Growing Without Disruption: Why the Most Important Change Is the One You Don’t See
Financial markets are evolving at an unprecedented pace. Trading volumes continue to rise, regulatory and security requirements become more demanding. At the same time, clients expect faster, always on, more reliable and secure services than ever before. That’s why KBC Securities Services launched GROW IT, a five-year investment programme to strengthen our IT foundations. Program Manager Jo Van de Vondel explains why a stable, scalable IT infrastructure is essential to supporting clients' future growth.
Jo, what is GROW IT and why did KBC2S launch this programme?
"Financial markets have become significantly more demanding in recent years. Trading is increasingly moving towards a near 24/7 environment, digitalisation continues to accelerate, geopolitical events can trigger sudden volume spikes and regulatory and compliance requirements keep evolving.
In that environment, one thing remains non-negotiable: reliability. Our clients expect our services to remain stable, resilient and scalable, regardless of market conditions or transaction volumes. As our clients’ businesses grow – whether in volume, complexity or geographical reach – they expect our services to grow with them, without compromising performance.
That's why we launched GROW IT. Rather than reacting to future challenges when they arise, we've made a deliberate strategic choice to invest early, structurally and at scale in our technology, data and operations. Through this five-year transformation programme, we're strengthening the foundations behind our Securities Services and ensuring our systems remain ready to support our clients' growth. We believe GROW IT is more than just an IT program. It’s a long-term commitment to our clients."
“Clients don't buy technology programs. They buy certainty, reliability, reduced risk & growth.”
Jo Van de Vondel, Program Manager KBC Securities Services
Which investments does GROW IT cover?
"GROW IT is built around four investment areas, each contributing to the long-term development of our Securities Services. Our first priority is making sure our infrastructure can support future growth. That means strengthening the foundations of our services. With stronger foundations in place, we will be able to handle higher transaction volumes even faster than before. Moreover, enhanced monitoring and alerting tools will help us to further reduce operational issues to a near-zero level.”
The other three investment areas build on those foundations. The second area focuses on further digitising our services by enhancing the clients' user experience and by offering a scalable digital toolkit that evolves with future services. One important initiative is the complete rebuild of our Securities Services Online platform.
The third investment area focuses on establishing a sustainable data environment, as data is not just a byproduct, but a strategic asset. We continue to invest in a robust, reliable data platform, enabling data as a service for our clients. This will ultimately enable faster insights, more data-driven decision-making and better reporting.
As complexity can be a hidden risk, the fourth investment area focuses on further simplifying our architecture. By making our technology landscape more consistent and less complex, clients will benefit from greater consistency, lower risk and continuous improvement, while helping to ensure our services remain reliable and scalable."
“In our world, stability is often invisible, but absolutely critical.”
Jo Van de Vondel, Program Manager KBC Securities Services
Most of these investments happen behind the scenes. Why do they matter so much?
"The biggest success of this programme should be that clients hardly notice anything. They won't see the investments we're making behind the scenes, but they will benefit from the results every day: stable services, fast transaction processing and near-zero operational disruptions.
Our ambition is to always keep enhancing our capabilities to build a resilient and future-ready service. In financial services the best operations are the ones that simply work, silently and reliably. The outcome is something every client values: stability, predictability and, last but not least, trust.”
How big an undertaking is GROW IT for KBC Securities Services?
"GROW IT is one of the largest IT investment programmes we've undertaken within KBC Securities Services. Over the next five years, we're investing around 18,000 man-days to strengthen our systems and digital services. That's a substantial commitment, but it’s our mission to be a strategic partner for our clients, based on a solid, reliable and futureproof backbone.
One of our ambitions is to ensure our infrastructure can support 50% more transaction volume by 2028, while also improving the time it takes to process transactions. Faster processing isn't simply about speed for its own sake. As markets become more dynamic, clients expect transactions to be completed almost immediately. These ambitions illustrate what GROW IT is really about: building the resilience and performance needed to support our clients' future growth with confidence."
“GROW IT is about being a reliable, scalable partner in the long term, so clients can focus on growing their business, while we make sure the foundations stay solid.”
Jo Van de Vondel, Program Manager KBC Securities Services
