solving end user computing (euc) · 2020. 8. 7. · why does end user computing need solving? when...

2020

Solving End User Computing (EUC)

Removing barriers to innovation & growth in Financial Markets

Contents

Foreword - Why Does EUC Need Solving?

Transforming EUC - An Overview

How EUC Tools Cause Major Problems

Developing Better Solutions for Financial Markets

Understanding the Capacity for Change

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This Industry Article outlines the key problems caused by End User Computing in Financial Markets firms - along with a plan to tackle these issues. Demand for software is skyrocketing, businesses need to gain more control over their operations, reduce their costs and provide their teams with the tools to keep pace with the rate of change, complexity and automation. We explore how they can achieve that by rethinking their approach to applications and the processes that exist around them, and discuss how low-code innovation is helping them transform their IT real-estate.

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Foreword:Why Does End User Computing Need Solving?

When we talk about End User Computing (EUC), we’re looking at a set of tools created outside the

IT department to solve specific business problems. Realistically, these are typically spreadsheets created by industrious staff who automate manual tasks because they want a quicker, easier way to get the work done. It’s not just limited to specific tasks, either. In some areas, these tools even find use as user-managed databases.

These tools are often created because of a gap in an available solution from the IT department. Though these applications are effective they often can cause wider issues. There are alternatives available to this way of working that can drive a much larger positive change across a business.

However, in most cases, this seemingly positive act only helps to paper over larger cracks in a firm’s operations. The presence of EUC solutions in an organisation is actually more likely to highlight a historic failure to develop and integrate technology and processes effectively. These tools add to the issue by bringing extra costs and risks to the processes they’re part of. For example, the fact that they’re often maintained manually, or are poorly documented and rely on word-of-mouth knowledge makes them a signigicant, sometimes hidden, point of failure.

In some cases, these tools can become embedded in workflows to the extent that it’s hard to imagine operating without them. However, it’s possible to embark upon a replacement programme by following the the steps in each category below:

Tracking down and resolving the initial business need is significantly more efficient than supporting an EUC application.

Exploring the scope of the process surrounding an EUC tool will deliver a more effective solution in the long-term.

Revisiting the use of EUC tools is an opportunity to assess the resources needed to prioritise the highest-value work.

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Transforming EUC - An OverviewIt can be easy to view the existence of End User Computing tools as a sign of

innovation and initiative. Faced with a problem, people find a way to develop new solutions knowing there’s no or limited IT resource available.

Review and streamline business processes

Reduce development time using a Low Code platform

Low Code platforms are proven to support the rapid delivery of large and small-scale business processes.

The code behind these platforms is typically industry-standard and easily supportable.

A good Low Code platform is stable, resilient and capable of supporting multiple diverse processes - easing the requirement for production support, effort and knowledge.

By deploying a single platform with the right focus and priorities (the ‘marginal gains approach’ we discuss later in this paper will help with this assessment), firms can make significant improvements in their business processes. This cultural shift can even lead to a 25% reduction in the resources needed to

run these processes over a 12-month period.

Also, if firms communicate the benefits of Low Code applications effectively, they can inject significant momentum into their transformation programme. This will encourage different business units to get adopt, seeing how the new technology helps all departments achieve significant ROI.



Firms using a Low Code solution will see many opportunities for reuse - allowing them to make rapid improvements across the business.

The ability to rapidly produce solutions using golden-source data creates interconnected products that reduce operational overheads - delivering more for less.

Using a single platform, support teams can easily support applications with fewer resources.

Create a culture of positive change and technology reuse

They could be the result of an increase in the complexity, size and regulatory demands on a product or supporting process. Unfortunately, in many cases, business units are forced to improvise with EUC because of the demands on IT department resources. Sometimes, it occurs when the cost of implementing a proper solution is too high - or there’s simply insufficient budget for it.

However, the use of EUC applications often leads to four major problems:

How EUC Tools Cause Major ProblemsIt’s easy to see where EUC applications arise from. The fast pace of Financial

Markets means that business need change quickly.

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EUC tools are a common source of errors, unlikely to provide any auditing functionality - while data validation is often poor. This is compounded by the operational risks they present through a lack of enterprise security features or an inability to manage users effectively. They often lack integration with existing business applications - a problem that prevents EUC tools from working at any kind of scale.

There are appropriate uses for EUC applications, including simple business processes that

require few concurrent users. The need to carry out specific, targeted data analysis is another area in which these tools can be deployed effectively. Beyond that, however, they become more of a problem than a solution as teams attempt to apply them to significant business processes across multiple users - or even use them as a source of key business data.

Increased operational cost

and inefficiency1.

Increased operational risk

(leading to financial losses)2.

Constraints on business growth

and revenue generation3.

Failure of internal audits (among

other downstream issues)4.

When this inappropriate use occurs, it leads

to issues across three key areas:

If firms see the number and dependency on EUC tools increase, they’ll soon begin to see control issues rise too. People typically turn to EUC to automate their manual processes,

but simply putting a spreadsheet macro in place doesn’t fix the underlying issue. And it certainly doesn’t fix it in a controlled way. Most EUC tools gather data to analyse and manipulate it before outputting a further

set of data. This not only makes data lineage challenging (or impossible), it creates pockets of undocumented business processes that are only known to the person who created them. And, as people move around or leave organisations, the EUC tools are left in the hands of those who

didn’t build them and definitely don’t know how to fix them.

So, as the input data changes format or the output format requirements change, the EUC tools break - driving the creation of further EUC tools to manage data interfacing. In some cases, the EUC application relies on outdated logic or static information that’s no longer correct. All of this leads to unexpected failures in systems that can put end-to-end processes at risk and cause loss events - not to mention the operational cost of the time and effort teams put into fixing or remediating the situation.

In addition to operational risks, the use of EUC tools leads to a technology environment where innovation becomes difficult and the pace of change slows. For example, firms can’t integrate their EUC tools with cloud processes - creating a barrier to progress with their cloud projects. Also, when strategic systems change, the people managing each EUC application have to spend time and effort manually adapting and testing the tools to keep them working. Ultimately, the only way to reduce that operational cost is to replace the EUC tools with an alternative that provides automated updates and testing.

Data lineage is a huge problem for EUC tools, with many unable to provide information on which users have done what. So, when it comes to the latest rules from regulators, firms could well be failing to comply without even realising it. For example, the Fundamental Review of the Trading Book (FRTB) requires effective data lineage. And, in many banks, EUC tools support front-office pricing - with a lack of data transparency leading to loss events as well as unexplained pricing.

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Operational Control

Innovation

Regulation

1.

2.

3.

Developing Better Solutions for

Financial Markets

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Exploring Replacement Technologies

As outlined, EUC tools can create more issues than they resolve. So, how do

firms replace them with enterprise solutions that don’t rely on an already-overwhelmed IT department? We examine how alternative technologies and

a refreshed approach to business processes, and can help organisations drive

a successful transformation programme.

When it comes to replacing spreadsheets and

other EUC tools, there are several technologies

available. However, a key consideration on selecting a solution is choosing one that doesn’t

simply act as a like-for-like replacement and create a different set of challenges to manage. For example, Robotics is a possible solution, but it tends to create yet more complex EUC applications. The reason spreadsheets still rule the hearts and minds of users is because

they’re simple to pick up and make progress with. Bespoke technology, on the other hand, is much less user friendly, meaning a solution like Robotics effectively becomes another EUC tool.

An alternative that solves both issues is the use of a single enterprise platform, supported by technology. It’s an option that can be used for large-scale strategic applications as well as small, rapid deployments. And, by providing

Addressing manual

processes alongside

EUC tools can drive

a 25% reduction in

the resources

needed to run

processes.

“

high-quality documentation on the platform and applications, firms can create an easily supported family of applications that can be scaled as needed and supported by any Java or Python trained technologist.

This is where a Low Code platform offers many advantages - not least the ability for firms to make it quicker and easier to deliver enterprise IT solutions. Reducing the coding needed to develop applications, a Low Code platform provides a complete server-side and client front end framework that covers areas such as data distribution, security and permissions, and business event handling.

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“The use of EUC tools leads to an environment where innovation becomes difficult.

Cost / Time Implementing EUC Replacement Solutions - Traditional IT

LCAP

Equivalent

This provides IT teams with a comprehensive set

of tools and allows firms to build applications at speed, making it simpler to deliver new business

innovation, add value around core systems, and replace legacy technologies (especially EUC tools). Low Code applications are also easy to integrate with existing systems, allowing them to access - and be a source of - key business data.

Another major element a Low Code platform introduces is the concept of reuse. The platform allows teams to support their new applications

and create new functions around the same code

and capabilities (as opposed to EUC creators who

focus on the point solution). So, as functionality increases, it’ll also be possible to connect many of these functions - developing the platform into an end-to-end ecosystem that further reduces manual touchpoints in the business flow.

The use of a modern platform further opens up a world of real-time flow and capability that’s simply not possible in spreadsheets and other EUC tools. Already working within a strategic platform, new applications can be reused multiple times and built upon without the need for the

transfer of logic from EUC to core platforms.

Identifying Where to Start

There’s no point in implementing a solution without knowing the scale of the problem. That’s why it’s important to analyse metrics to understand the landscape and work out where to start with the replacement of EUC applications. For this, firms must take a range of considerations into account, including:



“A Low Code

application platform

unleashes a firm’s ability to build

applications

at speed.

High Operational Costs and Risks of resources needed to maintain inefficient workflows and manual tasks

The inefficiency and excess effort needed to run and maintain EUC tools

Loss events relating to EUC tools and associated processes

Potential for loss from the EUC tools and associated processes

Likelihood of strategic systems replacing EUC within the next 12-18 months

Effort in replacing the EUC tools

Once they’ve gone through a thorough review, firms should develop a strategy for prioritisation - showing them where to focus their efforts. This will allow them to set up the replacement process and support model, allowing them to coordinate parallel workstreams.

Re-Engineering Business Processes

It’s not enough for firms to simply identify and replace EUC tools, they also need to examine the associated business and sometimes manual

processes. It’s sometimes less challenging (and time-consuming) to provide the right solution - either avoiding the need for the EUC tool altogether or making it simpler to create a

replacement. This is why it’s critical for firms to map and understand their business processes.

Data flow is another key area that the use of a single platform for EUC replacement can

support. It allows for the straightforward use of golden data sources, along with a single place

for transactional mappings (when required). This creates a single repository of logic that firms can reuse multiple times and isn’t dependent on

individual knowledge.

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1 - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-34247629

“Firms need to recognise that there’s a drag on all

staff from EUC solutions.

Achieving Marginal Gains

For change programmes involving small items, it can be challenging to continually produce a valid business case for each change. However, firms need to recognise that there’s a drag on all staff from EUC solutions. Any time something changes, the tools need tweaking or adjusting to keep them running. By reducing the overall reliance on EUC and removing many of these tools, organisations can deliver a significant win. Instead of having people focusing on mundane and manual tasks that drive high operational costs, firms can free up capacity and resource for higher value work.

To achieve this, the concept of marginal gains is a potent way to drive significant levels of change in increments. It’s a technique that was initially championed by British Cycling1 and

delivered success at the highest levels of the sport. EUC replacement is a programme that fits perfectly into a marginal gains approach. It might be difficult to create an individual business case for the replacement of each tool. But, as one step towards a wider goal, firms can demonstrate significant reductions in operational cost and risk as they make savings in manual processing and increases in output.

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Tracking the Benefits

If a clear list of EUC applications exists, firms can rapidly put a set of metrics in place to show progress. This includes a clear burn-down chart, coupled with an approximation of the manual effort saved - an important way to keep track of reductions in the operational costs associated with EUC tools. Depending on the level of issues and losses seen in the organisation, it can also be possible to record avoided losses.

It’s important for those in charge of the replacement process to track these benefits clearly and post regular updates - keeping the success front and centre in people’s minds. Techniques for this can include large posters of graphs in common areas, or in the post-pandemic world, regular mailshots of updates to screen savers and other channels.

Other benefits firms should focus on during the EUC replacement programme include:

Reductions in the cost of errors

The ability for apps to operate effectively at scale

The ability to support complex business analysis

Effective sharing of key business data

Integration of apps with existing systems

Delivery of improved data compliance

These are all elements that they can achieve through the use of a Low Code platform.

Understanding the Capacity for ChangeIt’s often the case that people and teams aren’t aware of just how much time

and effort they put into tasks. It’s hard to see the drain this creates or the overall cost.

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That’s why - as part of their EUC replacement programme - it’s important for firms to explore the capacity their teams provide. This will not only help to track current work, but will make the benefits that come from automation clear for all to see. It doesn’t have to be a complex exercise; even a simple review can yield surprising results.

A way for firms to track this is to create a simple task list and the associated effort against each task (while expecting this to sum to team size). The list of work done will evolve, allowing for the effective mapping of EUC replacement into potential effort saved. Even more important is the fact that this process will prevent firms from creating a simple, like-for-like replacement of their EUC tools; instead, encouraging a thought process that removes the EUC and peripheral tools to improve the end-to-end business process. This will also improve resilience in processes. In general, the fewer people involved in a process the safer and more resilient it is.

By undertaking this analysis firms gain a clearer view of their priorities, and the impact on their team resourcing can be monitored and managed.

About Genesis

Genesis is a global software company rewriting the rulebook for financial markets. Our unique Low-Code Application Platform (LCAP) is a robust, real-time, scalable framework and toolset allowing you to rapidly build and deliver solutions.

Our LCAP is built specifically for financial markets firms, which face a challenging and constantly changing environment. We help you adapt, innovate, and transform your business and operating models, making it possible to do more with less code in less time.

Find out more at genesis.global

© 2020 Genesis Global - All rights reserved.

solving end user computing (euc) · 2020. 8. 7. · why does end user computing need solving? when...

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