SINGAPORE (June 28): Some 1,000 DBS Bank employees have started using Microsoft’s Office 365 in the workplace, as part of a pilot that sees DBS become the first Singapore bank to adopt cloud-based productivity technology.
The bank is targeting for its entire workforce to make a shift to cloud over the course of the year, when all 22,000 employees across 18 markets will be equipped with Office 365.
DBS’ early adoption of cloud among financial sector players comes amid Singapore’s smart nation drive as well as a digital revolution that is redefining the banking industry. With the increasing threat posed by fintechs, the bank believes it must empower its people with a set of productivity tools that enable them to be more nimble and responsive to customer needs.
With Office 365, DBS is now able to empower its workforce to work collaboratively from anywhere, across PCs, tablets and smartphones.
For example, meetings can now be conducted through Skype for Business to cut down on travelling time, and tools like enterprise social network Yammer provides a platform for employees to form closer communities and to collaborate across departments and locations.
In addition, to encourage knowledge sharing across DBS’ network of employees, every individual will receive an increment of file storage capacity to 1TB per user on OneDrive.
“Inculcating a digital mindset in our people aside, it is also important to give them work tools that break down silos, enhance collaboration, foster greater efficiency and facilitate working on the go,” says David Gledhill, DBS Head of Technology and Operations.
“In addition to discovering increased personal and organisational productivity, empowered employees connect and engage with customers in new ways as they gain new insights that will ultimately help the bank transform its products and services,” says Jessica Tan, Managing Director, Microsoft Singapore.
Microsoft says Office 365 adheres to the highest security standards for cloud technology – the Multi-Tier Cloud Security Standard for Singapore (MTCS SS) Level-3 certification.
In recent years, DBS has been encouraging its employees to embrace a digital mindset through greater experimentation and experiential learning. For example, at DBS hackathons, staff work with startups to create prototypes that address business challenges.
DBS in April launched India's first mobile-only bank, called Digibank, to boost its footprint in Asia's third-largest economy. The innovative model, which the bank describes as a "world first", uses a wide range of technology - from biometrics to artificial intelligence (AI) - to introduce a new approach to banking.
As at 3.29pm, DBS is trading 0.7% higher at S$15.37.