DBS

DBS laid its platforms first, then let each business step on its own clock.

DBS did not use DCT Helix; the Helix reading is the author’s interpretation of public sources.

8.4% → 18.0%

return on equity, 2009 to 2023

DBS results releases^{8282. DBS Group. Financial performance FY2009 (2010); press releases of February 13, 2020 (FY2019 results) and February 7, 2024 (FY2023 results).}

“We had to stop thinking: ‘What will other banks do?’ We had to start thinking: ‘What would big tech do?’”
— Piyush Gupta, Euromoney, 2024^{8383. Euromoney. (2024, August 8). DBS’s Piyush Gupta: The sage of Singapore heads for the exit.}

When Piyush Gupta became chief executive of DBS in November 2009^{8181. DBS Group. (2009, September 1). DBS appoints Piyush Gupta as CEO [Press release].}, the Singapore bank earned a return on equity of 8.4%^{8282. DBS Group. Financial performance FY2009 (2010); press releases of February 13, 2020 (FY2019 results) and February 7, 2024 (FY2023 results).}. A former executive later described the bank of that time as “bureaucratic, unimaginative and unresponsive.”^{8383. Euromoney. (2024, August 8). DBS’s Piyush Gupta: The sage of Singapore heads for the exit.}

DBS did not transform everything at once. From 2009 to 2014 it rebuilt technology and operations as the foundation, deciding to go from about 85% outsourced technology to 85% in-house^{8484. Sia, S. K., Weill, P., & Xu, M. (2019). DBS: From the “World’s Best Bank” to building the future-ready enterprise (Working Paper No. 436). MIT Center for Information Systems Research.}; by 2018, 90% was self-managed^{8585. MIT Sloan Management Review. (n.d., c. 2018). Banking on technology-enabled performance management [with commentary by P. Cappelli].}. A second phase from 2014 put digital at the core, and by 2017 the stated aim was to “create a 22,000 start-up”: to make a bank of some 22,000 people work like a start-up^{8686. Gupta, P. (2017, November 17). Our digital strategy [Investor Day presentation]. DBS Group.}. By the end of 2017, 80% of applications ran in the cloud and release cadence had risen close to tenfold^{8484. Sia, S. K., Weill, P., & Xu, M. (2019). DBS: From the “World’s Best Bank” to building the future-ready enterprise (Working Paper No. 436). MIT Center for Information Systems Research.}.

The rungs were explicit. Business and technology teams jointly ran 33 platforms, each led by a business head and a technology head with joint KPIs; as one executive put it, “instead of funding projects, we fund the platform.”^{8484. Sia, S. K., Weill, P., & Xu, M. (2019). DBS: From the “World’s Best Bank” to building the future-ready enterprise (Working Paper No. 436). MIT Center for Information Systems Research.}^,^{8787. DBS Group. (2019, July 11). DBS named ‘World’s Best Bank’ by Euromoney magazine [Press release]; and DBS Group, DBS: The World’s Best (awards page).} The businesses then stepped on their own clocks: in 2017 each was given its own digital posture, from “pre-empt disruptors” in the home markets to “disrupt incumbents” in India and Indonesia^{8686. Gupta, P. (2017, November 17). Our digital strategy [Investor Day presentation]. DBS Group.}.

The soft and control systems moved with them. The bank ran more than 100 customer journeys in 2015, and in 2017 each of its top 250 managers sponsored one^{8484. Sia, S. K., Weill, P., & Xu, M. (2019). DBS: From the “World’s Best Bank” to building the future-ready enterprise (Working Paper No. 436). MIT Center for Information Systems Research.}^,^{8888. DBS Group. (2016). Annual report 2015: Live more, bank less.}. The scorecard was re-weighted to 40% traditional KPIs, 20% digital transformation (“making banking joyful”) and 40% strategic priorities^{8686. Gupta, P. (2017, November 17). Our digital strategy [Investor Day presentation]. DBS Group.}, and the bank measured digital value directly: in 2017 its digital customers were 42% of its customer base but 63% of its income^{8484. Sia, S. K., Weill, P., & Xu, M. (2019). DBS: From the “World’s Best Bank” to building the future-ready enterprise (Working Paper No. 436). MIT Center for Information Systems Research.}.