Novuna Financial Services: Digital Transformation Journey
How a financial services organisation with £5bn in assets transformed their integration capabilities
Project Overview
- 5x faster delivery time for integrations
- 10x cost reduction for automations
- 80 live automations
- Over £2M in benefits realized
Initial State (November 2020)
When we first engaged with Novuna, they had over £5bn in assets and significant digital ambitions but lacked a cohesive strategy. Despite their size and potential, they faced several challenges:
- RPA was implemented in only one business unit for 18 months with "minimal ROI"
- Digital initiatives were siloed with "no integration/automation strategy"
- Integration and API development were ad-hoc and time-consuming (40 and 30-50 days respectively)
Key barriers included financial planning limitations, the perception of RPA as a "silver bullet," and a lack of understanding of end-to-end processes.
Our Approach
We began by creating comprehensive digital and automation strategies, and after a competitive tender process, selected Workato as the integration platform. Our approach included:
- Implementing foundational automation technologies
- Developing a "2-speed approach" to integration and automation identification
- Introducing an automation prioritization framework
- Establishing an enterprise-wide Automation platform team
Transition Phase (February 2021)
During the transition phase, we faced persistent barriers including:
Key Challenges
- Financial planning constraints
- Siloed thinking by process owners
- A lack of relevant data ("A HIPPO culture")
- Limited understanding of process performance and friction
To address these challenges, we combined high-level process mapping with detailed process mining, providing data-driven insights for automation decisions.
Progress and Success (August 2021 and Beyond)
By August 2021, we had achieved significant results:
Process mining using Fluxicon proved invaluable in uncovering unexpected process complexities. For example, it revealed that the actual invoice volume was more than twice the estimate, justifying automation over outsourcing.
Novuna implemented end-to-end automations leveraging a combination of technologies, including Workato for orchestration and integration, and Evolution AI for intelligent data extraction with a guaranteed 99.5% accuracy.
Current Success
Today, Workato has become the "go-to tool for integration and automation at Novuna," even being used for new initiatives like Open Banking. The current metrics showcase the tremendous success of this transformation:
Key Takeaways
- Novuna transformed from siloed digital initiatives to a cohesive enterprise-wide automation strategy
- Data-driven decision making through process mining was crucial for identifying and prioritizing automation opportunities
- The combination of Workato for integration and Evolution AI for data extraction created powerful end-to-end automations
- The project delivered substantial ROI with over £2 million in benefits realized and significant efficiency improvements
- Establishing an enterprise-wide Automation platform team ensured consistent implementation and ongoing success
Technologies Used
- Workato (Integration Platform)
- Fluxicon (Process Mining)
- Evolution AI (Intelligent Data Extraction)
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