Why technology transformation starts with culture, not systems
Technology transformation is often associated with new platforms, infrastructure and digital capabilities. But for Fezile Dali, CIO for Business & Commercial Banking at Standard Bank, some of the most important technology improvements begin somewhere else: with culture.
During 2021 and 2022, when Dali was Standard Bank’s Chief Technology Officer, the bank experienced a series of service disruptions affecting internet and mobile banking. Restoring system stability was critical to rebuilding trust among clients and internal stakeholders. Yet, while the challenge appeared technical, Dali says addressing it required a deeper shift in how teams approached problems, accountability and innovation.
Creating a culture that finds problems
Large organisations often operate with legacy systems and processes that have been in place for years. Over time, “this is how we have always done it” can become a barrier to improvement.
“If engineers don’t have the freedom to try new things, to innovate, to make mistakes, and don’t feel like they can speak up about problems they find without punishment, failures are inevitable,” says Dali.
Creating an environment where engineers were encouraged to identify problems helped teams investigate the root causes behind service disruptions. One example involved clients requesting proof of payment by email. In some cases, the document could take around two hours to arrive. Engineers investigated and discovered that these requests were being directed into a batch-processing queue rather than a real-time queue. A relatively simple change significantly streamlined the process.
The same thinking was applied to scheduled maintenance. Standard Bank’s digital banking channels traditionally entered maintenance mode for approximately two-and-a-half hours early on Sunday mornings.
For an increasingly connected, always-on economy, that level of downtime was no longer acceptable. By examining the underlying processes, teams found that some batch jobs could be managed differently and that the channels did not need to remain in maintenance mode for the entire period. The disruption was subsequently reduced to approximately 15 minutes.
Stability requires leadership
The technology turnaround was supported by a “100 days of stability” mandate led by Standard Bank Group CTO Jörg Fischer. Leadership teams met with technology teams daily, while progress and improvements were communicated regularly to stakeholders. But Dali believes sustainable change also requires leaders to create an environment in which people are comfortable acknowledging mistakes.
He deliberately recognises team members who admit to errors because openness makes it possible to identify and solve problems earlier. Importantly, he believes leaders must demonstrate the same behaviour.
Dali recalls making a decision to postpone maintenance on a database management system despite his team warning him about a known software bug. During a high-volume period, that bug contributed to the system going down.
“As a leader, it was important that I admit to the mistake and apologise,” he says.
That principle of accountability was reinforced during an earlier interaction with Standard Bank Group CEO Sim Tshabalala. After Dali openly acknowledged shortcomings during a senior leadership discussion without blaming others, Tshabalala sent him a handwritten note thanking him for taking ownership.
For Dali, the experience reinforced a fundamental leadership principle: leaders deliver through people.
Technology remains central to building faster, more resilient and more accessible banking experiences. But lasting transformation depends on creating teams that are empowered to question existing processes, surface problems and continually improve.
That is where technology transformation and real growth begins.