BT Panorama was the inaugural winner of the Best Technology Offering award at the Conexus Financial Superannuation Award 2017.
The new category was introduced to highlight superannuation providers making the best use of technology to support members to manage their accounts and maximise retirement outcomes.
BT Panorama is an integrated wealth management platform owned by the Westpac Group’s wealth management arm BT Financial Group. The platform is accessible self-managed super funds and those going through an adviser.
“BT Panorama has undertaken a large-scale, and very expensive, technology project that aims to link all of their products and services including banking, insurance, superannuation, investments and cash management accounts,” award judge and Financial Services Council chief executive Sally Loane said in presenting the award.
“The technology is not just an adviser tool, as other platforms are, but can be used by individuals. The technology ultimately allows people to holistically manage their wealth.”
BT Financial Group head of SMSFs Craig Lawrenson said the beauty of the one operating system was it created a great customer experience.
“Our reality was we could either renovate old technology or we could, if you’re looking for an analogy, buy a block of land next door and build a new house,” he said.
“The beauty is that it is one operating system, which allows us to run all our offers, investments, super, corporate super, self-managed super, through the one system, so it creates great opportunity and customer experience because it is a single system they can navigate their way through.”
He contrasted this against the poor customer experience of jumping between different systems. These systems had emerged as result of different technology being developed for different products as the business grew.
Lawrenson added he had full backing from BT Financial to streamline the technology during the four-plus years the project had taken.
“It is certainly easier when you have commitment early in the stage – when you get a blank sheet of paper.
“The lesson for me is that you need to commit to the change and bring everyone else on the journey, and that is employees, customers, service providers and many to be part of that network, without that they get in the way of each other,” he said.
The other finalists in the Best Technology Offering category were HESTA, Kinetic Super and Plum Super.
View the full list of winners across all 12 categories.
More than $86,000 was raised for the Conexus Financial Superannuation Awards 2017 charity partner The Wayside Chapel at the gala dinner to announce the winners in Sydney on March 9. To donate to Wayside click here.
