TD Bank has teamed up with IT leader Cisco to develop tech solutions that provide better customer and employee experiences.
A dedicated TD-Cisco team will co-create at Cisco’s new Internet of Everything Innovation Centre, which opened in downtown Toronto on Jan. 12.
“We’re working hard to figure out how to innovate for better customer experiences online and in the mobile world,” said Paul Milkman, TD’s SVP, CIO of shared technology services, business management and governance. “[Cisco is in] a unique position in that they underlie the internet in terms of their technology and they have a great deal of expertise about how people collaborate and communicate.”
Initial areas of focus for the project include the Internet of Things, which could involve ways to connect differently to banking solutions, as well as employee mobility, meaning “how TD can better support employees working in different contexts and potentially in areas where they will have an opportunity for greater creativity,” said Milkman.
Teams will also focus on energy conversation and contact centre operations, which will look at non-traditional ways of communicating with customers.
TD Bank has other initiatives and partnerships focused on tech and digital innovations, including its TD Lab at Communitech in Kitchener, Ont., and a partnership with mobile developer Flybits.
“You can look at what we are, and you can look at what we aren’t,” said Milkman.
“What we aren’t is a global telecommunications hub. What we aren’t is one of the world’s foremost experts in how people connect to each other from a technology standpoint. And so, these types of partnerships are critical to us. The reason we formed the agreement [with Cisco] is it’s easier to think with two minds with two different skill sets to solve some of these problems.”
TD isn’t the only bank to step outside its headquarters to design new banking solutions. Last April, CIBC partnered with Toronto’s MaRS Discovery District to develop digital innovations from mobile and digital to process improvements and future concepts. And, last October, Scotiabank announced its new “Digital Factory,” an innovation hub in downtown Toronto.
