Banca Carige, a top Italian banking group, has joined with IBM to undertake a major transformation of its IT structure to emerge as a single bank model, while also embracing innovations in AI and digital technology to offer clients the best possible service experience. The $500 Million joint venture, now officially launched, is titled “Dock” and will integrate a range of technologies that will meet the needs of Carige’s 1 million clients served through its 500 plus branches.
With the goal of improving the banking group’s competitiveness, IBM Services will utilize AI, big data, analytics and cognitive tools that will both assist Banca Carige and push forward the region’s banking sector. During this emerging new period the bank will offer new professional skills and opportunities such as digital banking and Cloud storage.
“The partnership with IBM represents an important turning point and a new starting point for Banca Carige as we will be able to take advantage of IBM’s capacity for developing new technologies,” said Paolo Fiorentino, the bank’s CEO in a press statement.
The solutions will:
- Digitally transform the Bank’s technological infrastructure to emerge as a “hybrid IT” model that will move workloads into cloud environments, achieving significant cost reductions;
- Transform the Bank to be agilely responsive to their clients, as well as being positioned to partner with innovators in their sector;
- Develop and offer innovative services achieved through the automation of branch processes that will use robotics, in addition to evolving the skills of its operators as financial advisors;
- Focus on the bank’s core business areas addressing continuity, operations security and regulatory compliance.
“With this new alliance, a path is born that leads the banking sector towards a future full of new professional skills and opportunities offered today by innovation and technological progress,” said Enrico Cereda, President and CEO of IBM Italy in a press statement. “IBM Italia is proud to accompany one of the country’s oldest financial institutions along the path of digital transformation.”
Dock is a combined effort of the 133 employees of Carige working with 40 from IBM. Workforce expansion is anticipated to be via collaborations with universities and local institutions.
