Azentio digitally transforms Boubyan Bank's customer experience

Boubyan Bank, one of the leading Islamic banks in Kuwait and the GCC region has upgraded Azentio iMAL, marking a major milestone in its digitalisation journey to improve operational efficiency and elevate customer experience. The move has helped elevate customer experience across different channels, helping the bank achieve a 42% improvement in response time.

Azentio iMAL is an AAOIFI-certified Islamic banking platform, designed to empower financial institutions with solutions for retail, corporate, and investment banking. With iMAL, banks can deliver ethical, inclusive, and scalable services, while ensuring compliance with shari'ah principles.

The latest upgrade has empowered Boubyan Bank to overcome key operational challenges, delivering substantial efficiency gains that align with the bank's commitment to innovation and customer-centricity. Aarthi Ramesh, Chief Customer Officer at Azentio said: "Our enduring partnership with Boubyan Bank is a testament to our shared vision of innovative and shari'ah-compliant banking. The recent enhancements to the iMAL core banking system underline Azentio's unwavering commitment to developing solutions that address evolving customer needs and enable excellence in service delivery."

Abdulla AlKhuzam, CIO, Boubyan Bank, commented: "With a 42% improvement in response time, the recent upgrade has revolutionised our operations at Boubyan Bank, allowing us to tackle critical challenges and achieve remarkable efficiency improvements. Our customers will also benefit from the new enhancements including a 52.5% reduction in salary posting time, a 15% boost in CPU efficiency, and an over 80% decrease in database blocking and session times. These advancements have greatly enhanced our system performance, enabling us to better serve our customers and further our mission of delivering top-tier Islamic banking services."

Database blocking refers to blocking new change requests while changes are being made to part of the database so as to prevent conflicts.

Sofia the chatbot helps locate halal food for Muslim travellers, 24x7

Source: Microsoft. Built upon Microsoft's Azure cloud platform and LUIS, HHWT’s chatbot Sofia can automatically provide quick answers to questions posed by users.

Have Halal, Will Travel (HHWT) was started because founder Mikhail Goh had trouble finding halal food in South Korea five years ago. 

“If there were websites out there that discussed halal food in South Korea, they were either hard to find, or any information that I came across wasn’t of much help,” recalled Goh, who is now based in Singapore. “Many times, you have to make decisions based on limited information as a Muslim traveller.

“Do I take the trip down? It’s a 40 to 45-minute ride, based on a single grainy picture, and with very little information to rely on.”

The content platform helps Muslims travel with confidence in countries where locating halal food can be a challenge. HHWT currently hosts hundreds of articles and guides online, and also has a mobile app and social media channels. It now reaches over 9 million Muslims from Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia each month. 

As readership and site traffic on HHWT continued to grow, it became clear that the platform needed to grow its backend infrastructure in tandem. Fielding 8,000 users looking for halal food options in Tokyo over platforms like Facebook, e-mail or website comments would be best served by a chatbot, the company behind HHWT decided.

Combining Microsoft’s Azure cloud and its Language Understanding Intelligence Services (LUIS), HHWT’s chatbot now answers most of the questions that travellers ask through the platform every day. Called Sofia - chosen after users voted for the name in a public poll - the chatbot is online 24x7, allowing the HHWT team to significantly increase their engagement level with users daily.

“We created Sofia simply because people have been asking us questions which we found could be answered largely through automation,” said Goh.

At the same time, through the responses and feedback received from users interacting with Sofia, HHWT can now analyse and contextualise all that input to help provide more personalised content for each individual user, thus serving customers’ needs better.

Sofia was set up in a surprisingly short amount of time. Instead of creating a chatbot from scratch, the HHWT team relied on existing tools that Microsoft provides on the cloud to create Sofia, with the help of technology partner PleoData.

The Azure cloud platform comes with an application programming interface (API) for a QnA Maker. The feature creates a FAQ from existing content. This was the first building block the team tapped on to form answers to commonly-asked questions. Microsoft’s LUIS, a machine learning-based service to build natural language into apps, bots, and devices then enabled chatbot designers to draw on datasets already in existence. This allowed the team to match users' questions, which can come in many forms, with the right answers. 

“I think one of the really big benefits of Microsoft Azure is the QnA Maker,” said Rachel Tan, MD, PleoData. “It allows any company to be able to release a working chatbot in less than seven working days, which is quite an amazing feat.”

It helped that HHWT already had an existing FAQ, which was input into the QnA maker. Though that was sufficient to launch a chatbot as-is, the team went one step further to customise the chatbot so that it could offer more intelligent content to users.

Currently, Sofia uses what is known as a decision tree that lets users narrow down the answers they are looking for. In future, this process will be simpler and more intuitive—the system will automatically answer questions with a deeper understanding, without having to seek clarification.

This next step for HHWT involves sinking its teeth more deeply into machine learning. With larger datasets to draw on after running the chatbot over time, HHWT would be able to develop contextual and personalised content.

Today, HHWT works with tourism boards from countries around the world and global brands to reach out to the Muslim community. As the same time, they are also working with partners to provide functionalities such as the ability to complete travel bookings and payment transactions on the website. With the scalability of Azure cloud, as well as LUIS, powering the Sofia chatbot, HHWT is now looking towards expansion to more countries within Southeast Asia and beyond.

Goh reinforced that their focus over the next two years is to build on their understanding of their consumers' needs and wants. “One of the things we are seeking to improve for our chatbot is its search and response – to give us a better understanding of what people are searching for, and from there, better responses and better content,” he said.

“As a Muslim myself, I feel that Muslims shouldn’t be restricted to just kebabs or nasi biryani,” Goh noted. “To really understand different cultures, you have to eat their food, speak their language, and really get lost in their country. Muslims shouldn’t be deprived from that opportunity.” 

Explore:

Watch the video introducing Sofia the chatbot

Download the Microsoft Business Owners’ Guide to Technology

Hashtag: #HHWT

Bank Islam Malaysia to build integrated risk framework on Kamakura risk management platform

Kamakura Corporation has completed an agreement to implement the Kamakura Corporation suite of solutions for Bank Islam Malaysia for its balance sheet management, funds transfer pricing, and liquidity management processes.

The project will involve the complete implementation of the balance sheet management and funds transfer pricing solutions and followed a comprehensive evaluation exercise involving a complete proof of concept. Dr Clement Ooi, EVP and Managing Director, Asia-Pacific Operations, Kamakura Corporation stated, "Bank Islam had a very clear understanding of its risk management and liquidity compliance needs. The vendor selection process had an extensive testing routine, and the Kamakura suite of solutions was an apt fit.

"Bank Islam not only has a range of intriguing products, but also a transaction volume that necessitated in them seeking a modular and integrated solution. The project will provide the bank with accurate assessment of transaction cashflows that can then be used for gap, duration, and mismatch management, as well as an accurate assessment of the margins associated with the transaction. All of these can be modelled based on different market conditions implying that the bank is prepared for any adverse movements in market conditions."

Dr Ooi said the Kamakura platform will be the basis for the bank's integrated risk framework. "The bank will be one of the first to be able to generate both historical and forward-looking views of the balance sheet, a transaction-level understanding of the profit margins and a good appreciation of customer, product, business unit, and organisational profit and value dynamics," he said.

Martin Zorn, President and COO for Kamakura Corporation said, "The successful implementation of the balance sheet management, funds transfer pricing, and liquidity compliance project in Bank Islam is a clear indicator that banks are no longer looking for fragmented solutions for risk and compliance, but seek to adopt a customised framework that allows for the repeated use of data loaded once for various aspects of risk and compliance. It is a testimony to the credentials of Kamakura's subject matter experts.

"Kamakura is well-positioned to meet the burgeoning regulatory demands imposed on financial institutions in the region and has the wherewithal to keep pace with regulation; as a matter of fact, what is currently being introduced as risk regulation has been available in Kamakura Risk Manager for the past 10 years."

Bank Islam, the first shari'ah-based banking institution in Southeast Asia, was established primarily to assist the financial needs of Malaysia's Muslim population, and has since extended its services to the broader non-Muslim population fulfilling its Banking-for-All principle. It provided technical assistance in the setting up of several Islamic institutions in the Asian region such as Indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka.

The bank offers 70 Islamic banking products and services to more than 5 million customers. Bank Islam's network in Malaysia consists of 147 branches and more than 1,200 self-service terminals. Primarily a retail bank with consumer banking constituting more than 70% of total financing, Bank Islam's list of products ranges from the traditional financing, savings and investment solutions for individual customers, to banking and financial solutions designed to fulfil the fast-changing financial needs of customers from all categories including those related to micro financing, wealth management, capital market, and treasury.

Bank Islam partners with Cognizant for digital Islamic banking

Bank Islam Malaysia today announced a strategic collaboration with Cognizant, a global business and technology consulting firm, to lay the foundation of digital banking across the Bank’s entire network. 

The agreement was signed by Khairul Kamarudin, CEO, Bank Islam, and Effendi Azmi Hashim, Malaysia Business Leader, Cognizant, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. "Bank Islam will continue applying digital technology to our products and services, bringing greater accessibility to our customers, as well as simplifying and improving their banking experience with us,” said Khairul.

By capitalising on digital technologies, Bank Islam will be able to transform Islamic banking as envisioned by Bank Negara Malaysia. Cognizant’s Head of Asia-Pacific, Jayajyoti Sengupta said: “For banks of the new digital economy, leadership is about delivering hyper-personalised products, services, and experiences to customers across channels by continually turning digital data into actionable insights. We are proud to be a part of Bank Islam’s vision to transform itself into a digitally-led bank of the future.

“By leveraging our extensive consulting and digital banking capabilities, we look forward to creating a business, operating and technology roadmap for Bank Islam to realise the full promise of digital in driving greater customer satisfaction and differentiated growth. The opportunity to partner with a leading financial services institution such as Bank Islam marks an important milestone in our growth journey in Malaysia.”

Bank Islam has always strived to design innovative solutions to transform customer experience. By partnering with Cognizant to build a digital bank, the bank is taking a big leap into the future to deliver innovative solutions to small and medium sized enterprises and customers across country, and integrate them seamlessly into the developing digital economy in Malaysia. 

Digitalisation will help Bank Islam accelerate SME banking by providing business solutions for their operational as well as expansion needs. It will enable the bank to rapidly tap the rural, underbanked segments and boost financial inclusion by overcoming cost and physical barriers. Bank Islam will be able to combine its energy, continuous innovation and imagination of fintech startups with its solid balance sheet, trust, customer service and banking expertise. 

Bank Islam Malaysia was established in 1983 as the nation’s first Islamic bank. To date, the bank has a network of 147 branches and more than 1,200 self-service terminals nationwide. To meet the diversity of the public’s financial needs, Bank Islam offers more than 70 shari'ah-based banking products and services.

BankIslami Pakistan goes live with the PCS Java version 14

Path Solutions, a provider of Islamic banking software solutions, has successfully upgraded the iMAL*ProfitCalculationSystem at BankIslami Pakistan to Java version 14. BankIslami was the first bank to receive an Islamic banking license under the Islamic Banking Policy of 2003 from the State Bank of Pakistan. It has a network of 317 branches in 93 cities offering a full range of shari'ah-compliant financial products.

Syed Ata Hussain, Head of Information System, BankIslami said, "Armed with a solid implementation methodology and supported by a team of skilled and passionate consultants, Path Solutions was able to fulfill its commitment, and we were able to run the first successful PCS in Java version 14 in Pakistan. 

"We consider this implementation as a major milestone, as the course of the project involved exhaustive upgrade, internal testing phases, multiple user acceptance testing (UAT) cycles and three full scale application testing exercises to ensure uninterrupted business operations following the upgrade. Once again, Path Solutions was up to the challenge and we upgraded successfully owing to the tireless efforts of all teams involved.” 

The PCS upgrade is pivotal for BankIslami, which merged last year with KASB Bank and migrated more than 100 KASB branches to the iMAL Islamic Banking & Investment System. BankIslami needed several modifications to the software to broaden its operations spectrum in compliance with Central Bank regulations. 

The latest iMAL*ProfitCalculationSystem module is a Web-based application and can be implemented either on the Oracle or Sybase relational database management system. It supports all major browsers and may be deployed on any JEE Web/Application Server Apache Tomcat, Oracle WebLogic and similar platforms. The module's features include built-in control procedures and compliance with Islamic shari'ah, limits monitoring and exposure control, as well as credit risk measurement and evaluation.

According to Path Solutions, over 100 Islamic financial institutions are using its iMAL system.

Etiqa chooses Informatica for customer relationship management

Etiqa's deployment of Informatica's customer-centric master data management (MDM) system has reinforced the company's commitment to its total customer relationship strategy and ongoing efforts to create new market opportunities.

A multichannel provider of life and general insurance services and takaful products, Etiqa is a subsidiary of the Maybank Group. The MDM system provides Etiqa with better control of its data, enabling the company to build a consolidated customer profile as it pursues new avenues of growth in a more open and competitive Malaysian insurance market.

With the MDM solution, Etiqa has shifted from a product-centric view to focusing on a customer's holistic relationship with Etiqa across all its businesses. This approach gives Etiqa a 360-degree view of customer relationships with the company, as well as their interests, preferences, and activities. The system also enables Etiqa to integrate information from new channels such as social media. Information on lifestyle and other interests enhances Etiqa's customer information base and helps identify new marketing opportunities. 

Having access to accurate and enriched customer information allows Etiqa to personalise its products and price them more competitively and quickly based on an individual customer's profile and history.

"We have one platform for accessing, integrating, cleansing, and governing our customer data. This customer-centric view across general and life insurance lines of business plays a powerful role in helping Etiqa attract and retain insurance customers and grow revenues," said Kamaludin Ahmad, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Maybank Ageas Holdings (MAH).

"This is a game changer," said James Lee, Head of Channel Applications & Enterprise Architecture, Etiqa. "Besides delivering a powerful platform for MDM, we also have the flexibility to conduct data integration, profiling, migration and other processes - all within the same platform."

Informatica's technology leadership position in the Gartner Magic Quadrant, ease of use, and straightforward deployment were some reasons why Etiqa chose Informatica MDM. Said Sivadas Ramadas, Managing Director, Informatica ASEAN: "Data powers business. With Informatica Customer MDM, Etiqa can enjoy a customer-centric view of their business to better attract, retain and grow profitable and sustainable policyholder relationships. This is Insurance Customer 360 at work."

Etiqa worked closely with Informatica Partner Emerio, a wholly owned subsidiary of NTT Communications company, on the architecture, development, management and integration of the systems onto the MDM platform.

"Emerio understands that information management is of special concern for companies in the financial sector industry. Because of Etiqa's position as a trusted insurer, solid data quality management and good governance were priorities right from the very start of our partnership," said Michael Warren, Managing Director, Emerio. "This MDM solution is ideal for insurance sector companies as it is built with ACORD-compliant* capabilities.

"Quick access to good information is important, but ultimately our customer has to be fully satisfied that such data is not only trustworthy, but remains secure at all times."

*ACORD is the Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development, a global nonprofit association working to improve data quality and information exchange for the insurance industry.

Etihad inks deal with Cognizant to define digital strategy and enhance guest experience

Source: Cognizant. Dr John Burgin, Head of Cognizant Digital Works, APAC and Middle East (left) and Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways’ Chief Commercial Officer, sign the strategic agreement between Etihad Airways and Cognizant.

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, and Cognizant, an IT, consulting, and business process outsourcing services provider, have inked a strategic agreement to drive digital transformation across the airline and its equity partners. Under the three-year, multi-million dollar deal, Cognizant will help Etihad Airways define its digital strategy and reimagine the guest experience along a guest's travel journey across the group.

By bringing together its digital strategy, technology, industry and experiential design expertise, Cognizant will conduct a comprehensive study of Etihad Airways' current business and technology footprint to outline and operationalise a best-in-class digital ecosystem, enabling multi-channel distribution, customer persona segmentation and personalised marketing techniques.

Through data and customer insights, Cognizant will enable Etihad Airways, and subsequently its equity partners, to better understand the needs of their guests. Combining this research with streamlined best practices, processes and technology, the airline will provide guests with customised offerings, tailored travel solutions, and enhanced experiences throughout their journey based on their loyalty status and personal preferences such as product and service features, preferred seating, meal choices, holiday destinations and more. For the airline, this means unlocking new revenue streams, enhancing its brand and building new commercial models.

Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways' Chief Commercial Officer, said: "Our guests are increasingly turning to digital channels to connect with us, and therefore we recognise the importance of delivering a personalised and seamless guest experience across all touch-points. Our partnership with Cognizant will help us define a superior digital experience roadmap that enhances the customer journey from planning to booking, in the airport and on the plane, and improve guest loyalty by attracting and engaging with guests in new and innovative ways. The scope includes digital tools and data insights for our customer-facing staff to further enhance their ability to provide a more customised and personalised service to our guests."

Robert Webb, Etihad Airways' Chief Information and Technology Officer, said: "This partnership is core to our technology and innovation strategy, which will empower us and our equity partners to redefine an exceptional digital guest experience that matches our remarkable inflight and on-ground experience. We chose Cognizant because of its leadership in digital transformation programmes, deep travel and hospitality industry experience, and long-term partnerships with digital technology leaders."

Francisco D'Souza, Chief Executive Officer, Cognizant, said: "We are pleased to partner with Etihad Airways to create a world-class airline guest experience by harnessing the power of digital technologies. For Cognizant, 'digital' means the ability to connect technology, data science, devices, design, and business strategy to transform processes and experiences. This engagement marks the coming together of two pioneering organisations whose growth strategy is underpinned by digital innovation.

"The Cognizant Digital Works team looks forward to helping Etihad Airways and its equity partners deliver control, simplicity and transparency to the modern connected traveller. The digital initiative will further strengthen Etihad Airways' leadership position as a premium brand known for high-touch customer service."

As part of the engagement, Cognizant will manage Etihad Airways' existing web applications and portals and integrate them into the new digital platform. A new Digital Centre of Excellence will be established to drive innovation with the airline's key technology partners.

Interested?

Read the TechTrade Asia blog post about Etihad's adoption of Adobe's cloud-based solutions

Read the TechTrade Asia blog post about what Cognizant thinks of the smart-life trend

Maisarah Islamic Banking services to focus on customer service

Source: Bank Dhofar. The Sharia Supervisory Board (SSB) of Maisarah Islamic Banking Services recently held its 4th meeting for 2015 in October at Maisarah’s headquarters in Azaiba, Muscat, Oman. The meeting was chaired by Sheikh Dr. Salem Ali Al Dahab, Chairman of the Sharia Supervisory Board, and was attended by board members: Dr Mohammed Ali Al Lawati, Sheikh Ahmed Awadh Al-Hassaan, Dr Abdullah Mubarak Al Abri and Dr Mohammad Ameen Qattan.

As part of its strategy, Maisarah Islamic Banking Services, part of Bank Dhofar, plans to distinguish itself by developing and launching new products and investing in technology to provide the best customer experience in timely and convenient manner.

Maisarah offers shari'ah-compliant financial solutions, products and services that cater to the needs of its retail and corporate customers. The Islamic banking window currently provides products and services out of five dedicated branches located in Al Hail and Azaiba in Muscat, Salalah, Sohar, Birkat Al Mouz near Nizwa in addition to the Corporate Banking Division in Azaiba.

Intel backs modernisation at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre

King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSHRC) provides advanced specialised care to patients in Saudi Arabia. With facilities in Riyadh and Jeddah, plus a children’s cancer centre, KFSHRC provides care for the most seriously ill patients from anywhere in the country. Along with delivering advanced treatments, the centre conducts leading-edge research and helps train the next generation of physicians, nurses and other clinicians.

With demands on its healthcare system rising rapidly, KFSHRC is using Intel-based servers, storage, network adapters, and end user computers to modernise its IT infrastructure and prepare for the future in a reliable, cost-effective way. The centre is migrating much of its data centre infrastructure to servers and storage systems based on the Intel Xeon processor E5 family. KFSHRC is also adopting 2 in 1 devices with the Intel Core i5 vPro processor for clinicians on the go.

The strategy brings many benefits. These include:

More coordinated, patient-centred care. Powerful healthcare IT solutions and mobile computing can empower treatment teams to provide more coordinated care before, during, and after the patient’s hospital stay.

Higher patient satisfaction and engagement. Patients and their families can experience shorter wait times, greater convenience, and fewer redundant procedures. Tools such as portals can help engage patients in managing their own health. On 19 October, KSFHRC launched the Sehaty app, which enables users to access their healthcare records from a mobile device. The app manages appointments, offers recent updates to health records and accepts requests for prescription renewals among other features.

Improved productivity, hiring, and retention. Healthcare IT solutions can help medical professionals work more productively and reduce stress. Healthcare IT modernisation helps KSFHRC attract and retain doctors, nurses, and other clinicians.

Leaders at KFSHRC say Intel technologies are helping at the micro level to reduce costs, optimise floorspace, and enhance disaster recovery. Their virtualised infrastructure also helps the hospital deliver a better patient experience, enhance productivity, and increase access to high-quality, coordinated care throughout the kingdom. In addition the PCs and mobile devices powered by Intel help enhance productivity.

posted from Bloggeroid

EastEssence rolls out referral scheme

EastEssence, an online retailer of quality Islamic clothing at affordable prices, has introduced a referral scheme for existing customers. If a referred customer makes a first-time purchase, the referrer receives US$5 off their next purchase, while the new customer gets a discount of 5%.

Source: EastEssence website.

According to the company, there is no limit to customer referrals or to the number of reward vouchers, which can be exchanged for services and products from EastEssence, but cannot be recovered in the form of cash.

The company, which ships worldwide, offers free shipping for orders over US$150 to Australia and Singapore.