Single source of supply!

An IT outsourcing project usually brings together a whole range of experts from many different parties: the outsourcing company itself, the outsourcing provider as the future operator, the developers of the software used, migration experts as well as quite frequently a consulting firm for overall project management. This level of effort is not surprising in itself, as the processes involved are generally highly complex, have to be able to manage a number of interdependencies and – especially in payments – have almost no margin for error. It is perfectly valid to question whether it would not be more convenient from time to time if a single partner took charge of several parts of a project. After all, it is a well-known fact that the more parties involved have to be coordinated, the greater the friction.

This is one of the reasons why PPI AG has decided to offer not only consulting services and software for payments processing, but also operation of the respective platforms. With this payments as a service (PaaS) model, we are taking the next step towards becoming an all-round service provider in the European payments business.

So what exactly does that mean? Our customers can now have their PPI software operated directly by us in the cloud. They get all services from a single source – that includes the software itself, but also everything from consulting to the operation of the payments systems. Our offering thus covers the entire range of payments processing services. This takes the burden off our customers' IT departments and enables financial institutions to use their resources more efficiently and improve their competitiveness.

Why are we branching out into the operation of software solutions? The answer is simple: because it helps our customers to thrive in a rather crowded market environment. And because we have the skills for it: we have been successful in the consulting and software business for more than 30 years and have correctly anticipated the trend shift towards the increased use of cloud technologies. Over a year ago, we therefore entered into a cooperation with Broadridge Financial Solutions, a specialist for investor communication and technology-oriented solutions for financial institutions. It is not least thanks to this collaboration that we are able to offer our leading technology as PaaS.

Now is it all just pure theory? No, our comprehensive offering has already been tested in practice: Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCOB) relies on the PaaS solution. The initial setup of the project was classic: the bank wanted to migrate all customers to a central payments platform as part of a second-generation outsourcing and at the same time simplify its own business processes. At the core of the new architecture at HCOB is our TRAVIC suite as a standardised, multi-client capable, modern and hosted payments platform. In line with the customer's wishes, we have configured our operating environment in a way that allows us to control and monitor their payments end-to-end. The advantages of such a single-source outsourcing project became very clear as we were able to migrate the systems for cross-border payments to the new operating model after just twelve months – significantly faster than the projected one and a half years. What is more, it was achieved in times of the corona pandemic – and this should not be overlooked.

PPI's unique symbiosis of in-depth technical expertise and comprehensive development know-how makes such services possible. Offering operating models in the future was only logical given the trend towards outsourcing. To prevent friction caused by too many project participants, we accompany our projects from the initial planning stage to permanent operation from a single source – a complete all-round service package for payments.

You can find more information on our payments as a service offering here!

Yours,

Hubertus von Poser

[HASHTAGS]
payments as a service; outsourcing; payments platform; all-round service provider; migration