Lawrence Williams: Leveraging central banks' IT investments for
strategic advantage
Opening remarks by Mr Lawrence Williams, Governor of the Bank of Guyana, at the
conference of regional central banks' information systems specialists, Bank of Guyana,
Georgetown, 4 June 2012.
* * *
Chairman
Deputy Governor
Banking Manager
Deputy Programme Manager, Information and Communication Technology, CARICOM
Secretariat
Conference Delegates
Directors and other Staff members of the Bank of Guyana
Invitees
I wish to join with the Chairman in welcoming you to this opening session of the Conference
of Regional Central Banks' Information Systems Specialists. A warm welcome is extended to
those of you visiting Guyana and more so to those of you visiting for the first time. A special
welcome is also extended to Ms. Jennifer Britton who has taken time off her demanding
schedule to present the Conference Keynote Address.
The Bank of Guyana deems it a privilege to be hosting the Conference of Regional Central
Banks' Information Systems Specialists for the second time in the history of the Group. We
are grateful for the fact that nine central banks accepted our invitation to participate in this
conference. I thank you for graciously accepting our invitation. It is my fervent hope that the
activities over the next five days will provide a good opportunity to engage in the sharing of
ideas and experiences, as well as to gain new insights that would be beneficial to the
wellbeing of your respective information technology functions in particular and, by extension,
the institutions you represent.
The theme of this conference "Leveraging Central Banks' IT Investments for Strategic
Advantage" is apt given the increasing reliance of central banks on information technology
services to support their operations. Information Technology competes with other areas of
the central bank's activities for the allocation of scarce resources. It is only proper, therefore,
that the investments made in the domain of information technology must be able to deliver a
return that meets or exceeds that which would have been provided by the other alternative
avenues to which those resources could have been applied. In the final analysis, the
information technology function is required to contribute to the organisation achieving specific
outcomes in pursuit of its mission in an ever-changing local, regional and international
landscape by connecting personnel, business processes and data. I believe that these
expectations are shared by all our central banks in the region.
Putting together an information technology services organisation can be a considerable
undertaking that requires the investment of significant levels of financial resources to procure
the right people, processes and technology. For this reason, from a management
perspective, it is imperative that the investment gives the organisation value through
improved productivity and efficiency, enhanced customer experience, reduced costs,
substantial risk mitigation, better compliance and business continuity.
At the Bank of Guyana, we have made considerable investments in the area of information
technology over the years and continue to do so. Despite their cost magnitude, we persist
with these investments because we believe that once properly leveraged they will enable the
organisation to do more with less by: (i) increasing staff efficiency and productivity;
(ii) strengthening relationships with the organisation's customers; and (iii) fostering more
effective collaboration with various business partners to quicken the speed at which data that
is required for decision-making can be provided. In striving to achieve these goals, we are
exposed to the likelihood of being affected by the major risks that are attendant with
information technology use. Consequently, the institution continues to allocate resources to:
(a) make its information systems and the supporting technical infrastructure more reliable
and resilient; and (b) protect the integrity of the institution's data assets.
Achievement of the foregoing objectives is heavily dependent on all information
technologyrelated activities and investments being channelled in a manner that is consistent with the
organisation's goals and needs - the so called IT/business alignment challenge that appears
to be so elusive in many cases. Here, from a management oversight perspective, one cannot
overemphasise the necessity of embracing governance mechanisms that are fit for purpose.
To remain relevant, the information technology function must continually evaluate and if
necessary enhance its existing capability to ensure that it can meet the requirements of core
business processes while being in tune with the current and envisaged directions of the
organisation. As needs and roles change, the organisation must be able to customise its
information environment and modify its processes in response. This practice forms a good
base to pursue new information technology initiatives.
Allow me to share with you several prescriptive pointers which I am sure that you have heard
several times before and are probably guided by these and similar practices in your
respective central banks. Notwithstanding, the familiarity, I believe that it is appropriate for
me to repeat them at a forum such as this. During the course of this week, as you deliberate
on how to ensure that your organisation's information technology investments remain
appropriate, I encourage you to be guided by the following pointers which are
selfexplanatory:
•
Understand the value of your organisation's data and tie information technology
investments to the value of that data.
•
Tie information technology investments to factors that provide strategic value.
•
Understand the business issues that affect the organisations you serve to the point
that they become second nature.
•
Develop expertise in areas of business so that you can better contribute to the
enhancement of the various business functions in your organisation through the
application of information technology.
•
Remain in a continuous state of dialogue with various areas of the organisation to
facilitate shared learning that can eventually translate in the deployment of
information technology in a manner that is in line with the organisation's strategic
directions.
•
Capture the value of information technology-related projects, and adjust these
projects wherever necessary, to ensure that they deliver promised value.
•
Create a learning environment where the information technology function and other
areas of the organisation provide feedback to each other which is then used to
inform information technology action plans that are intended to provide strategic
value.
• Consider the business implications of systems. How could the technology be used
to execute/enable important business processes?
In closing, I wish to reiterate my expectation that the presentations, deliberations and
workshop over the next five days would equip you with greater insights that will enable you to
contribute to your organisations making better use of their existing and future information
technology investments. Best wishes for fruitful deliberations. May your stay here with us be
a happy and memorable one! To our visitors I trust that you will use every opportunity to
experience the warmth of Guyanese hospitality.
Welcome once again to all of you.
I now declare this 22nd Conference of Regional Central Banks' Information Systems
Specialists open.