Entering the new IT
BANKING AGE
1
r
WHAT'S NewS Issue 7 July 1997
knowledge fair
Information technology (IT) managers from around our international
network met together with representatives from head office Utrecht
last month as the effort to upgrade global collaboration and
information exchange gathers pace.The three-day seminar, organized
by Global IT, was held amid the tree-shaded grounds of a centuries-
old historical castle in Zeist, near Utrecht, and was attended not only
by 24 IT managers from around the world but also representatives
from Rabofacet, EDP Audit, the Controller's office and Famis.
•ncreasingly, our internal Communications
tetwork functions as a kind of a skeleton
and nervous system that binds the body of
our organization together. The recent
completion of this sophisticated network
serves to connect each Rabobank office
into a coherent global web. As the seminar
made clear, this network introducés fresh
methods for translating our strengths as a
knowledge-driven organization into real
value for our customers. The technical
possibilities include far more than just the
exchange of e-mail across national
frontiers and time zones. The system will
enable a number of other 'groupware'
capabilities such as video conferencing,
file sharing, and the creation of internal
newsgroups devoted to topics of common
interest - such Health Care, the Euro and
the millennium challenge - and will
^fcventually even support coordination of
^^ndividual transnational deals.
INFO INTERACTION
Understanding the capabilities and
limitations of our IT network is a
necessary first step towards its effective
and profitable long-term use. The Zeist
conference considered topical issues raised
by our Communications infrastructure: for
example, how to manage information
flows, how to best implement specific
applications (ranging from common to
local systems), and which overall support
standards need to be applied. At the
seminar, a number of worldwide
applications like Atlas, Devon and the
Help Desk were also presented and
physically demonstrated to all participants
involved. They were able to see how these
^fcystems can be implemented, what kind of
^nanking products and services they
support, and how they are most easily
managed. As a result, IT managers should
also be better equipped to explain the
practical business applications of these
new programs to colleagues outside the
IT sphere. The challenges inherent in
managing such a system - as well as the
information that flows through it - are
considerable.
GLOBAL COORDINATION
Managing board chairman Arthur Arnold
stressed that IT has now become an
integral part of the organization: an
essential element in our effort as a
knowledge-based organization to deliver
superlative value to our customers
consistently. In a networked business
environment, the role and responsibilities
IT - COMMUNICATIE
VOOR HET NETWERK
0ÊÊÊ> Als internationale
kennisgedreven
organisatie speelt interne communicatie een
sleutelrol bij het uitwisselen van knowhow.
Over dit onderwerp kwamen in Zeist vorige
maand vanuit de hele wereld IT managers
samen met experts van stafafdelingen en
verwante teams uit Nederland. Het was de
eerste keer dat zoveel verschillende groepen
een kans werd geboden ervaring en
informatie uit te wisselen met collega's uit
het internationale netwerk.
of an IT manager are every bit as
important as those of General and
Operations Managers. The Zeist seminar
was therefore an important gathering on
several levels. First and foremost, perhaps,
IT Managers were able to meet as a group
for the first time and understand that they
form part of a coherent global whole,
devoted to meeting an overarching set of
objectives. 'People were able to put faces
to names for the first time and also
exchange implementation experiences,'
explains Henk Rolvink, a Global IT
liaison officer who was a member of the
organizing committee. 'In the process,
they learned that they share many of the
same challenges.' It also became clear that
they confront similar problems and that
they can usefully coordinate their efforts
continued on page 14)
E
C
0
c
o
O
New York: Ed DeRosa (21),
Calvin Sanders (20).
Singapore: Albert Ting (25).
Antwerp: Dirk Marien (5).
London: Steve Barnes (11),
Michael Powell (9). Hong
Kong: William Moore (15),
Agnes Siu (2). Paris: Yves
Morvan (12). Milan: Marco
Tagliani (24). Germany:
Thilo Wolf (not present).
Australia: John Pascoe (10).
Popular Rabobank S.A.:
Javier Flórez (13). lreland:
Colm Feeban (17). Hungary:
Kdroly Felkl (16). Poland:
Agnieszka Buraczynska (22).
Indonesia: Maaike te Booy
(8). Brazil: Tercio Gaspar
(3). Utrecht: Stef de Kroon
(23). Shanghai: Jian Yang
Dai (7). IPB IT Centre:
Alvaro Puebla Gonzalez (1).
Curacao: George Flenrich
(18). Rabo Secnrities: Joep
Prein (19). Switzerland:
Einar Mjöen (14). Guernsey:
Cris Corbin (4). Head of
Global IT: tirny Kahle (6).
Asia: Yarny Chang (not
presentLuxembourg:
Jean Luc Winand (not
present).
