Digital and physical:

Creating
the Branchof the Future
How Lenovo technology
can help you reimagine
the customer experience

Lenovo recommends
Windows 11 Pro for Business.

Introduction

Getting started

1: Exceed customer
expectations

2: Empower branch
employees

3: Use technology to turn data
into valuable knowledge

4: Safeguard your customers’
future—and your own

5: Take yourfirst steps

At Lenovo, we havea deep understandingof where retail banking
needs to be, in order
to meet the demandsof its customers today
and tomorrow.
Enjoy our eBook as we deep-dive into thechallenges—and the solutions.

2Introduction

Getting started

Introduction

Serve all of yourcustomers, all of
the time
Such has been the speed of change
across Financial Services, that many ofyour customers already carry the branchof the future in their pocket.

1: Exceed customer
expectations

2: Empower branch
employees

3: Use technology to turn data
into valuable knowledge

The seamless experience available
at the touch of a fingertip on asmartphone or tablet is now thenorm for customers.
But, whether it’s a simple transaction orcomplex financial planning, they expect thatsame, exceptional level of service whenever
and wherever they deal with you.

4: Safeguard your customers’
future—and your own

5: Take yourfirst steps‘Wherever’ is important.
Despite the convenience of remotebanking, people still like to deal withpeople. You have plenty of customers
who are more comfortable opening adoor than opening an app; or perhaps
have a need to visit a branch.
This presents a huge opportunity totransform existing physical branches
into dazzling, engaging showcases
for your products and services.

3

Introduction

Getting started

1: Exceed customer
expectations

3% of interactions
happen in person
The majority of today’s customers do theirbanking on mobile devices1

27% of consumers
said that in a branch was their first choice for
opening new products

22% mobile apps

2: Empower branch
employees

3: Use technology to turn data
into valuable knowledge

4: Safeguard your customers’
future—and your own

5: Take yourfirst steps

The banking industry is experiencing
a branch renaissance, which strongly
suggests there is value in providing
innovative, physical spaces. This is nota signal that digitization is dwindling.
Far from it.

Leveling up physical locations to digitalstandards takes effort. But, given
the expectations of your customers,
empowering your brand to deliver its
promise across both bricks and clicks
isn’t just desirable—it’s essential.

According to recent research, the majority
of today’s customers do their banking on
mobile devices. Only 3% of interactions
happen in person. That said, a face-toface meeting is still the option preferredby people opening new products. 27% of
consumers said it was their first choice,with mobile apps coming second (22%)
and websites third (21%).

With the right vision, and the righttechnology partners to bring that vision
to life, the branch of the future will enable
you to delight all of your customers.
And, at the same time, to sharpen yourcompetitive edge.

second choice

21% websites
third choice4Introduction

Getting started

Introduction

Finance andtechnology:
we have a lotin common
Both the financial and technology
sectors are fiercely competitive.

1: Exceed customer
expectations

2: Empower branch
employees

3: Use technology to turn data
into valuable knowledge

Both are finely tuned to theircustomers’ needs—existingor emerging; and both thriveon the challenges of matchinginnovative solutions with newworking patterns.
Today, your organization will be
more hybrid than ever before, with
employees based in the branch, inremote locations, or a mix of thetwo. The branch and digital banking
channels are not mutually exclusive
anymore. The rise of the “smart
branch” as a channel combines theefficiency of digital technology with
in-person financial guidance. It also
provides in-branch-online access toexperts not based in the branch.
This is creating an omnichannel
approach to modern banking.

4: Safeguard your customers’
future—and your own

5: Take yourfirst steps

Approximately 6 out of 10
consumers go into theirbranch at least once every
12 months. That’s why it’svital to incorporate technology
into all banking activities inmeaningful ways.2

6/10 consumers
go into their branch at least once every 12 months.

5Introduction

Getting started

For staff working beyond the branch, impeccable connectivity,
computation and security are essential to a seamless experiencefor your customers. Your remote workforce need technology that
ensures exceptional customer service and the maximization of
their specialist skills—wherever they happen to be.
So: How will you make the most of your teams’ talents
to drive the business forward?

1: Exceed customer
expectations

2: Empower branch
employees

3: Use technology to turn data
into valuable knowledge

4: Safeguard your customers’
future—and your own

5: Take yourfirst steps

We understand your challenges.
At Lenovo, we know how to deal with the growing pains of a fast-changing industry.
Our experience and expertise can ensure that your teams are seamlessly connected,
so that they work together to drive innovation, design new services, and respond inreal time to security issues and data breaches.

Give them the smartest, most advanced
devices, and experience the power andcreativity of collaboration.
Give them an intuitive AI solution that
produces meaningful outcomes, andexperience sophisticated automation
as well as the ability to unlock thevalue in customer data.

Give them feature-rich, super-reliable
devices, backed by 24/7/365 support,
and experience minimal downtime,
maximum productivity.
Give them the tools to put theirideas into action and experience
the agility you need to stay aheadof your competition.
And, at the same time, to sharpen
your competitive edge.

6

Introduction

Getting started

Introduction

High performance,
no drama
Digital natives demand technology that enhances
their working experience.

1: Exceed customer
expectations

2: Empower branch
employees

3: Use technology to turn data
into valuable knowledge

Digital natives demand
technology that enhances
their working experience.
They perform best in an environment that
fosters rapid innovation, and they expect
devices that make problem-solving fasterand easier.

4: Safeguard your customers’
future—and your own

5: Take yourfirst steps

They also expect less downtime, and lower
environmental impact. Green IT is important
to your employees, to your wider
stakeholders, and to Lenovo.
From thoughtful design and manufacture,through recycled content and sustainablebio-based packaging, to one of the industry’s
first CO2 Offset programs, and responsible
end-of life asset recovery, we take oureffect on the planet very seriously.

7

Introduction

Getting started

1: Exceed customer
expectations

2: Empower branch
employees

3: Use technology to turn data
into valuable knowledge

4: Safeguard your customers’
future—and your own

5: Take yourfirst steps

Getting started
Take four steps to enhance the customer experience, boost
productivity, deepen customer insights, and maintain a reputation
for security—wherever you are on your transformation journey.

12

Make each branch a destination forcustomers seeking answers to their
immediate financial challenges. Then
open their eyes to a new, informed,
and engaging approach to customer
service, and meet their aspirations
with highly personalized products
and services—powered by modern
technology, including AI, behind thescenes, and at their fingertips.

Make every branch employee anambassador for your brand values.
Give them the training and technology
they need to deliver exceptionalcustomer service—in-branch, or online.
Offer them the flexibility and control
to complete administrative aspectsof their role remotely, so they canprioritize customer interactions whenthey’re in branch.

Read more >Read more >Exceed customer
expectations

Empower branch
employees

3

Use technology toturn data into valuableknowledge
The better you understand yourcustomers, the better you can serve
them with highly personalized products
and services that increase loyalty andpropensity to buy. Modern technology,
coupled with leading-edge AI, canhelp you capture and analyze data, tomake meaningful decisions that boost
productivity and customer satisfaction.
Read more >4

Safeguard your customers’
future—and your own
Modern technology can help you
protect your customers’ sensitive
data—and at the same time, protect
your bank’s reputation for probity.
It is only possible through innovative
approaches that meld innovation,
processes, and partnerships toprotect organizations against
digital security threats.

Read more >8Introduction

Getting started

1: Exceed customer
expectations

2: Empower branch
employees

3: Use technology to turn data
into valuable knowledge

4: Safeguard your customers’
future—and your own

5: Take yourfirst steps

1

Exceed customer
expectations
Recognize and respondto changes in customer
preferences and behavior

9Introduction

Getting started

1: Exceed customer
expectations

Lift customer satisfaction
by elevating the branchexperienceAs banking services increasingly moveonline, and your audience fragments, banks
have a golden opportunity to connect thedots between online and in store, throughdata driven decisions to reinvent the branchand deliver more personalized, morevaluable customer experiences, beyond
simple transactions.
It’s about making the branch the brand champion;
becoming a community resource for education
on relevant financial topics such as retirement
planning, wealth management consultations,and economic seminars.

2: Empower branch
employees

3: Use technology to turn data
into valuable knowledge

4: Safeguard your customers’
future—and your own

5: Take yourfirst steps

The branch of the future
is powered by technology
This future-proofing transformation
calls for new energy-saving, sustainabledevices and edge infrastructure, smart
collaboration tools that enable remotesupport from remote experts, andvalue-added services such as immersive
technologies to visualize client portfolios.
Digital signage to greet customers
and other IoT devices reduce frictionin accessing services. While businessprocess automation allows manualinterventions and touchpoints, tomaintain the ‘people’ aspect of services.
Banks must also demonstrate thatthey are serious about security andsustainability—priorities that increasingly
influence consumer choice and loyalty.

Also, it’s about creating a space where customers
actively want to be—where they can enjoy the
combination of modern technology and humaninteractions in an exciting, welcoming environment.
10Introduction

Getting started

1: Exceed customer
expectations

2: Empower branch
employees

3: Use technology to turn data
into valuable knowledge

4: Safeguard your customers’
future—and your own

4: Safeguard
5: yourTake customers’
yourfuture—and
firstyour
steps
own

2

Empower branch
employees
Put innovation at yourcustomers’ service

11Introduction

Getting started

1: Exceed customer
expectations

2: Empower branch
employees

3: Use technology to turn data
into valuable knowledge

4: Safeguard your customers’
future—and your own

4: Safeguard
5: yourTake customers’
yourfuture—and
firstyour
steps
own

Harness technology
to build yourhuman-facing brand
Increasing customer trust, loyalty and retention
starts with secure infrastructure. This must be
easily extensible from data center to branch
offices, to enable a single management plane
and the same set of management tools.

Metaverse applications are an increasingly
important capability. For example, imagine
the engagement you could create by having
a VR conversation with a customer in theirliving room. This is just one example of what
other major banks are beginning to offer.3

Back and front-office branch employees
need systems and devices that are easy
to use, mobile, secure, and supportiveof training activities. Both groups needaccess to powerful technologies suchas mixed reality devices for immersive
training, sight augmentation for thevisually impaired, and compliance training.

12Introduction

Getting started

1: Exceed customer
expectations

In addition, unlocking the value of your data is essential toelevating the banking experience for customers and staff
alike. Utilizing data insights has the power to transform thefundamentals of modern banking—for you, and for the industry
as a whole. Banks have data in spades. All they need are thetools to harness its potential. Lenovo technology can leveragelarge customer bases and the associated data to enable deeper
customer insights.
On the ground, your remote or in-branch distributed workforce
can benefit from secure, configured VDI Hosted Desktops.
Smart collaboration tools enable employees to support customers
remotely; tablets allow them to easily transact business while
sitting with the customer.

2: Empower branch
employees

3: Use technology to turn data
into valuable knowledge

4: Safeguard your customers’
future—and your own

5: Take yourfirst steps

This combination of
integrated technology
and personal relationships
underlines the value ofthe branch—and gives it
a very promising future.

Better IT, better business
Device-as-a-Service (DaaS) provides powerful devices configured
for the needs of users, with services and security to maximize IT
performance. Device lifecycle management provides end-to-end
monitoring, maintenance, and support for your entire fleet. When
your people have the reliable, high-performing tools and resources
they need, they can spend more time creating memorable,
tailored experiences for customers.

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Introduction

Getting started

1: Exceed customer
expectations

2: Empower branch
employees

3: Use technology to turn data
into valuable knowledge

4: Safeguard your customers’
future—and your own

5: Take yourfirst steps

3

Use technology
to turn data into
valuable knowledge
Build a holistic viewof your customers

14

Introduction

Getting started

1: Exceed customer
expectations

2: Empower branch
employees

3: Use technology to turn data
into valuable knowledge

4: Safeguard your customers’
future—and your own

5: Take yourfirst steps

Make branches data-driven
Your branches can become much more than a focal point forenhancing the customer experience. They can also short-circuit
the acquisition of valuable customer data.

One size doesn’t fit all

Why Lenovo AI

Precise targeting and differentiation of offerings
is a recognition that every customer and theircircumstances are different. It’s made possible
by Lenovo technology.

Through our AI partner ecosystem, Lenovo
partners with best-in-class AI software companies
to deliver better AI solutions for our customers.

Using IoT and AI, you can collect and analyze data,and identify patterns which inform real-time andfuture decision-making.
The financial sector as a whole is the third biggest
adopter of AI technology, and those in the industry
who haven’t adopted it yet, have a plan in place todo so.4 The reason for this is clear. Real-time AI
analysis of customers works to identify high-value
customers for targeted and personalized promotion
opportunities. Insights into patron preferences enable
you to improve the customer experience (CX) in very
specific ways. Also, cross-selling and up-selling new
products and services becomes faster, easier, andmore profitable.

Lenovo empowers organizations to accelerate
their AI journeys, deliver faster insights, and transformtheir customers’ experiences. Lenovo helps simplify
AI at any scale, with optimized AI-ready infrastructure,
proven expertise, and pre-validated AI solutions.
These elements are ready to deploy, giving
companies a competitive advantage.

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Introduction

Getting started

1: Exceed customer
expectations

2: Empower branch
employees

3: Use technology to turn data
into valuable knowledge

4: Safeguard your customers’
future—and your own

5: Take yourfirst steps

No-compromise connectivity
Powerful, secure, high bandwidth connectivity options
such as 5G public/private networks support the newworkloads and speed the process.
Localized, on-premises edge computer infrastructure
generates faster insights through cost-effective
solutions that are easy to deploy and operate.
It consolidates older systems onto newer, smaller,
more efficient and quieter edge servers that are
better suited for the smaller physical footprintsof the new retail branches.
This infrastructure can also include new local analytics
processing for AI/ML, with hardware accelerators,
analytics, fraud detection, even blockchain processing.

See more of the customer
Technology can help you build a holistic view of yourcustomers. This enables you to anticipate their needs,
move swiftly, and provide a seamless, personalized
experience, in-branch or online.
Data drives change—and better data means better
understanding of customer needs and aspirations,driving better results.

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Introduction

Getting started

1: Exceed customer
expectations

2: Empower branch
employees

3: Use technology to turn data
into valuable knowledge

4: Safeguard your customers’
future—and your own

5: Take yourfirst steps

4

Safeguard yourcustomers’ future—and your own
Protect your data,
and your reputation

17

Introduction

Getting started

1: Exceed customer
expectations

Your brand is one of yourmost valuable assets
Modern technology, with comprehensive security
designed in, can help you build customer confidence
in your brand by securing their data, information, andinvestments online, or in the branch.

2: Empower branch
employees

3: Use technology to turn data
into valuable knowledge

4: Safeguard your customers’
future—and your own

5: Take yourfirst steps

Running on Lenovo, Windows 11 Pro is built to be
secure right out-of-the-box. Enable hybrid workwith powerful protection, including enhanced
phishing safeguards, password-free security, andmore control over apps and access anywhere.

Plus, automating security releases branch employees to go theextra mile in delivering customer service. Edge computing eliminates
the need to send consumers’ personal data into the public cloud—giving faster, more secure, remote access to data at the branch.
Cloud and/or on-premises AI-based CCTV solutions, video surveillanceand computer vision enhance security, analytics, and visual intelligence.
Voice/text capture for brokers ensures compliance.
Device-as-a-Service provides endpoint protection across all devices,from the factory, throughout their lifecycle, to asset disposal. Also,
ThinkShield security (built into all devices and enhanced with partner
solutions) safeguards data and information.

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Introduction

Getting started

1: Exceed customer
expectations

2: Empower branch
employees

3: Use technology to turn data
into valuable knowledge

4: Safeguard your customers’
future—and your own

5: Take yourfirst steps

Celebrate the individual
The branch of the future will depend on innovative devices,
solutions, and systems. However, alongside smart technology
comes the understanding that banking is a human business.
Nobody has the time or desire to standin line. Drive-through teller stations could
prove a popular option for straightforwardbusiness. Similar in format to fast foodrestaurants using AI to minimize waitingtimes, AI processing can be employed here
to prevent fraud, to detect and prevent
errors, and to speed up transactions.
Conversational AI with natural language
processing (NLP) and multi-lingual
capabilities is a key emerging area andcan be extended from chatbots to in-store
kiosks with welcoming ‘digital human’ avatars.
Self-service tools (for example, appointment
check-in), digital signage (which could also
recognize customers when they arrive forpre-booked meetings) and touchlessdevices smooth progress.

Customers need convenient, secure, well-lit
locations to conduct selected transactions
in-person. These locations need to be open
24x7 for ATM transactions.

Branch employees andcustomers enjoy a uniqueconnection; making bankbranches accessible andengaging is key, both toreassure and excite.

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Introduction

Getting started

1: Exceed customer
expectations

2: Empower branch
employees

3: Use technology to turn data
into valuable knowledge

5: Take yourfirst steps

4: Safeguard your customers’
future—and your own

Digital and physical:
take your first stepto creating thebranch of the future
Use the power of modern
technology to delightyour customers

20Introduction

Getting started

1: Exceed customer
expectations

Transforming
Financial Services
across the world
Lenovo is a trusted provider at some of the world’s largest
financial institutions and brings a wealth of expertise to bearon the challenges facing the global banking sector.

2: Empower branch
employees

3: Use technology to turn data
into valuable knowledge

Lenovo is a
US $70 billion

Employing
82,000revenue global technology powerhousepeople around the world, andserving millions of customers
every day in 180 markets

Together with our partners, Lenovo is working to create products andsolutions to enable the transformation of the retail branch experience,
to enable deeper and expanded relationships beyond the transaction,and to build up trust by providing secure solutions.

What makes Lenovo different?
Lenovo is a US$70 billion revenue
global technology powerhouse,ranked #171 in the Fortune Global 500,
employing 82,000 people around theworld, and serving millions of customers
every day in 180 markets. Focusedon a bold vision to deliver smarter
technology for all, Lenovo has built on
its success as the world’s largest PC

company by further expanding into key
growth areas including server,
storage, mobile, solutions and services.
This transformation together with
Lenovo’s world-changing innovationis building a more inclusive, trustworthy,
and sustainable digital society foreveryone, everywhere.

5: Take yourfirst steps

4: Safeguard your customers’
future—and your own

Ranked #171
in the Fortune Global 500

21Create tomorrow’s
branch today with Lenovo
Explore Lenovo technology further. Discover how it can help you retain
customers, win new customers, and create value from every interaction.

Learn more

Sources©2023, Lenovo Group Limited. All rights reserved.

1	Accenture Banking Top 10 Trends for 2023, page 9: https://www.accenture.com/content/dam/accenture/final/industry/banking/document/Accenture-Banking-Top-10-Trends-2023.pdf#zoom=40

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2. Forbes.com: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinessdevelopmentcouncil/2023/04/26/2-trends-shapingthe-bank-branch-of-the-future/
3. Accenture.com: https://www.accenture.com/content/dam/accenture/final/industry/banking/document/
4. Forbes.com: UK Artificial Intelligence (AI) Statistics And Trends In 2023—Forbes Advisor UK