Strategic Information System of Commonwealth Bank: A Detailed Report

This report offers a comprehensive analysis of the strategic information system employed by Commonwealth Bank, a major multinational bank. It delves into the bank's core business processes, including customer service, business banking, and technological operations, highlighting their strategic importance. The report outlines the business and system requirements necessary for a bank like Commonwealth Bank, covering aspects like registration, financial planning, and system configurations. Furthermore, it examines the software and vendor selection process, specifically focusing on the bank's adoption of ERP systems like SAP and Workday, and how these technologies are utilized to enhance business efficiency through information management, process streamlining, and improved planning. The report also assesses the efficiency gains from technology implementation and identifies potential security risks, proposing mitigation strategies to safeguard the bank's operations. The report concludes with an overview of the findings and recommendations for the bank's strategic information system.

Running head: STRATEGIC INFORMATION SYSTEM OF COMMONWEALTH BANK
Strategic Information System of Commonwealth Bank
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s note

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STRATEGIC INFORMATION SYSTEM OF COMMONWEALTH BANK
Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................2
Business Processes...............................................................................................................2
Business Requirements........................................................................................................3
System Requirements..........................................................................................................4
Software and Vendor Selection...........................................................................................5
Utilization of Technologies to Improve the Business Efficiency........................................6
Efficiency Level of the Technology Implementation..........................................................7
Potential Security Risks.......................................................................................................8
Risk Mitigation....................................................................................................................9
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................9
References..........................................................................................................................11
Bibliography......................................................................................................................13

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Introduction
Commonwealth Bank is a multinational bank that is based in Australia. It was founded in
the year 1911. It conducts the general banking as well as the savings businesses across many
countries. The varieties of services that are provided by Commonwealth Bank are retail,
insurance, institutional banking as well as investment services (Commbank.com.au 2017). It is
considered to be the leader provider of financial services in Australia. Their aim is to create a
sustainable and long term corporate value. In this era of ICT, ERP systems are gaining
importance in the field of business operations. This system is generally used to replace the
existing legacy system in the business. ERP software is used for managing the business
processes in an integrated manner.
This report discusses about the business processes of the Commonwealth bank and it also
mentions about the requirements of the business. This report gives a brief overview of the bank’s
system requirements. This report focuses mainly on the software as well the vendor selection
process of the Commonwealth Bank. It determines three such ways by which the bank utilizes
the technologies in order to improve the business efficiency along with the efficiency level
associated with each technological implementation. This report also examines the potential risks
or data breaches that are possible. It also provides suggestions regarding overcoming or
mitigating such risks.
Business Processes
Business processes can be considered to be a set of linked jobs that is completed to
accomplish the goals of the organization. The main business processes that are give key priorities

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in Commonwealth Bank are the customer service, technological process, operations and business
banking. The target of this bank is to grow in selected markets. Their strategy is to fulfill the
simple requests during the time of sales. The customer service process makes sure that they give
main priority to the needs of the customers. The business banking process aims to offer services
to more number of retail branches. It also looks after the management of the credit approval
process making it sure that the process is simple and responsive. The IT team manages the
technical as well as the operational processes. It focuses on increased efficiency as well as
consistent delivery. It leverages the expertise and capabilities of IT in order to revitalize
processes as well as systems. Competitive pricing and product characteristics are incorporated in
the business processes of Commonwealth Bank. The technical process focuses on depending on
multiple vendors for improving its process. The main business process is the framework of risk
management. This process involves five main steps like identification of the risk, analyzing the
risk, evaluation of the risk, and then mitigation of the risk followed by monitoring process.
Commonwealth Bank manages all the business processes in an integrated manner so that the
efficiency of the bank improves.
Business Requirements
In order to start a business that is in the banking industry similar to that of
Commonwealth Bank, the initial step is to identify the business requirements of the firm. The
main aim of the firm should be to identify the structure of the business along with the sales and
the appropriate industry. Identification as well as registration is the main step in starting a
business. The financial plan needs to be sorted out initially (Fsi.gov.au 2017). A firm must select
a business name that is unique and that is not selected by any other business. The firm must

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perform a trademark check. Initially the bank must get an ABN or Australian Business Number
and register the name of the bank. ASIC registration can also be done if it is applicable.
The new bank needs to get TFN or tax file number. If the bank is expecting to generate
yearly sales above 75000 dollars then it needs to do registration for the GST. A tax of 10 per cent
is applied to all the goods and services that are sold. The bank needs to get business licenses as
well as permits. The business account must be separated in order to keep proper track of the tax
and expenses. After the business needs are identified, the strategic planning is carried out by the
board members. The business owners must have sufficient capital in order to start a new
business. Policies of the firm must be set before running the business. A five to six year plan
must be there in order to successfully implement and run the business. The risk management
framework also needs to be developed and formulated to control and mitigate any type of risk.
The planning as well as implementation process must incorporate federal as well as state legal
characteristics.
System Requirements
The system requirements of the Commonwealth Bank are a combination of an optimal
operating system along with proper browser combination. If the operating system is Windows
version 7, 8 or 10 then the system must have Internet Explorer version 11.x along with Google
Chrome version 37 or more as well as Mozilla Firefox version 33. In case of Mac OS Safari
version 9, Mozilla Firefox version 33 as well as Google Chrome version 37 is required. The
digital services of the banks can be done by following certain steps. Initially the bank needs to
get an email ID and a standard desktop. DSL or ISDN are required. The web browsers must be
updated for the purpose of improving security. The Internet banking method of Commonwealth

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Bank can be accessed via mobile phones as well as any other mobile device. The Android OS
requires the 4.2.X version. The phones and tablets that have iOS are required to the install the
iOS version 9.x and 10.x. The latest version of the software as well the browsers are required in
order to use the facility of net banking system of the Commonwealth Bank. The main focus of
the technical department of the bank is to make sure that the Commonwealth bank uses the latest
version of the software as well as browsers. Older version of the system will not permit any
online facility to the customers of the bank. The display requirement is 1300 pixel display width.
The most advanced version of the browsers is required for efficient as well as secured
performance as well as experience.
Software and Vendor Selection
Commonwealth Bank aims to modernize as well as improve the process that exists in the
organization. This bank has selected ERP or Enterprise Resource Planning for the purpose of
modernization of its operations (HassabElnaby, Hwang and Vonderembse 2012). There are
several functional departments in an organization and each of them deals with different jobs.
Every unit in a firm cannot operate independently. The functions of each unit need to be
integrated in a manner so that the organizational goals are achieved in an effective manner. The
ERP software helps the bank to integrate information and functions of different departments like
inventory, finance, and inventory as well as human resource department and CRM in order to
streamline the processes across the bank.
Commonwealth Bank has selected ERP SAP. The technological platform of SAP is
called NetWeaver. SAP is responsible for providing banking solutions to the Commonwealth
Bank (SAP 2017). SAP along with Accenture integrates the experience and functionalities of the

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Commonwealth Bank and develops customer oriented systems called CommSee, CommBiz,
CommSec, NetBank and the CIF. All these are responsible for identifying the needs of the
customers and it also gives idea regarding the implementation of change programs. SAP helps
the bank to analyze its profitability and efficiency (Farber et al. 2012). It also helps to calculate
the risks that exist in the business and provides pricing as well as costing models. Workday is
known to be the leading or main provider of cloud applications for an enterprise. It performs the
financial as well as the human resources related tasks of the bank (Schlagwein, Thorogood and
Willcocks 2014). The Commonwealth Bank uses the Workday software. AlgoSec is software
that is responsible for providing automated security management. It helps in designing and
implementing strong security policy in the bank. The flexible platform provided by SAP helps
the banks to run their business in an effective manner.
Utilization of Technologies to Improve the Business Efficiency
The ways by which Commonwealth bank utilizes the ERP in order to improve the
efficiency of a business are as follows:
Information Management and Process Streamlining: The bank is able to manage all
information in an automatic manner. Large and well establishes business will face difficulty in
calculating the sales margin as well as the ratio of profit that is earned. ERP software integrates
correct information from all the departments and helps the bank to analyze its performance.
Synchronized reports are also generated by the system. Commonwealth bank can get access to
the required information as fast as possible and this helps to take quick and decisions based on
accurate information. ERP software integrates the functions and processes of business into an
integrated and unified platform (Hailu and Rahman 2012). The businesses achieve higher level

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of efficiency by utilizing the ERP software. The processes that are integrated include inventory,
accounting, human resource, CRM as well as financial and accounting process. This method of
process streamlining helps the organization to access a database that is shared in the entire
company. There exists a certain level of transparency in the bank. The redundancies present in
the bank can be eliminated by utilization of the ERP software. This helps to improve the
efficiency of the business to a great extent.
Complete and Effective Solutions: The Commonwealth Bank utilizes the ERP software
that provides proper banking solutions that cover the aspects of accounting and cash
management along with security management (Schniederjans and Yadav 2013). ERP facilitates
the Commonwealth Bank to share the bank processes with its vendors as well as customers.
ERP combines the planning, reporting as well as analysis of the assets of the bank in one single
process. It provides the bank with a solution on a single platform.
Improvement of Planning Process: The Commonwealth Bank utilizes the ERP system in
order to improve the process of planning. It helps all types of planning in the organization. It
helps to analyzed the financial condition of the firm and plan accordingly. It helps the
organization to carry out the process of tactical, operational as well as strategic planning. The
bottom level employees utilize the ERP system to make operational plans and carry out the daily
tasks. The middle level employees use the ERP system to carry out the tactical planning for the
purpose of allocating resources. The highest level employees utilize the ERP system in order to
carry out strategic planning process. The overall planning process of the bank plays a major role
in improving the productivity of the bank.

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Efficiency Level of the Technology Implementation
The ERP implementation has increased the level of efficiency in the Commonwealth
Bank. There are certain challenges of implementing this technology like it is very difficult to
decide which processes are to be integrated as well as the process of customization. The training
of the employees is also required in order to carry out successful ERP implementation.
The integrated information has enabled the bank to use accurate data for making correct
and fast decisions. This is applicable in the strategic decision making process. ERP system has
enables the bank to improve the cash management process and improve its efficiency. The
operational level efficiency is also improved due to the use of the ERP systems. The efficiency
level of the ERP systems is high but there are certain challenges as well as risks associated with
the ERP software.
Potential Security Risks
There are several risks associated with ERP implementation. Outdated software can crash
and lose all the information. If software is updated late then it can lead to several vulnerabilities.
If there is no compliance with the security standards then it can lead to major issue. The ERP
system uses a central database that can be exploited by the hackers and misuse the system
information for an illegal purpose (Behnia, Rashid and Chaudhry 2012). There are also malware
threats like virus, Trojan horses as well as worms. These types of malicious code enter the
system and misuse the information. It either modifies or deletes the sensitive data. Other external
threats like the phishing attacks are potentially harmful for the system. The attacker can hide its
real identity and steal data from the system. The insider threat is more harmful than the external
threats. It can cause a major loss in the financial as well as critical data. There can be people

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inside the organization who willing share the data with outsiders, the employees can make errors
will modifying or entering data which can lead to loss of huge financial data. The deliberate
threats are dangerous because it has a wrong motive but the accidental threats are not much
harmful as it can be controlled by the organization.
Risk Mitigation
There are several potential risks that are associated with the implementation of ERP
system. These risks can be reduced or mitigated by several methods. An in house strong
technical team is needed for mitigating risk in a proper manner (Aloini, Dulmin and Mininno
2012). This team must make sure that they utilize dedicated resources along with correct
practices in order to keep the data secure. They must monitor the system on a regular basis in
order to identify any flaws. Proper set of protocols must be incorporated in the ERP system so
that employees can view only the required data. Updated ERP software must be used. Older
version of ERP software can cause errors in the system. This leads to mismanagement of data in
the organization. Strong security policies must be incorporated in the system in order to prevent
risk.
Conclusion
This report concludes that the use of ERP software will increase the efficiency of an
organization. This report discussed about the business processes of the Commonwealth bank and
it also mentioned about the requirements of the business. This report gave a brief overview of the
bank’s system requirements. The main focus of this report was mainly on the software as well
the vendor selection process of the Commonwealth Bank. It determined three such ways by
which the bank utilizes the technologies in order to improve the business efficiency along with

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STRATEGIC INFORMATION SYSTEM OF COMMONWEALTH BANK
the efficiency level associated with each technological implementation. This report pointed out
that the bank is able to manage all information in an automatic manner. ERP software integrates
the functions and processes of business into an integrated and unified platform. The businesses
achieve higher level of efficiency by utilizing the ERP software. The Commonwealth Bank
utilizes the ERP software that provides proper banking solutions that cover the aspects of
accounting and cash management along with security management. The Commonwealth Bank
utilizes the ERP system in order to improve the process of planning. The ERP implementation
has increased the level of efficiency in the Commonwealth Bank. This report also examined the
potential risks or data breaches that are possible. It also provided suggestions regarding
overcoming or mitigating such risks. Commonwealth Bank have certain potential risks involved
in implementing ERP system like hacking, malware attacks, phishing attack as well as insider
attacks. The malware attacks can be viruses, Trojan horses and worms. These risks can be
mitigated by the bank by following certain rules and policies.

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References
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Systems, 37(3), pp.183-199.
Behnia, A., Rashid, R.A. and Chaudhry, J.A., 2012. A survey of information security risk
analysis methods. SmartCR, 2(1), pp.79-94.
Commbank.com.au. 2017. How to start a business. [online] Available at:
https://www.commbank.com.au/guidance/business/how-to-start-a-business-201706.html
[Accessed 20 Sep. 2017].
Farber, F., Cha, S.K., Primsch, J., Bornhövd, C., Sigg, S. and Lehner, W., 2012. SAP HANA
database: data management for modern business applications. ACM Sigmod Record, 40(4),
pp.45-51.
Fsi.gov.au. 2017. [online] Available at: http://fsi.gov.au/files/2014/08/Commonwealth_Bank.pdf
[Accessed 20 Sep. 2017].
Hailu, A. and Rahman, S., 2012, June. Evaluation of key success factors influencing ERP
implementation success. In Services (SERVICES), 2012 IEEE Eighth World Congress on (pp.
88-91). IEEE.
HassabElnaby, H.R., Hwang, W. and Vonderembse, M.A., 2012. The impact of ERP
implementation on organizational capabilities and firm performance. Benchmarking: An
International Journal, 19(4/5), pp.618-633.