The West Brom was very keen to build applications with their own team to build up their own capabilities for future projects. Instead of using Netcall’s professional services to help build their applications, they opted to take mentoring sessions with our expert Liberty Create builders.
After their training, their team of four developers were ready to start. They utilised one of our low-code mentors to guide them on any initial stumbling blocks and to advise on the best approaches. This continued learning has enabled their team to become experts quicker and equipped them to fix any issues that may occur.
The West Brom is hoping to introduce Netcall’s On Premise Adapter (OPA) to enable connection to other core internal systems.
For example, within Apply, customers would be able to apply and open a new account within around 10 minutes because the OPA will enable their data to be ingested directly into their core systems.
Currently, opening the account requires manual staff intervention.
As well as being fast and slick for customers, it will generate sizable efficiency gains for the building society.
Apply has enabled The West Brom to process applications faster. Once the application is received digitally, staff processing has reduced by 4 minutes per account opening.
With the efficiencies realised through their online apply journey and subsequent integrations, The West Brom have created ‘scalability’ allowing them to significantly increase the number of applicants that can be managed in a short period of time.
The scalability and control offered by Apply, means that The West Brom’s Marketing Team can launch new products quicker and they can adapt the application instantaneously based on customer and colleague feedback.
It has become a catalyst for faster introduction of competitive mortgage products and encouraged a culture where colleagues feel they can suggest improvements and see them acted upon swiftly.
Financial organisations are often held back by outdated, legacy systems and processes. Low-code offers the freedom to build whatever you want, but this can feel uncomfortable and risky when first introduced. The initial low-code applications at The West Brom were a big step, placing a lot of trust in their team to ensure all the security, structure and touchpoints were correct.
As the project developed, the senior leadership could see the progress and understood the control that they as an organisation would have over their systems. Apply has great visibility and support at Executive level and whilst it has been a very different way of working, it has proved that with the relevant guardrails and controls, this style of development can have significant benefits.
Confidence is high for developing future applications.