Pandemic highlights need for aggregated, actionable data
KlariVis, a unique and proprietary data analytics software platform developed by bankers for bankers, announced that Baltimore, Md.-based Howard Bank selected KlariVis to access transformative data enabling greater insight into customer, market, branch, officer and product information. The bank with $2.5 billion in assets, operates 15 branches throughout the greater Baltimore Metropolitan area.
In 2018, Howard Bank completed a merger nearly doubling the size of the institution, and quickly recognized the need for a solution to better aggregate and more easily analyze the various sources of data available across the enterprise. According to the bank’s Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Steve Poynot, “Enhancing access to data was prioritized as one of our top strategic initiatives. We have an abundance of data but saw an opportunity to drive data driven decisions across our entire enterprise.”
Initially, the bank attempted to develop a data analytics tool internally, but Poynot said that it was too cumbersome of a process. “We understood the need for an analytics platform, and we have an incredibly talented team, but at the end of the day we are relationship bankers, not data scientists, so we began exploring other options available in the market.”
Executives at Howard Bank were introduced to KlariVis at a conference hosted by the Maryland Banker’s Association. Rob Kunisch, the bank’s President and Chief Operating Officer attended the conference and stated, “We immediately realized what a powerful tool KlariVis could be for the bank. Developed by bankers, it provides the analytics needed to make data-driven decisions, more quickly. With KlariVis, every decision maker at the bank will have access to the most recent and relevant data. Having a reliable source of data that everyone can easily access and understand will preclude issues and will enable us to make smarter decisions.”
Most recently during the pandemic, Poynot noted that efficient, remote access to data was the missing link. “In a three-week period of time, we took an organization that had worked remotely on a very limited, small scale, to a completely remote environment. During this process, we realized the one thing we needed, the missing piece, to better help our customers and provide tailored solutions was better actionable data. It became glaringly obvious that data was the missing piece.”
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Poynot continued, “We were having conversations about liquidity, customer inflows and outflows and which customers were experiencing stress on a daily basis. To gather this information, we had to first determine which data sources were even available in a remote environment, and then spend an inordinate amount of time pulling various data points from multiple sources and attempt to analyze the numbers to gain a better understanding. KlariVis provides all of this crucial information; it will be immediately available at our fingertips, regardless of our location. We will have a much more complete picture of our customers and our organization as a whole. It also will be an invaluable tool for our employees who are held accountable for certain initiatives. Instead of waiting for a monthly report, they will be able to see the most recent numbers and updated information on a daily basis.”
With KlariVis, the bank can solve its information gap by aggregating data across siloed and disparate systems to give its executive team and staff at all levels of the organization interactive data visualizations and an easy-to-navigate interface. Howard Bank can now transform its cumbersome traditional reports into a multidimensional visual experience that allows the entire team to quickly interpret and act upon the high-value data that is important to serve their respective customers.
KlariVis gives bankers insight into key data elements influencing their institution such as deposit account growth, fee income, loan growth and trends, customer engagement levels, credit quality trends, financial results and more. KlariVis delivers this data seamlessly and allows bankers to quickly digest the information and focus their attention on the transformative items that will increase customer engagement and ultimately drive revenue to the bottom line.
Kim Snyder, CEO and founder of KlariVis, said, “Howard Bank’s story is not uncommon. We continue to hear from community banks of all sizes, that data is more important today than even just four months ago. Covid-19 has highlighted the data gap that exists with current siloed banking platforms that community banks are dependent upon. These banks all recognize their customers are talking to them every day through their transactions and they must have efficient and consistent access to the transformative data points to provide the customer experience that is demanded today. KlariVis was developed by bankers to solve this very issue. We understand the information needed to drive revenue, manage risk and streamline operations and we are providing it to our clients in an easy-to-digest manner, so that bankers can do what they do best; serve their customers. We are thrilled to partner with Howard Bank on its quest to better use the vast amount of data they have to provide a superior customer experience.”
