Chris Ruscoe has worked for Accenture for more than 15 years, much of that time helping financial services companies to use technology more intelligently. At present, he is working on a project to help one of South Africa’s leading banks upgrade its core banking systems.
“Banks worldwide are facing a considerable challenge when it comes to their core banking systems,” Ruscoe explains. “These legacy systems simply don’t give the banks the flexibility they need to respond to their customers, who have become much less loyal and much more demanding. The Internet revolution has shown customers that it is possible to receive highly personalised solutions—and now the banks need to make sure that their back-end engines can support this kind of front end.”
In addition, Ruscoe adds, the legacy systems are not integrated properly and their data is not 100-percent validated. “And then there’s the question of how to support this aging technology: it’s no wonder that so many core banking projects are on the go. And don’t forget that all this has to happen at a time when cost containment is absolutely vital.”
Accenture, he believes, has a lot to offer South African financial services clients as they work out how to get the systems and business processes in place to prosper in this new business environment. “We have literally decades of experience in helping leading financial services companies use technology to achieve high performance and, in particular, we are highly skilled in the core banking systems area,” Ruscoe notes. “Accenture also has a name for managing large-scale implementations, which is a distinct skill of its own.”
When it comes to striking a work/life balance, Ruscoe says he is fortunate in being able to compartmentalise his mind. This allows him to focus 100 percent on work when he is there, and equally to switch off when at home. “My rule is, no work after four p.m. on Fridays,” he laughs. He also enjoys playing computer games and reading, and plans to get his superbike out of the garage sometime soon.