A long history
Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (NORD/LB) is a leading commercial bank in northern and northeastern Germany, with registered offices in Hanover, Braunschweig, and Magdeburg. NORD/LB was established in 1970 following the merger of four predecessor banks, with a history dating back to 1765.
The credit institute is also a clearing house for savings banks and its commercial banking activities include services for private, corporate, and institutional clients. Among its business activities are the financing of aircraft, renewable energy, infrastructure, and real estate projects.
Digital transformation
NORD/LB is undergoing a transformation like many financial institutions which must comply with strict regulatory requirements in the provision of their services. NORD/LB’s transformation includes the modernization of traditional ways of working and the introduction of more holistic processes.
This means the digitalization and automation of technology operations and control. NORD/LB wanted to be equipped to meet future technology demands from both employees and the business side, with fewer staff, in a growing digital ecosystem.
The NORD/LB transformation map
As an inspiration for its redesign, NORD/LB created a visualization of its transformation journey starting with the origins and historical legacy as a universal bank in the heart of northern Germany, which dates back to Karl I, Duke of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel. His loan house promoted the economic development of his country and invested in new means of transport. Promoting the local economy and investing in innovation are therefore part of the bank’s DNA.
The current phase is characterized by the consequences of the shipping crisis, low interest rates, and increasing regulation. These factors prompted NORD/LB, in the late 2010s, to embark on a far-reaching transformation agenda. A key element of this transformation is a focus on process digitization and automation. Digital processes are expected to ensure better risk management across all business segments while enabling a better co-value creation across the company.
Looking ahead, all NORD/LB employees will work together in a much more interconnected manner. A ‘Customer Plaza’ is being built as a superstructure over the individual business areas of the bank. The goal for 2024 is to offer customers improved service at lower costs and reduced compliance risks.
CMDB a core element
When translating these overarching goals to the IT strategy, NORD/LB was concerned with the close integration of all IT service and application data used across the bank. “There is a direct link between a connected IT landscape and more effective IT processes,” says Dr. Heino Gärtner, Head of IT Strategy and Processes. But how do you start?
“With regard to the multi-provider strategy, we decided to switch to a strong IT service management platform,” explains Heino Gartner. The ServiceNow platform supports NORD/LB with its resizing and realignment to become more cost-effective in terms of service management in a multi-provider environment, as well as more agile and innovative in the integration of new services. The foundation for this is the bank’s Configuration Management Database (CMDB), which documents all existing IT components and their relationships to each other. NORD/LB’s CMDB was built and introduced in 2018. It was an important milestone in NORD/LB’s IT service management transformation.
Improving data management
ServiceNow IT Service Management gives NORD/LB a single view of the applications being used in existing processes and the specific application infrastructure. It brings a long-term improvement in data management and reduces manual processes. In addition, NORD/LB has complete transparency of IT assets in use and can almost completely map the structural analysis in a data repository. A detailed structural analysis, be it for IT purposes, the bank’s management, or its auditors, can be available within minutes. “We can now produce a detailed view of all IT infrastructures used for our applications in a matter of minutes,” says Benjamin Hartmann, ServiceNow Project Manager, NORD/LB. “Previously, collecting all necessary data was much more time consuming.”
High process efficiency and compliance
“For us, the platform is an important lever for getting rid of silos and facilitating efficient processes,” says Heino Gartner. Processes have been greatly simplified whilst maintaining a high service quality, manual processes have been replaced with automation, interdepartmental, audit-compliant data is available, and new services can be implemented more quickly. Meanwhile, ServiceNow’s adaptable controls laid the foundation for NORD/LB’s native workflows and audit activities.
Reducing operational risks
NORD/LB also wanted to track all changes in the application landscape directly on the platform and decided to revamp its project and portfolio management (PPM) with Strategic Portfolio Management. The ServiceNow tool, which was selected following a detailed business value assessment, allowed NORD/ LB to phase out another, dedicated PPM application. “We want to remove many applications from our application landscape and replace them with ServiceNow,” explains Benjamin Hartmann.
In addition, since 2021, NORD/LB has relied on the Now Platform for Security Incident Response, and in the context of Risk Management. The bank’s intention is to stay ready for unforeseen failures by quickly detecting anomalies and threats, by identifying attack models, and by automating responses. This way, NORD/LB wants to proactively prepare for the expected regulation in digital operational resilience, also known as DORA.
In summary, the Now Platform puts NORD/LB’s operations on a new footing. “It is an important enabler for us to become customer-centric and operationally resilient as laid out in our company strategy,” summarizes Heino Gartner.