The Unappreciated Secret(s) of Banking Success If your bank doesn't have a Betty or hundreds of Bettys, it's time to change banks.

http://banktech.com/blogs/229500738
Original author:  Art Gillis (May 17, 2011)

Excerpts: The author is looking at the need for the "friendly BETTY" of the good old days of banking -some good comments from him

1. banks thought platform automation meant a conveyor belt?
2. She even wanted to know the name of the contractor my wife hired to shape up the house she bought for us. For years, whenever I called the bank, Betty would say, "Leave it to me, I'll take care of it."
3. These days, that very large bank cannot engage in free-form dialogue unless a customer has something plugged into his/her ear. 
4. And even though it took four decades for cashless and checkless to become partial realities, it is "peopleless" in banking that I believe will be the last blow to what was once a nice place to conduct business while providing work for lots of Bettys and a few good Bobs.
5. If your bank turns into a mausoleum, driven only by technology, without the Bettys, you'll lose the one distinguishing resource that makes the bank unique.
6.     Any bank can buy today's technology, but it takes talent to acquire the right Bettys. 

My Analysis: People are pining for the human based "collective intelligence" on tap for every touch point - which could have been possible only if only i had "my personal betty" . Of course while this is the ideal situation, the good old BETTY is retired or retiring shortly... and the BETTY junior is too young and needs another decade to become a GOOD Ol BETTY - so how does one solve this issue. 

Here is where smart human like realtime technology comes in - a customer state machine approach which refactors everything i realtime is the need of the hour. This essentially has the potential to make every employee of the bank, "my personal Junior BETTY"

These technologies has to be so fundamentally different from the ones in existence today. A fresh perspective is required for the same - It is UN-Database is nature, UN-Data warehouse in nature, UN-Query based approach in nature, UN- variable in nature, UN-traditional software process and methodology in nature....Very few companies can match this "UN" of everything... especially large companies- that way this introduces significant entry barriers for everyone- therein lies the silver lining :)