ATB Financial Accelerates Digital Transformation with IBM

Establishes Digital Innovation Lab and Builds an Open Standards-Based Digital Platform on IBM Cloud

TORONTO, Oct. 18, 2018 /CNW/ - IBM Innovation Forum ? IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that ATB Financial, Alberta's largest home-grown financial institution, has adopted IBM Cloud and IBM Services to establish a Digital Innovation Lab and build a mobile and web-based platform on the cloud that will help drive seamless digital banking experiences for customers.

The platform, which was developed in the Digital Innovation Lab, provides a collaborative environment for ATB's interdisciplinary teams as well as its network of ecosystem partners to develop personalized and engaging customer experiences. Initiatives developed at the lab are already live and serving customers, including Onboarding Express, which speeds up the process of opening an account, and ATB Prosper, an investment iOS and Android app for customers.

IBM Cloud technology architecture supports the digital platform built by the Digital Innovation Lab which is based on a multi-cloud strategy. The platform drives digitization of ATB's offerings, products, and services and equips its team with the necessary skills to design customer-centric digital solutions. The solution, which is based on open source technologies, allows lightweight packaging of applications that are deployed using Kubernetes, which automates scaling according to ATB's future business needs.

"At ATB, we are determined to transform banking and to create customer obsessed digital solutions. We are reimagining how we can create value for our customers using new ideas, innovation and digital capabilities," said Wellington Holbrook, CTO, ATB Financial. "Collaborating with IBM on building the Digital Innovation Lab has helped us accelerate the development of our capabilities and ensures we are laying the ideal foundation for rapid development of new solutions and scaling for our growth in the coming years."

The lab is home to ATB's design and digital experts and also hosts a team from IBM iX, a global business design partner and one of the world's largest digital agencies, that works side-by-side with ATB to create innovative digital experiences for its customers. The Digital Innovation Lab is based on the IBM Design Thinking framework, an approach to applying creative business solutions at the speed and scale modern enterprises require. The agile methodology supports ATB's vision to place its customers at the center of their innovation when addressing issues and developing solutions.  

"Today's consumers are increasingly expecting a more personalized and engaging customer experience. The IBM Cloud provides ATB with the platform to build customer-centric interactions and digital solutions that are foundational to business success," said Frank Attaie, Vice President, Cloud, IBM Canada. "Through the lab, ATB's team is equipped with the right talent, skills and design methodology to map their customer journeys into its offerings for a distinctive customer experience."

The digital platform enables new and current releases of functionality to clients. ATB also has adopted an asset-based development model where technology frameworks and accelerators are reusable. This leads to further innovation and enables ATB to onboard initiatives to the digital platform with speed and agility. 

About ATB
With assets of $53.3 billion, ATB Financial is Alberta's largest home-grown financial institution. Established in 1938, ATB is a network of 175 branches, 144 agencies, a Client Care Centre, four Entrepreneur Centres, along with mobile and online banking. ATB's more than 5,000 team members help more than 750,000 customers in 247 Alberta communities.

About IBM 
IBM Canada is headquartered in Markham, Ontario and is one of Canada's top ten private R&D investors; contributing more than $478 million to Canadian research and development initiatives in 2017. IBM has a unique approach to collaboration that provides small and large business, start-ups and developers with business strategies and computing tools they need to innovate. Areas of focus include AI, cloud and security. Canada is also home to IBM's largest microelectronics packaging and test facility in Bromont, Quebec and the largest software development organization in the country, with sites in Markham, Ottawa, and Fredericton. For more information, please visit www.ibm.com/ca.

For a French-language version of this announcement, please visit https://www.ibm.com/news/ca/fr/2018/10/18/s843683m20783k55.html

SOURCE ATB Financial