking to the future of the company.

Employee welfare is underpinned by an exemplary health and safety record, while welfare of those in

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BALL CORPORATION’S 2020 TARGETS

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OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE • Reduce three-year rolling average Total Recordable Incident Rate by 25 percent versus 2015 baseline • By year-end 2016, determine baseline for electricity, natural gas, water, waste and VOCs post-close of the Rexam acquisition and commit to bottom-up normalised targets for global beverage can business by mid-2017 • Determine a sciencebased greenhouse gas emission reduction target by mid-2018

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surrounding communities is also a priority, underlined by the Community Ambassador programme which Rowland-Jones is eager to import from the USA arm of the business.

This all adds to the equation which makes Ball Corporation an attractive proposition for potential employees.

For Rowland-Jones, sustainability and continuity go hand-in-hand. He concludes: “In terms of succession

planning, there are numerous studies pointing towards the desire for millennials and younger workers wanting to work for sustainable organisations. Ball must continue to be one of these organisations.�

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FT FUTURE OF CONSTRUCTION SUMMIT Driving productivity through disruptive innovation and collaboration 18 May 2017 | One Great George Street

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Rob Perrins Chief Executive, Berkeley Group plc

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