For banks and savings banks, this could mean no longer having to produce and sell services in the same place. Think of a virtual branch, for example. Thanks to net-based applications, an employee in Braunschweig can now advise customers across the whole of Germany – and, in principle, he or she can do so around the clock.
Across the industry, this opens up a wealth of potential to cut material costs. In both cases, this raises the question of whether services and the infrastructure that these require need to be provided and operated in-house, or whether these should be hived off to external providers. Even though outsourcing can deliver considerable cost advantages, it’s a decision that should always be carefully considered.