This knowledge is highly valued by
Al Khaliji’s customers, as the bank
communicates with every demographic
of readership through its social media
platforms and corporate communica-
tions department. “Our customers are
demanding,” says Benderlioglu. “They
want to know what is happening with
their data, and it is our responsibility to
reassure them and keep them abreast
of our updated security solutions.”CHANGE MANAGEMENT
“We have implemented the art of change
management,” says Benderlioglu,
reflecting on the transformation thus
far. “We have been through a rapidtechnological shift, and this has required
effective communication and educa-
tion both internally to our staff and
externally to customers and regulators.”
Benderlioglu said that overseeing this
process was a challenge, as it is not
an easy process, but Al Khaliji has
done it exceptionally well. “If you fail
to implement change management,
you cannot conduct successful, large
projects in sequence.” Al Khaliji has
two offices within the bank that are
responsible with coordinating this
process: a small, effective IT office,
and an overall strategy for projects
functionality that reports directly to the
CEO. “The CEO office itself has a
strategy and project management lead,
which works in full coordination with all
the stakeholders, but particularly with
the project and strategy office in the IT
department. This is required of a fast
paced bank like us, and this is what
makes us the ‘next generation bank’.”
Should the bank need additional help
with implementing a strategy, it
chooses to approach specialist
consultants. “Boston Consulting Group
assisted us and helped us with
implementing a new strategy a few
years ago,” says Benderlioglu.—
Saltuk Benderlioglu,
Head of Information and
Communication Technology“ Technology is
driving the business
environment, but when
devising our business
strategy, technology
must always follow
the business”133http://www.gigabitmagazine.com