ASN Bank has selected Ohpen as its new strategic technology partner for mortgages. The agreement marks a major step in the bank’s move to standardise and modernise its IT architecture, ensuring a futureproof operating model for its core business of mortgages.
The agreement supports ASN Bank’s ‘Simplify and Grow’ strategy, laying new foundations for its integral processes, systems and organisation in this area of business. Ohpen will deliver a fully integrated SaaS platform covering mortgage origination, servicing, and credit management, replacing legacy infrastructure that has hindered the rate of change implementation, reporting transparency, and operational efficiency.
Selecting Ohpen demonstrates the bank’s commitment to leveraging financial technology, and recognition that FinTech is a vital capability underpinning competitiveness, sound governance, maintaining a competitive edge, and driving value creation.
Bianca de Bruijn-van der Gaag, Director Lending, ASN Bank: “Modernising our mortgage operations unlocks an effective performance in our ability to serve customers via our franchisees and intermediaries as key distribution partners for mortgages. Simplifying and standardising our end-to-end processes means we can organise our business operations more effectively and efficiently. For our customers and distribution partners this will lead to enhanced customer experience in document handling and accelerated processing time. Ohpen’s platform gives us the flexibility to evolve without repeated structural change, not least because this partnership enables us to meet current and future regulatory demands .”
Jan Lamber Voortman, Director Ohpen: “This is about more than replacing legacy infrastructure. It is about giving ASN Bank the agility, transparency, and operational efficiency required for the next decade. Cloud-native architecture, configurable product design, and unified data are no longer differentiators. They are foundations.”
A new era of configurable capability
Ohpen’s cloud-native platform provides ASN Bank with a highly configurable origination engine, automated servicing workflows, and integrated credit management, all built on a unified data model. This means product configuration can be measured in hours rather than months, delivering significantly higher levels of straight-through processing, and providing a single source of data truth across the mortgage lifecycle.
Ohpen’s platform can be rapidly configured to support and develop ASN’s existing proposition with annual SOC 2 certification providing security and compliance credentials and assurance in an increasingly scrutinised environment.
Efficiency, transparency, and regulatory resilience
ASN Bank’s decision recognises that long-term resilience depends on the supporting systems of record in addition to front-end customer and broker facing applications. Ohpen’s unified data model and integrated data lake architecture provide ASN Bank with improved reporting control and transparency.
Implementation is scheduled for completion by the end of 2027. The programme includes structured change management and the development of internal ambassadors across underwriting and servicing teams, ensuring that adoption is cultural as well as technical. As with any transformation, the operating model must evolve alongside the platform.
Partnership approach
The appointment followed a competitive selection process in a market that is increasingly active in platform consolidation and outsourcing discussions. Ohpen’s SaaS model, domain expertise, and willingness to align commercially around outcomes were central to the decision.
Crucially, Ohpen positions itself not as a traditional software vendor but as a long-term partner, bringing market insight, adopting regulatory changes as well as technical capabilities in a rapidly changing environment.
ASN Bank has selected Ohpen as its new strategic technology partner for mortgages. The agreement marks a major step in the bank’s move to standardise and modernise its IT architecture, ensuring a futureproof operating model for its core business of mortgages.
The agreement supports ASN Bank’s ‘Simplify and Grow’ strategy, laying new foundations for its integral processes, systems and organisation in this area of business. Ohpen will deliver a fully integrated SaaS platform covering mortgage origination, servicing, and credit management, replacing legacy infrastructure that has hindered the rate of change implementation, reporting transparency, and operational efficiency.
Selecting Ohpen demonstrates the bank’s commitment to leveraging financial technology, and recognition that FinTech is a vital capability underpinning competitiveness, sound governance, maintaining a competitive edge, and driving value creation.
Bianca de Bruijn-van der Gaag, Director Lending, ASN Bank: “Modernising our mortgage operations unlocks an effective performance in our ability to serve customers via our franchisees and intermediaries as key distribution partners for mortgages. Simplifying and standardising our end-to-end processes means we can organise our business operations more effectively and efficiently. For our customers and distribution partners this will lead to enhanced customer experience in document handling and accelerated processing time. Ohpen’s platform gives us the flexibility to evolve without repeated structural change, not least because this partnership enables us to meet current and future regulatory demands .”
Jan Lamber Voortman, Director Ohpen: “This is about more than replacing legacy infrastructure. It is about giving ASN Bank the agility, transparency, and operational efficiency required for the next decade. Cloud-native architecture, configurable product design, and unified data are no longer differentiators. They are foundations.”
A new era of configurable capability
Ohpen’s cloud-native platform provides ASN Bank with a highly configurable origination engine, automated servicing workflows, and integrated credit management, all built on a unified data model. This means product configuration can be measured in hours rather than months, delivering significantly higher levels of straight-through processing, and providing a single source of data truth across the mortgage lifecycle.
Ohpen’s platform can be rapidly configured to support and develop ASN’s existing proposition with annual SOC 2 certification providing security and compliance credentials and assurance in an increasingly scrutinised environment.
Efficiency, transparency, and regulatory resilience
ASN Bank’s decision recognises that long-term resilience depends on the supporting systems of record in addition to front-end customer and broker facing applications. Ohpen’s unified data model and integrated data lake architecture provide ASN Bank with improved reporting control and transparency.
Implementation is scheduled for completion by the end of 2027. The programme includes structured change management and the development of internal ambassadors across underwriting and servicing teams, ensuring that adoption is cultural as well as technical. As with any transformation, the operating model must evolve alongside the platform.
Partnership approach
The appointment followed a competitive selection process in a market that is increasingly active in platform consolidation and outsourcing discussions. Ohpen’s SaaS model, domain expertise, and willingness to align commercially around outcomes were central to the decision.
Crucially, Ohpen positions itself not as a traditional software vendor but as a long-term partner, bringing market insight, adopting regulatory changes as well as technical capabilities in a rapidly changing environment.
De Volksbank1 continues to rely on Ohpen’s BPO capabilities and core banking platform to enable innovation, modernisation, and growth
\n21 January 2025, Amsterdam – Ohpen, the SaaS core banking platform for financial institutions and specialist in executing investments operations (BPO) that wants to serve customers better, today announces that it has signed a multi-year BPO partnership renewal with Dutch retail bank, de Volksbank.
\nThis move extends the two companies’ existing agreement, originally signed in 2016, when de Volksbank selected Ohpen’s BPO capabilities with the use of its own platform for investment operations. In 2021, the partnership was extended with Ohpen’s SaaS solution, to encompass de Volksbank’s consumer lending offering.
\nTo date, de Volksbank’s trust in Ohpen’s BPO service and deployment of Ohpen’s SaaS core banking platform has enabled the financial institution to build, deploy, and measure the impact of innovative new tools and products, such as sustainable investments. This enables the bank to focus on and deepen in building its customer relationships.
\nThe renewed agreement will see Ohpen continue to deliver BPO services for investments and its core banking platform for consumer loans to de Volksbank until at least 2030.
\nJoyce van der Est, Director of Banking at De Volksbank, says: “Extending our contract with Ohpen was an easy decision. Thanks to the excellent BPO services, the reliable platform and the team of dedicated professionals, de Volksbank can focus on the customer relationship. We look forward to continuing our fruitful relationship.”
\nMatthijs Aler, CEO at Ohpen, adds: “After nearly a decade of serving de Volksbank with our core banking platform, we are delighted to be extending our contract further. We are proud that de Volksbank continues to put its trust in our team and platform, which we will continue to evolve to ensure it always enables agility and innovation.”
","desktop_body":"De Volksbank1 continues to rely on Ohpen’s BPO capabilities and core banking platform to enable innovation, modernisation, and growth
\n21 January 2025, Amsterdam – Ohpen, the SaaS core banking platform for financial institutions and specialist in executing investments operations (BPO) that wants to serve customers better, today announces that it has signed a multi-year BPO partnership renewal with Dutch retail bank, de Volksbank.
\nThis move extends the two companies’ existing agreement, originally signed in 2016, when de Volksbank selected Ohpen’s BPO capabilities with the use of its own platform for investment operations. In 2021, the partnership was extended with Ohpen’s SaaS solution, to encompass de Volksbank’s consumer lending offering.
\nTo date, de Volksbank’s trust in Ohpen’s BPO service and deployment of Ohpen’s SaaS core banking platform has enabled the financial institution to build, deploy, and measure the impact of innovative new tools and products, such as sustainable investments. This enables the bank to focus on and deepen in building its customer relationships.
\nThe renewed agreement will see Ohpen continue to deliver BPO services for investments and its core banking platform for consumer loans to de Volksbank until at least 2030.
\nJoyce van der Est, Director of Banking at De Volksbank, says: “Extending our contract with Ohpen was an easy decision. Thanks to the excellent BPO services, the reliable platform and the team of dedicated professionals, de Volksbank can focus on the customer relationship. We look forward to continuing our fruitful relationship.”
\nMatthijs Aler, CEO at Ohpen, adds: “After nearly a decade of serving de Volksbank with our core banking platform, we are delighted to be extending our contract further. We are proud that de Volksbank continues to put its trust in our team and platform, which we will continue to evolve to ensure it always enables agility and innovation.”
","created_on":"2025-01-24T10:27:08+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/6a194d87-1283-4339-b342-32d89b572f23.png"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"a6d44ec0-a6e7-58ae-b16c-0d9d60e16370","slug":"ohpen-technology-powers-april-mortgages-into-the-uk-market","type":"default","title":"OHPEN TECHNOLOGY POWERS APRIL MORTGAGES INTO THE UK MARKET","excerpt":"Ohpen are delighted to announce that their real time cloud-native mortgage platform is powering April Mortgages’ innovative proposition f...","body":"Ohpen are delighted to announce that their real time cloud-native mortgage platform is powering April Mortgages’ innovative proposition for the UK market. Ohpen is supporting in all aspects of the mortgage technology stack; from broker portal and origination through to servicing and credit management.
\nDirk Bekkers, CEO, said,” April Mortgages is an innovative lender and needs technology and processes that can support and deliver our mortgage proposition in the UK. A key part of this is to provide five to fifteen year fixed rates that put money back in the pocket of borrowers. Borrowers can overpay or move home without incurring fees and the rate reduces as they pay off the loan. Brokers can benefit from real-time digital case-tracking. Ohpen are able to deliver systems that provide all of that and we are delighted to have them on board as a strategic partner.”
\nOhpen, which last year agreed deals to support Foundation Home Loans and the Dudley Building Society, has quickly developed a reputation for providing best in class SaaS origination and servicing technology in the UK mortgage market. The company also recently partnered for global opportunities with Cognizant.
\nJerry Mulle, UK Managing Director of Ohpen, said, “We are delighted to be such an important part of April’s business, helping them go live with a really new proposition for the UK market. Innovation requires systems that can adapt and evolve to meet customer and business needs quickly and our SaaS solution is proving it is the right platform for UK mortgage businesses that want to digitalise what they are doing in a robust, scalable manner.
\n“We are particularly proud of the broker focused solutions that we have created for April and look forward to continuing to work in partnership with them to drive further innovation.”
","desktop_body":"Ohpen are delighted to announce that their real time cloud-native mortgage platform is powering April Mortgages’ innovative proposition for the UK market. Ohpen is supporting in all aspects of the mortgage technology stack; from broker portal and origination through to servicing and credit management.
\nDirk Bekkers, CEO, said,” April Mortgages is an innovative lender and needs technology and processes that can support and deliver our mortgage proposition in the UK. A key part of this is to provide five to fifteen year fixed rates that put money back in the pocket of borrowers. Borrowers can overpay or move home without incurring fees and the rate reduces as they pay off the loan. Brokers can benefit from real-time digital case-tracking. Ohpen are able to deliver systems that provide all of that and we are delighted to have them on board as a strategic partner.”
\nOhpen, which last year agreed deals to support Foundation Home Loans and the Dudley Building Society, has quickly developed a reputation for providing best in class SaaS origination and servicing technology in the UK mortgage market. The company also recently partnered for global opportunities with Cognizant.
\nJerry Mulle, UK Managing Director of Ohpen, said, “We are delighted to be such an important part of April’s business, helping them go live with a really new proposition for the UK market. Innovation requires systems that can adapt and evolve to meet customer and business needs quickly and our SaaS solution is proving it is the right platform for UK mortgage businesses that want to digitalise what they are doing in a robust, scalable manner.
\n“We are particularly proud of the broker focused solutions that we have created for April and look forward to continuing to work in partnership with them to drive further innovation.”
","created_on":"2025-01-24T10:23:28+00:00","city":"London","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/06aae10e-8155-4d7e-a304-4d9be27b22d0.jpg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"c09736f8-7701-5031-b3a4-1c656678bb25","slug":"ohpen-collaborates-with-cognizant-to-target-the-international-mortgage-market","type":"default","title":"OHPEN COLLABORATES WITH COGNIZANT TO TARGET THE INTERNATIONAL MORTGAGE MARKET","excerpt":"Ohpen is delighted to announce that it has signed an international strategic collaboration agreement with Cognizant in the mortgage origi...","body":"Ohpen is delighted to announce that it has signed an international strategic collaboration agreement with Cognizant in the mortgage originations market.
\nBoth companies recognize the clear and present global opportunity as mortgage lenders look to digitalize their legacy processes. The partnership brings together Cognizant’s proven, global BPO capability and strong local system integration presence with Ohpen’s market leading SaaS mortgages technology platform.
\nOhpen and Cognizant had initial discussions centered around the UK and Irish markets, where Ohpen has been gaining real momentum following their new customer announcements with Foundation Home Loans and Dudley Building Society. After developing a strong joint proposition in these markets Cognizant aims to take the Ohpen platform into other key geographies in Europe and Asia Pacific.
\nMatthijs Aler, Ohpen CEO, said ‘We are delighted to be working with Cognizant to expand our solutions into new markets and extend our offering and scale as we roll out our solution to new clients. Over the last 3 years we have invested in developing a strong international core within our product alongside our localization work as we have moved into the UK market. This work puts us in a strong position to work with global partners such as Cognizant to rapidly enter new markets.’
","desktop_body":"Ohpen is delighted to announce that it has signed an international strategic collaboration agreement with Cognizant in the mortgage originations market.
\nBoth companies recognize the clear and present global opportunity as mortgage lenders look to digitalize their legacy processes. The partnership brings together Cognizant’s proven, global BPO capability and strong local system integration presence with Ohpen’s market leading SaaS mortgages technology platform.
\nOhpen and Cognizant had initial discussions centered around the UK and Irish markets, where Ohpen has been gaining real momentum following their new customer announcements with Foundation Home Loans and Dudley Building Society. After developing a strong joint proposition in these markets Cognizant aims to take the Ohpen platform into other key geographies in Europe and Asia Pacific.
\nMatthijs Aler, Ohpen CEO, said ‘We are delighted to be working with Cognizant to expand our solutions into new markets and extend our offering and scale as we roll out our solution to new clients. Over the last 3 years we have invested in developing a strong international core within our product alongside our localization work as we have moved into the UK market. This work puts us in a strong position to work with global partners such as Cognizant to rapidly enter new markets.’
","created_on":"2024-02-20T12:21:23+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/57c02910-6d76-434a-8008-0834304270f3.jpg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"f6be9b80-a6d0-5949-8381-49465389784f","slug":"foundation-home-loans-selects-ohpen-to-transform-their-mortgage-originations-process","type":"default","title":"FOUNDATION HOME LOANS SELECTS OHPEN TO TRANSFORM THEIR MORTGAGE ORIGINATIONS PROCESS","excerpt":"Ohpen Services UK, part of the Dutch based Ohpen Holding, today announced that Paratus AMC, trading as Foundation Home Loans, has selecte...","body":"Ohpen Services UK, part of the Dutch based Ohpen Holding, today announced that Paratus AMC, trading as Foundation Home Loans, has selected its SaaS mortgage technology as its underwriting platform to transform their mortgage origination proposition following a full tender process.
\nFoundation Home Loans is committed to providing an outstanding service to mortgage intermediaries, and is harnessing the opportunity of using real time data to improve the broker journey. By automating key parts of the journey, staff will be able to focus on building stronger lender-broker relationships and other strategic activities that really underpin the firm’s growth aspirations. Given those aspirations, the volatility in the UK mortgage market, and the evolving regulatory landscape, this software investment gives Foundation the ability to react quickly to market needs.
\nOhpen’s UK division has been operating in the mortgage market since 2021 and is poised to imminently deliver its market leading cloud-based banking solutions into two other lenders.
\nChris Lomas, Director of I.T. at Foundation Home Loans said, “We selected Ohpen to deliver a best-in-class platform that will give our business the capability to meet our future strategy. The flexible and highly configurable range of core modules allows us to offer a state-of-the art broker experience. We were convinced by the quality of Ohpen’s team and their commitment to deliver the highest level of systems performance required to support our broker partners and our business.”
\nJerry Mulle, UK Managing Director at Ohpen, commented, “We are delighted that Foundation Home Loans have put their trust in us to help deliver a real step change in their originations journey. We see Foundation as a key strategic partner with whom we will collaborate to innovate and drive focussed change at pace for the specialist mortgage market. This is further evidence that the market is crying out for technology which can modernise the end-to-end process and remove the straightjacket that legacy technology has placed on UK lenders’ modernisation ambitions.”
","desktop_body":"Ohpen Services UK, part of the Dutch based Ohpen Holding, today announced that Paratus AMC, trading as Foundation Home Loans, has selected its SaaS mortgage technology as its underwriting platform to transform their mortgage origination proposition following a full tender process.
\nFoundation Home Loans is committed to providing an outstanding service to mortgage intermediaries, and is harnessing the opportunity of using real time data to improve the broker journey. By automating key parts of the journey, staff will be able to focus on building stronger lender-broker relationships and other strategic activities that really underpin the firm’s growth aspirations. Given those aspirations, the volatility in the UK mortgage market, and the evolving regulatory landscape, this software investment gives Foundation the ability to react quickly to market needs.
\nOhpen’s UK division has been operating in the mortgage market since 2021 and is poised to imminently deliver its market leading cloud-based banking solutions into two other lenders.
\nChris Lomas, Director of I.T. at Foundation Home Loans said, “We selected Ohpen to deliver a best-in-class platform that will give our business the capability to meet our future strategy. The flexible and highly configurable range of core modules allows us to offer a state-of-the art broker experience. We were convinced by the quality of Ohpen’s team and their commitment to deliver the highest level of systems performance required to support our broker partners and our business.”
\nJerry Mulle, UK Managing Director at Ohpen, commented, “We are delighted that Foundation Home Loans have put their trust in us to help deliver a real step change in their originations journey. We see Foundation as a key strategic partner with whom we will collaborate to innovate and drive focussed change at pace for the specialist mortgage market. This is further evidence that the market is crying out for technology which can modernise the end-to-end process and remove the straightjacket that legacy technology has placed on UK lenders’ modernisation ambitions.”
","created_on":"2023-09-06T13:38:24+00:00","city":"London","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/1ce0da0c-9861-459e-8974-8980b01e8a38.png"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"44249066-cb31-5b01-bdf0-e8f6d533d6ec","slug":"dudley-building-society-partners-with-ohpen-for-mortgage-origination-transformation","type":"default","title":"DUDLEY BUILDING SOCIETY PARTNERS WITH OHPEN FOR MORTGAGE ORIGINATION TRANSFORMATION","excerpt":"London, XX March 2023 – Ohpen, a market leading provider of cloud-based banking solutions today announced that Dudley Building Society ha...","body":"London, XX March 2023 – Ohpen, a market leading provider of cloud-based banking solutions today announced that Dudley Building Society has selected its mortgage origination and intermediary portal to transform its core mortgage proposition.
\n\n
Dudley Building Society has been providing mortgages for 165 years, providing solutions for applicants with complex requirements across England and Wales. The Society offers criteria-led, specialist mortgages, supported by human, common sense underwriting and a strong focus on intermediary service levels.
\nDudley is continuing to invest in improving its service proposition for intermediaries and has decided to transform its digital platform following intermediary feedback. With investment underway in its distribution and business development team in early 2023, its strategic intent is to now significantly step up service to intermediaries by innovating its mortgage origination journey, with a focus on improving the speed and efficiency of the decision in principle and application process.
\nOhpen, headquartered in the Netherlands, has been providing fully digital, cloud-native core banking solutions since 2009 with mortgage solutions delivering seamless digital mortgages processes from application to servicing. Ohpen’s UK division has been operating since 2021 and has generated significant interest with its highly functional solution.
\n\n
James Paterson, Chief Executive of Dudley Building Society, said:
\n“The Society is in the process of building out a new customer experience framework, with improvements to our intermediary application journey playing a key part of this. We’ve recognized that there is opportunity to enhance our intermediary experience through the digital innovation of our originations platform, which is why we approached Ophen.”
\nJames continued, “We selected Ohpen after seeing their experience in serving European financial institutions. Their intuitive platform provides the flexibility that we require, as a lender that serves the needs of applicants with more complex circumstances. The introduction of this platform will improve our digital intermediary experience, increase speed, efficiency and productivity, and propel us to the forefront of mortgage experiences in the digital era.”
\n\n
Jerry Mulle, UK Managing Director at Ohpen, commented:
\n“We are delighted that Dudley has selected our platform and proud to support them as the society seeks to leverage Ohpen’s API-first technology to deliver leading digital capabilities for its members, colleagues and intermediaries.
\nAt Ohpen we’ve been employing digital thinking since our inception to deliver friction-free and highly automated processes to enable lenders like Dudley to process mortgage applications far more efficiently and dramatically improve their time to offer.”
","desktop_body":"London, XX March 2023 – Ohpen, a market leading provider of cloud-based banking solutions today announced that Dudley Building Society has selected its mortgage origination and intermediary portal to transform its core mortgage proposition.
\n\n
Dudley Building Society has been providing mortgages for 165 years, providing solutions for applicants with complex requirements across England and Wales. The Society offers criteria-led, specialist mortgages, supported by human, common sense underwriting and a strong focus on intermediary service levels.
\nDudley is continuing to invest in improving its service proposition for intermediaries and has decided to transform its digital platform following intermediary feedback. With investment underway in its distribution and business development team in early 2023, its strategic intent is to now significantly step up service to intermediaries by innovating its mortgage origination journey, with a focus on improving the speed and efficiency of the decision in principle and application process.
\nOhpen, headquartered in the Netherlands, has been providing fully digital, cloud-native core banking solutions since 2009 with mortgage solutions delivering seamless digital mortgages processes from application to servicing. Ohpen’s UK division has been operating since 2021 and has generated significant interest with its highly functional solution.
\n\n
James Paterson, Chief Executive of Dudley Building Society, said:
\n“The Society is in the process of building out a new customer experience framework, with improvements to our intermediary application journey playing a key part of this. We’ve recognized that there is opportunity to enhance our intermediary experience through the digital innovation of our originations platform, which is why we approached Ophen.”
\nJames continued, “We selected Ohpen after seeing their experience in serving European financial institutions. Their intuitive platform provides the flexibility that we require, as a lender that serves the needs of applicants with more complex circumstances. The introduction of this platform will improve our digital intermediary experience, increase speed, efficiency and productivity, and propel us to the forefront of mortgage experiences in the digital era.”
\n\n
Jerry Mulle, UK Managing Director at Ohpen, commented:
\n“We are delighted that Dudley has selected our platform and proud to support them as the society seeks to leverage Ohpen’s API-first technology to deliver leading digital capabilities for its members, colleagues and intermediaries.
\nAt Ohpen we’ve been employing digital thinking since our inception to deliver friction-free and highly automated processes to enable lenders like Dudley to process mortgage applications far more efficiently and dramatically improve their time to offer.”
","created_on":"2023-09-06T14:51:39+00:00","city":"London","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/a1cc0aa3-9ddc-481d-8c8f-635e6f750c60.png"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"7facabb3-e6e2-5b8b-9f7a-b94c414209c7","slug":"growth-and-success-demand-that-the-stars-align-between-lenders-and-their-mortgage-tech-partners","type":"default","title":"GROWTH AND SUCCESS DEMAND THAT THE STARS ALIGN BETWEEN LENDERS AND THEIR MORTGAGE TECH PARTNERS","excerpt":"Much is made of the concept of alignment. Without it many things in life become unbalanced and simply do not work well enough. Our langua...","body":"Much is made of the concept of alignment. Without it many things in life become unbalanced and simply do not work well enough. Our language and literature are replete with references to alignment and how important it is. Things are said to work out well or for the better when ‘the stars align’. In business, alignment enables us to go further, faster.
\nMost executives know almost intuitively today that for their businesses to succeed alignment of purpose, strategy, organisational capabilities, resources and management systems is key in delivering the goals they set. All these things are inextricably connected in delivering success. However, their overall collective strength is only as good as the weakest link.
\nIn the world of mortgage tech, you see misalignment in the ongoing use of many legacy systems and legacy providers. Technology once considered leading edge is usurped and the prospect of decoupling for both parties almost become an existential threat. It’s particularly true now that the era of cloud native solutions has arrived. Non-alignment may not be visible to end borrowers as front-end digital user interfaces often mask legacy IT behind the scenes, but these systems and their support functions often involve manual mid-office functions that are lineal rather than automated and flexible. Yet while many understand the risks of non-alignment, the perceived risks and cost of executing change deters many from acting – particularly when that re-alignment is complex. As a result, business as usual concerns take-over to the detriment of addressing the real issues. That is a perception based in old experience. Today, the opportunity is a continuous delivery of transformational steps that can involve running legacy and new platforms together as you evolve.
\nAffordable, real-time cloud native solutions are changing the dynamics of IT partnerships between mortgage lenders and their tech partners. Where once misalignment was almost baked into the solution, flexible business goal alignment with much lower operational risk in changing can now make embracing new ways of doing things eminently affordable.
\nThis matters because since the 1970s and 1980s years of legacy IT are now generating compatibility issues, creating data silos and security issues as well as performance and productivity issues that can lead to a lack of competitiveness. To make matters worse, the support of systems becomes the preserve of fewer and fewer individuals to the point where antique technology commands the expertise of antique restorers and the price tag that accompanies them.
\nThe point of modern technology is that you have the appropriate amount of structure for today’s needs and retain a flexible set-up that allows you to meet the demands of tomorrow’s world. You eliminate legacy with principles that will allow you to reduce any such issues repeating themselves in twenty-years’ time. Configuration becomes key in an environment where you can easily add new technology because your system layers are connected via advanced API’s and system updates are continuously delivered from the cloud.
\nIf legacy technology is accompanied by legacy thinking, it creates some very real issues. Interoperability is just one example. As digitalisation occurs through a value chain, no lender can afford to have systems that do not evolve to accommodate new ways of interacting with distributors, changes in regulation, and offer scale at an affordable investment. Putting plasters on deep wounds does not cure anything.
\nMany layers of legacy IT and thinking are costing lenders huge sums of money just to stand still. In commercial terms, the lack of alignment is expensive and diminishes business value. If you recognise your own business in any of the above, then we should talk.
\nJerry Mulle, UK Managing Director, Ohpen
\nWritten by Kimberly Dondo, Mortgage Finance Gazette
\nRead the original article here.
","desktop_body":"Much is made of the concept of alignment. Without it many things in life become unbalanced and simply do not work well enough. Our language and literature are replete with references to alignment and how important it is. Things are said to work out well or for the better when ‘the stars align’. In business, alignment enables us to go further, faster.
\nMost executives know almost intuitively today that for their businesses to succeed alignment of purpose, strategy, organisational capabilities, resources and management systems is key in delivering the goals they set. All these things are inextricably connected in delivering success. However, their overall collective strength is only as good as the weakest link.
\nIn the world of mortgage tech, you see misalignment in the ongoing use of many legacy systems and legacy providers. Technology once considered leading edge is usurped and the prospect of decoupling for both parties almost become an existential threat. It’s particularly true now that the era of cloud native solutions has arrived. Non-alignment may not be visible to end borrowers as front-end digital user interfaces often mask legacy IT behind the scenes, but these systems and their support functions often involve manual mid-office functions that are lineal rather than automated and flexible. Yet while many understand the risks of non-alignment, the perceived risks and cost of executing change deters many from acting – particularly when that re-alignment is complex. As a result, business as usual concerns take-over to the detriment of addressing the real issues. That is a perception based in old experience. Today, the opportunity is a continuous delivery of transformational steps that can involve running legacy and new platforms together as you evolve.
\nAffordable, real-time cloud native solutions are changing the dynamics of IT partnerships between mortgage lenders and their tech partners. Where once misalignment was almost baked into the solution, flexible business goal alignment with much lower operational risk in changing can now make embracing new ways of doing things eminently affordable.
\nThis matters because since the 1970s and 1980s years of legacy IT are now generating compatibility issues, creating data silos and security issues as well as performance and productivity issues that can lead to a lack of competitiveness. To make matters worse, the support of systems becomes the preserve of fewer and fewer individuals to the point where antique technology commands the expertise of antique restorers and the price tag that accompanies them.
\nThe point of modern technology is that you have the appropriate amount of structure for today’s needs and retain a flexible set-up that allows you to meet the demands of tomorrow’s world. You eliminate legacy with principles that will allow you to reduce any such issues repeating themselves in twenty-years’ time. Configuration becomes key in an environment where you can easily add new technology because your system layers are connected via advanced API’s and system updates are continuously delivered from the cloud.
\nIf legacy technology is accompanied by legacy thinking, it creates some very real issues. Interoperability is just one example. As digitalisation occurs through a value chain, no lender can afford to have systems that do not evolve to accommodate new ways of interacting with distributors, changes in regulation, and offer scale at an affordable investment. Putting plasters on deep wounds does not cure anything.
\nMany layers of legacy IT and thinking are costing lenders huge sums of money just to stand still. In commercial terms, the lack of alignment is expensive and diminishes business value. If you recognise your own business in any of the above, then we should talk.
\nJerry Mulle, UK Managing Director, Ohpen
\nWritten by Kimberly Dondo, Mortgage Finance Gazette
\nRead the original article here.
","created_on":"2022-01-21T08:56:59+00:00","city":"London","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/ee22c1ba-8d83-4422-8a56-82c8bb5ec433.jpg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"f4ded85b-e0f9-5f05-a9a0-b18adb16e60a","slug":"ohpen-secures-30-million-funding-for-further-expansion","type":"default","title":"OHPEN SECURES €30 MILLION FUNDING FOR FURTHER EXPANSION","excerpt":"Ohpen, the preferred cloud-based banking platform of leading financial providers, announced today that it has raised €30 million in growt...","body":"Ohpen, the preferred cloud-based banking platform of leading financial providers, announced today that it has raised €30 million in growth capital from Deutsche Bank in the Netherlands. Funds will be directed towards continued expansion efforts into markets such as the UK and deepening Ohpen’s market-leading functionality.
\nThe funding enables Ohpen to pursue its strategic vision, and position as an ambitious player in the financial infrastructure space. “With the global spending market for bank IT estimated at $300 billion, there is a clear drive by existing financial providers to modernize their IT systems and meet the demands of their customers, shareholders and supervisory authorities” said Ohpen’s CFO Douwe Bijl. “This funding supports our ongoing internationalization, enables us to speed up our innovation roadmap and take on a bigger share of this market”.
\nDeutsche Bank funding was made possible because of Ohpen’s growing client base, strong business model, and its market positioning around growth in the digitalisation of financial services.
\nClients and prospects of Ohpen benefit from a unique proposition. Built on Amazon Web Services, the platform powers the administration of savings, investment, pension, mortgage and loan products for financial services providers from the cloud. It also automates all core processes which eliminates operational burdens and errors. Customers are rewarded with 100% friction-free (and instant) banking experiences while providers claw back time, costs and resources that can be reallocated to “doing business”.
\nThis step further solidifies Ohpen’s journey to becoming a world leader and compliments recent moves including the acquisition of lending technology leader Davinci, the appointment of supervisory board members Leni Boeren (KLM- Air France supervisory board member) and recent hire of banking veteran Jerry Mulle as Ohpen UK Managing Director.
\nAbout Ohpen:
\nOhpen is the preferred digital banking platform of leading banks and financial services providers. Providing a modern SaaS banking engine that runs entirely in the cloud, Ohpen enables clients to modernize their banking IT systems with reliable, adaptable, and fully compliant technology. With offices across the UK and Benelux regions, Ohpen powers savings, investment, mortgage, loan and pension products for clients including Aegon, Knab, Robeco, Nationale-Nederlanden, BCM Global, CMIS, Volksbank and LeasePlan Bank. The funding as described in this update underlines Ohpen commitment to helping clients build better banking experiences and overcome the burden of legacy IT. For more information, visit Ohpen.com
","desktop_body":"Ohpen, the preferred cloud-based banking platform of leading financial providers, announced today that it has raised €30 million in growth capital from Deutsche Bank in the Netherlands. Funds will be directed towards continued expansion efforts into markets such as the UK and deepening Ohpen’s market-leading functionality.
\nThe funding enables Ohpen to pursue its strategic vision, and position as an ambitious player in the financial infrastructure space. “With the global spending market for bank IT estimated at $300 billion, there is a clear drive by existing financial providers to modernize their IT systems and meet the demands of their customers, shareholders and supervisory authorities” said Ohpen’s CFO Douwe Bijl. “This funding supports our ongoing internationalization, enables us to speed up our innovation roadmap and take on a bigger share of this market”.
\nDeutsche Bank funding was made possible because of Ohpen’s growing client base, strong business model, and its market positioning around growth in the digitalisation of financial services.
\nClients and prospects of Ohpen benefit from a unique proposition. Built on Amazon Web Services, the platform powers the administration of savings, investment, pension, mortgage and loan products for financial services providers from the cloud. It also automates all core processes which eliminates operational burdens and errors. Customers are rewarded with 100% friction-free (and instant) banking experiences while providers claw back time, costs and resources that can be reallocated to “doing business”.
\nThis step further solidifies Ohpen’s journey to becoming a world leader and compliments recent moves including the acquisition of lending technology leader Davinci, the appointment of supervisory board members Leni Boeren (KLM- Air France supervisory board member) and recent hire of banking veteran Jerry Mulle as Ohpen UK Managing Director.
\nAbout Ohpen:
\nOhpen is the preferred digital banking platform of leading banks and financial services providers. Providing a modern SaaS banking engine that runs entirely in the cloud, Ohpen enables clients to modernize their banking IT systems with reliable, adaptable, and fully compliant technology. With offices across the UK and Benelux regions, Ohpen powers savings, investment, mortgage, loan and pension products for clients including Aegon, Knab, Robeco, Nationale-Nederlanden, BCM Global, CMIS, Volksbank and LeasePlan Bank. The funding as described in this update underlines Ohpen commitment to helping clients build better banking experiences and overcome the burden of legacy IT. For more information, visit Ohpen.com
","created_on":"2021-09-03T08:16:13+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/3c4fb683-121e-4bc9-9977-f8bfdf1f6228.jpg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"b4369039-14ec-5468-ae96-4c23717c2a19","slug":"yellowtail-conclusion-and-ohpen-announce-strategic-partnership","type":"default","title":"YELLOWTAIL | CONCLUSION AND OHPEN ANNOUNCE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP","excerpt":"Financial providers and banks now benefit from an end-to-end digital transformation solutionToday, Ohpen and Yellowtail announce they hav...","body":"Financial providers and banks now benefit from an end-to-end digital transformation solution
\nToday, Ohpen and Yellowtail announce they have entered-into a long-term strategic partnership. Banks and financial providers across the Netherlands and Benelux region can now utilize Ohpen's modern digital retail banking platform combined with Yellowtail's smart data-driven front-end platform to give their customers innovative and personalized banking experiences.
\nThe collaboration spans across core financial products like mortgage, loans, savings, investments, and is already proving successful in the pension market for several large clients. For these pension clients, Yellowtail offers smart data-driven pension portals where participants get insights into their pension and personal financial situation, while Ohpen takes care of the unit administration and portfolio management processes. This combination provides pension companies with communication, unit administration and investment perspectives related to portfolio management and personalized and real-time insights in participants’ pension performance.
\nOhpen acquired Davinci Group in September 2020 with the aim of strengthening its SaaS platform by adding a modern mortgage component to the platform and serving customers with all retail banking products. Davinci's consultancy and services organization was then resold by Ohpen to Yellowtail | Conclusion, which makes for a better strategic fit.
\nMatthijs Mons, Managing Director Yellowtail | Conclusion adds: \"The collaboration with Ohpen fits perfectly into our growth strategy. Yellowtail likes to work with strong, winning brands like Ohpen. Both sides complement each other very well. Ohpen has a particularly good future-oriented SaaS platform for the financial sector, and we are very good at implementing complex, domain-specific software. Especially when there is innovation at play. We look forward to further shaping the market together with Ohpen.\"
\nAbout Yellowtail
\nYellowtail has been designing, building and managing digital and data-driven software solutions for the financial sector for more than 15 years. Yellowtail's mission is to improve the quality of the consumer's financial life. Yellowtail's products and services help to activate consumers, give them action and give them confidence in making (better) financial decisions. The focus is on creating the ultimate customer experience. Thanks to our domain focus, Yellowtail also has in-depth expertise of underlying business processes, data and technology, such as robotics and machine learning. For more information, see www.yellowtail.nl
\nAbout Ohpen
\nOhpen is the preferred digital banking platform of leading banks and financial services providers. Providing a modern SaaS banking engine that runs entirely in the cloud, Ohpen enables clients to modernize their banking IT systems with reliable, adaptable, and fully compliant technology. With offices across the UK and Benelux regions, Ohpen powers savings, investment, mortgage, loan and pension products for clients including Aegon, Knab, Robeco, Nationale-Nederlanden, BCM Global, CMIS, Volksbank and LeasePlan Bank. The cooperation with YellowTail | Conclusion as described in this update underlines Ohpen commitment to helping clients build better banking experiences and overcome the burden of legacy IT. For more information, visit Ohpen.com
","desktop_body":"Financial providers and banks now benefit from an end-to-end digital transformation solution
\nToday, Ohpen and Yellowtail announce they have entered-into a long-term strategic partnership. Banks and financial providers across the Netherlands and Benelux region can now utilize Ohpen's modern digital retail banking platform combined with Yellowtail's smart data-driven front-end platform to give their customers innovative and personalized banking experiences.
\nThe collaboration spans across core financial products like mortgage, loans, savings, investments, and is already proving successful in the pension market for several large clients. For these pension clients, Yellowtail offers smart data-driven pension portals where participants get insights into their pension and personal financial situation, while Ohpen takes care of the unit administration and portfolio management processes. This combination provides pension companies with communication, unit administration and investment perspectives related to portfolio management and personalized and real-time insights in participants’ pension performance.
\nOhpen acquired Davinci Group in September 2020 with the aim of strengthening its SaaS platform by adding a modern mortgage component to the platform and serving customers with all retail banking products. Davinci's consultancy and services organization was then resold by Ohpen to Yellowtail | Conclusion, which makes for a better strategic fit.
\nMatthijs Mons, Managing Director Yellowtail | Conclusion adds: "The collaboration with Ohpen fits perfectly into our growth strategy. Yellowtail likes to work with strong, winning brands like Ohpen. Both sides complement each other very well. Ohpen has a particularly good future-oriented SaaS platform for the financial sector, and we are very good at implementing complex, domain-specific software. Especially when there is innovation at play. We look forward to further shaping the market together with Ohpen."
\nAbout Yellowtail
\nYellowtail has been designing, building and managing digital and data-driven software solutions for the financial sector for more than 15 years. Yellowtail's mission is to improve the quality of the consumer's financial life. Yellowtail's products and services help to activate consumers, give them action and give them confidence in making (better) financial decisions. The focus is on creating the ultimate customer experience. Thanks to our domain focus, Yellowtail also has in-depth expertise of underlying business processes, data and technology, such as robotics and machine learning. For more information, see www.yellowtail.nl
\nAbout Ohpen
\nOhpen is the preferred digital banking platform of leading banks and financial services providers. Providing a modern SaaS banking engine that runs entirely in the cloud, Ohpen enables clients to modernize their banking IT systems with reliable, adaptable, and fully compliant technology. With offices across the UK and Benelux regions, Ohpen powers savings, investment, mortgage, loan and pension products for clients including Aegon, Knab, Robeco, Nationale-Nederlanden, BCM Global, CMIS, Volksbank and LeasePlan Bank. The cooperation with YellowTail | Conclusion as described in this update underlines Ohpen commitment to helping clients build better banking experiences and overcome the burden of legacy IT. For more information, visit Ohpen.com
","created_on":"2021-08-31T08:24:57+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/c0ea24b9-33b1-4766-883e-e477004ba81b.png"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"5443b059-8219-5457-a90e-7fb557d8b61f","slug":"ohpen-and-tkp-bring-fully-automated-dc-solution-to-300000-aegon-cappital-participants","type":"default","title":"OHPEN AND TKP BRING FULLY AUTOMATED DC SOLUTION TO 300.000 AEGON CAPPITAL PARTICIPANTS","excerpt":"New digital pension solution has successfully gone live Following a partnership announced in January of last year, today, Ohpen and TKP a...","body":"New digital pension solution has successfully gone live
\nFollowing a partnership announced in January of last year, today, Ohpen and TKP announce that the integrated DC solution has successfully gone live. Since May, TKP has been using this DC solution to enhance its investment services for Aegon Cappital, Aegon’s premium pension institution. Now, many pension processes, such as investment transactions as a result of premium contributions or retirement on the accounts of individual participants, are handled fully automatically thanks to straight-through processing. This makes TKP the first pension administration organisation in the Netherlands with a fully automated DC solution.
\nThe integrated solution (digital pension platform/investment platform) is built using Ohpen’s cloud-based platform, and is therefore highly flexible and scalable. The solution gives every participant clear and real-time insight into their personal pension, making it easier for participants to make choices for the future and have full control over their own investments. Now that the investment administration is fully automated from end to end, events and individual choices can now be executed on a daily basis, coming from a monthly process. For Aegon Cappital, this enables them to provide a better participant experience, capture cost savings, and quickly incorporate new pension regulations enacted in the Netherlands.
\nMarianne de Boer, CEO of Aegon Cappital, explains, “This is another step in the transition to the new pension system. Pensions and investment are increasingly converging. This demands a lot from the underlying systems. The new, innovative DC street increases the agility of our asset management and enables us to introduce new investment propositions more quickly. In short, we are ready for the future.”
\nOhpen’s extensive track record in the administration of savings and investment accounts, and knowledge and experience of investment processes in highly regulated environments meant that they were the ideal partner for TKP. To ensure that the solution was flexible and future-proof, Ohpen delivered a powerful API setup to TKP, which TKP can configure as needed. This allows TKP to realise operational efficiencies and eliminate human errors with a 100% automated administration, while remaining compliant, and staff can focus their efforts on customers rather than repetitive manual administration tasks.
\nMarjanne van der Werff, Product Manager at TKP, “We linked our own pension processes to Ohpen’s digital banking platform, so gained automated direct access to the financial markets. In addition, we have also automated all reconciliation and matching processes, so we not only offer efficiency and flexibility to our customers, but guarantee controlled administration. An additional advantage is that the solution is entirely cloud-based - which makes it easy for us to scale up.”
\nRobin Peters, Head of Savings and Investments at Ohpen, adds, “Retirement security is becoming an increasingly important topic as parts of the world move towards an aging population. Having the ability to see funds and balances in real-time, and make changes to your pension plan can help to make financial planning for the years ahead much easier. We believe scalable, flexible, reliable technology like this solution can be of huge benefit for participants at all stages of their retirement journey.”
\nAbout TKP Pensioen
\nTKP Pensioen is a top three player in the Dutch pension administration market. More than 3 million participants and 22 pension providers rely on TKP’s services. Whether it concerns a pension payment that is correct and on time, or an up-to-date overview of the accrued pension. Central to TKP’s strategy is the focus on simplicity for customers, participants and employers. TKP Pensioen is a subsidiary of Aegon Nederland.
\nAbout Aegon Cappital
\nAegon Cappital is Aegon's premium pension institution (PPI). It manages more than 5 billion in invested assets for more than 5,600 employers and more than 283,000 employees. At Aegon Cappital, they like to think ahead with a heart for later on in life. Because it’s never too soon to start thinking ahead. Especially when it comes to your pension.
\n","desktop_body":"
New digital pension solution has successfully gone live
\nFollowing a partnership announced in January of last year, today, Ohpen and TKP announce that the integrated DC solution has successfully gone live. Since May, TKP has been using this DC solution to enhance its investment services for Aegon Cappital, Aegon’s premium pension institution. Now, many pension processes, such as investment transactions as a result of premium contributions or retirement on the accounts of individual participants, are handled fully automatically thanks to straight-through processing. This makes TKP the first pension administration organisation in the Netherlands with a fully automated DC solution.
\nThe integrated solution (digital pension platform/investment platform) is built using Ohpen’s cloud-based platform, and is therefore highly flexible and scalable. The solution gives every participant clear and real-time insight into their personal pension, making it easier for participants to make choices for the future and have full control over their own investments. Now that the investment administration is fully automated from end to end, events and individual choices can now be executed on a daily basis, coming from a monthly process. For Aegon Cappital, this enables them to provide a better participant experience, capture cost savings, and quickly incorporate new pension regulations enacted in the Netherlands.
\nMarianne de Boer, CEO of Aegon Cappital, explains, “This is another step in the transition to the new pension system. Pensions and investment are increasingly converging. This demands a lot from the underlying systems. The new, innovative DC street increases the agility of our asset management and enables us to introduce new investment propositions more quickly. In short, we are ready for the future.”
\nOhpen’s extensive track record in the administration of savings and investment accounts, and knowledge and experience of investment processes in highly regulated environments meant that they were the ideal partner for TKP. To ensure that the solution was flexible and future-proof, Ohpen delivered a powerful API setup to TKP, which TKP can configure as needed. This allows TKP to realise operational efficiencies and eliminate human errors with a 100% automated administration, while remaining compliant, and staff can focus their efforts on customers rather than repetitive manual administration tasks.
\nMarjanne van der Werff, Product Manager at TKP, “We linked our own pension processes to Ohpen’s digital banking platform, so gained automated direct access to the financial markets. In addition, we have also automated all reconciliation and matching processes, so we not only offer efficiency and flexibility to our customers, but guarantee controlled administration. An additional advantage is that the solution is entirely cloud-based - which makes it easy for us to scale up.”
\nRobin Peters, Head of Savings and Investments at Ohpen, adds, “Retirement security is becoming an increasingly important topic as parts of the world move towards an aging population. Having the ability to see funds and balances in real-time, and make changes to your pension plan can help to make financial planning for the years ahead much easier. We believe scalable, flexible, reliable technology like this solution can be of huge benefit for participants at all stages of their retirement journey.”
\nAbout TKP Pensioen
\nTKP Pensioen is a top three player in the Dutch pension administration market. More than 3 million participants and 22 pension providers rely on TKP’s services. Whether it concerns a pension payment that is correct and on time, or an up-to-date overview of the accrued pension. Central to TKP’s strategy is the focus on simplicity for customers, participants and employers. TKP Pensioen is a subsidiary of Aegon Nederland.
\nAbout Aegon Cappital
\nAegon Cappital is Aegon's premium pension institution (PPI). It manages more than 5 billion in invested assets for more than 5,600 employers and more than 283,000 employees. At Aegon Cappital, they like to think ahead with a heart for later on in life. Because it’s never too soon to start thinking ahead. Especially when it comes to your pension.
\n","created_on":"2021-06-22T12:28:36+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/a7b0c6b0-7e8f-416c-9c17-c695bc467a24.jpg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"7003163e-0b91-552d-8b12-a7bdf1a34cb5","slug":"core-banking-fintech-ohpen-appoints-jerry-mulle-as-uk-md-to-fuel-continued-global-expansion","type":"default","title":"CORE BANKING FINTECH OHPEN APPOINTS JERRY MULLE AS UK MD TO FUEL CONTINUED GLOBAL EXPANSION","excerpt":"Ohpen, the first fintech platform to bring a bank to the cloud, today announces the appointment of Jerry Mulle as its new UK Managing Dir...","body":"
Ohpen, the first fintech platform to bring a bank to the cloud, today announces the appointment of Jerry Mulle as its new UK Managing Director, signifying its commitment to the UK market. Bringing 30+ years’ experience gained from prior roles at Sopra Banking Software, IE Digital and RBS / Natwest, Jerry will ensure Ohpen’s solutions are firmly placed in the UK market for financial institutions to leverage.
\nLast year, Ohpen’s acquisition of Davinci, Europe’s STP number one loan and mortgage software company, made it the only cloud-native core banking engine to offer a full suite of products across savings, investments, loans and mortgages. Now with a 100% configurable platform fueled by powerful APIs, Jerry will continue to position Ohpen as the go-to partner for financial institutions, helping them to navigate the explosion of digital tools at pace and scale.
\nJerry has driven digital change since internet banking came to the fore. A visionary when it comes to technology enablement in financial services, he has also led the digital evolution of specific financial products, like mortgages. His decade of experience at Natwest / RBS across retail and commercial banking means that Jerry has a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing UK financial services organisations today.
\nIn this role, Jerry will be dedicated to bringing Ohpen’s serverless, microservices-based solutions to all types of UK financial institutions, from lenders and building societies to pension providers. Taking an initial laser focus on the mortgages proposition, he will enable FIs to harness Ohpen’s one-of-a-kind platform to free them from legacy systems and embrace true digitisation.
\n“It continues to be an extremely exciting time for Ohpen. We have been busy working on putting the 25% increase in R&D, gained through the acquisition, into practice – with a clear focus on this market. Our technology continues to disrupt banking and liberate financial institutions of burdensome software. Jerry’s experience and deep knowledge of the market, teamed with his proven track record, is why I have no doubt that he will be critical to our success in the UK.” said Matthijs Aler, CEO of Ohpen.
\nOn his appointment, Jerry said, “Ohpen’s commitment to the UK market makes this an exciting opportunity. Now is absolutely the time to bring this innovative technology, built on decades of expertise, to UK providers and their customers in a way that works for them.
\n“In the mortgages space, UK customers are crying out for a less complex and more streamlined process, and with Ohpen’s STP ability, I genuinely believe that our proposition allows financial institutions to offer exactly this. Ohpen is positioned to be the number one driver of this in the UK and I look forward to being part of the growth journey.”
\nJerry joins a growing team of senior executives, with his hire coming shortly after the appointment of Xandra Niehe as Chief People & Culture Officer (CPCO). She will be dedicated to building a culture that facilitates this level of growth while keeping its combined core values in place.
","desktop_body":"Ohpen, the first fintech platform to bring a bank to the cloud, today announces the appointment of Jerry Mulle as its new UK Managing Director, signifying its commitment to the UK market. Bringing 30+ years’ experience gained from prior roles at Sopra Banking Software, IE Digital and RBS / Natwest, Jerry will ensure Ohpen’s solutions are firmly placed in the UK market for financial institutions to leverage.
\nLast year, Ohpen’s acquisition of Davinci, Europe’s STP number one loan and mortgage software company, made it the only cloud-native core banking engine to offer a full suite of products across savings, investments, loans and mortgages. Now with a 100% configurable platform fueled by powerful APIs, Jerry will continue to position Ohpen as the go-to partner for financial institutions, helping them to navigate the explosion of digital tools at pace and scale.
\nJerry has driven digital change since internet banking came to the fore. A visionary when it comes to technology enablement in financial services, he has also led the digital evolution of specific financial products, like mortgages. His decade of experience at Natwest / RBS across retail and commercial banking means that Jerry has a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing UK financial services organisations today.
\nIn this role, Jerry will be dedicated to bringing Ohpen’s serverless, microservices-based solutions to all types of UK financial institutions, from lenders and building societies to pension providers. Taking an initial laser focus on the mortgages proposition, he will enable FIs to harness Ohpen’s one-of-a-kind platform to free them from legacy systems and embrace true digitisation.
\n“It continues to be an extremely exciting time for Ohpen. We have been busy working on putting the 25% increase in R&D, gained through the acquisition, into practice – with a clear focus on this market. Our technology continues to disrupt banking and liberate financial institutions of burdensome software. Jerry’s experience and deep knowledge of the market, teamed with his proven track record, is why I have no doubt that he will be critical to our success in the UK.” said Matthijs Aler, CEO of Ohpen.
\nOn his appointment, Jerry said, “Ohpen’s commitment to the UK market makes this an exciting opportunity. Now is absolutely the time to bring this innovative technology, built on decades of expertise, to UK providers and their customers in a way that works for them.
\n“In the mortgages space, UK customers are crying out for a less complex and more streamlined process, and with Ohpen’s STP ability, I genuinely believe that our proposition allows financial institutions to offer exactly this. Ohpen is positioned to be the number one driver of this in the UK and I look forward to being part of the growth journey.”
\nJerry joins a growing team of senior executives, with his hire coming shortly after the appointment of Xandra Niehe as Chief People & Culture Officer (CPCO). She will be dedicated to building a culture that facilitates this level of growth while keeping its combined core values in place.
","created_on":"2021-06-17T07:13:18+00:00","city":"London","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/023506ef-f879-4458-b2c2-d99bba466fee.png"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"488d216b-bdd3-51fc-ace1-58f677e939c2","slug":"ohpen-appoints-xandra-niehe-as-chief-people-and-culture-officer","type":"default","title":"OHPEN APPOINTS XANDRA NIEHE AS CHIEF PEOPLE & CULTURE OFFICER","excerpt":"Ohpen is pleased to announce that Xandra Niehe is joining the Executive Team as Chief People & Culture Officer.As we keep innovating, we ...","body":"Ohpen is pleased to announce that Xandra Niehe is joining the Executive Team as Chief People & Culture Officer.
\nAs we keep innovating, we keep growing. Xandra will use her 20+ years of experience in HR to oversee all People & Culture related matters, including managing the successful integration of Ohpen and Davinci, following Davinci’s acquisition late last year. Next to this, she will oversee a number of other People & Culture related topics such as talent acquisition and development, employee engagement and wellbeing, performance management and employer branding.
\nOhpen’s strong company culture
\nXandra’s ambition is to, together with the HR team, create an environment where each Ohpeneer can keep developing themselves, create a positive impact for our clients and have fun while doing so. To become and remain one of the preferred employers for (fin)tech talent is one of Ohpen’s People missions.
\nExcited for her new challenge, Xandra explains: “Ohpen’s core belief in innovating and serving its clients whilst keeping the wellbeing of its people at heart, makes a good foundation for a strong company culture. Ohpen has a talented team and is entering an exciting new phase of international growth, and I am looking forward to being a partner to the business by helping the company grow and developing our people to their utmost potential. \"
\n“Since Ohpen’s inception, our core values have been a driving force in our growth and have remained in all operations since,” said Matthijs Aler, CEO of Ohpen. “While our core values may evolve as we become a combined entity, our people will remain at the heart of our organisation. We understand that, while we build innovative tech solutions, those solutions are built by people, for people–whether that’s our clients or their customers.”
\nA proven track record
\nXandra brings experience across all facets of Human Resources strategy and development on a global scale. She has a strong track-record, most recently she held the position of Head of People & Culture at Aberkyn (part of McKinsey & Company) and worked as a people consultant with global business builder, Innoleaps. In her previous jobs, she worked on the post-merger integration of companies across multiple sites and helped grow the companies she worked for in number of people and offices globally.
\n“I was first drawn to Ohpen because of its reputation for innovation and alignment to my areas of expertise. Over the years, I’ve learnt that people management in growing, recently combined companies is a lot like ensuring a marriage is successful. I’ve worked with multiple companies that have merged, acquired or been acquired, and when two companies join, my job is to ensure that union is successful. A key to this is co-creating shared values, purpose and mission, and ensuring those are realised across the organisation”, said Xandra about her appointment.
\nMatthijs Aler, CEO of Ohpen, is also looking forward to Xandra joining Ohpen’s mission: “Now is a pivotal time for Ohpen, following the acquisition of Davinci last year and our growth in the coming year, and it’s crucial that we are creating a culture that helps to facilitate this growth whilst keeping our combined core values in place. Xandra’s experience in managing successful integrations of companies, plus her focus on company growth, personal development, innovation, performance, but above all, well-being, makes her the perfect person to achieve this.”
\nDo you also want to join Ohpen’s mission to create the best core banking engine in the world? Take a look at our career page or get in touch with us!
","desktop_body":"Ohpen is pleased to announce that Xandra Niehe is joining the Executive Team as Chief People & Culture Officer.
\nAs we keep innovating, we keep growing. Xandra will use her 20+ years of experience in HR to oversee all People & Culture related matters, including managing the successful integration of Ohpen and Davinci, following Davinci’s acquisition late last year. Next to this, she will oversee a number of other People & Culture related topics such as talent acquisition and development, employee engagement and wellbeing, performance management and employer branding.
\nOhpen’s strong company culture
\nXandra’s ambition is to, together with the HR team, create an environment where each Ohpeneer can keep developing themselves, create a positive impact for our clients and have fun while doing so. To become and remain one of the preferred employers for (fin)tech talent is one of Ohpen’s People missions.
\nExcited for her new challenge, Xandra explains: “Ohpen’s core belief in innovating and serving its clients whilst keeping the wellbeing of its people at heart, makes a good foundation for a strong company culture. Ohpen has a talented team and is entering an exciting new phase of international growth, and I am looking forward to being a partner to the business by helping the company grow and developing our people to their utmost potential. "
\n“Since Ohpen’s inception, our core values have been a driving force in our growth and have remained in all operations since,” said Matthijs Aler, CEO of Ohpen. “While our core values may evolve as we become a combined entity, our people will remain at the heart of our organisation. We understand that, while we build innovative tech solutions, those solutions are built by people, for people–whether that’s our clients or their customers.”
\nA proven track record
\nXandra brings experience across all facets of Human Resources strategy and development on a global scale. She has a strong track-record, most recently she held the position of Head of People & Culture at Aberkyn (part of McKinsey & Company) and worked as a people consultant with global business builder, Innoleaps. In her previous jobs, she worked on the post-merger integration of companies across multiple sites and helped grow the companies she worked for in number of people and offices globally.
\n“I was first drawn to Ohpen because of its reputation for innovation and alignment to my areas of expertise. Over the years, I’ve learnt that people management in growing, recently combined companies is a lot like ensuring a marriage is successful. I’ve worked with multiple companies that have merged, acquired or been acquired, and when two companies join, my job is to ensure that union is successful. A key to this is co-creating shared values, purpose and mission, and ensuring those are realised across the organisation”, said Xandra about her appointment.
\nMatthijs Aler, CEO of Ohpen, is also looking forward to Xandra joining Ohpen’s mission: “Now is a pivotal time for Ohpen, following the acquisition of Davinci last year and our growth in the coming year, and it’s crucial that we are creating a culture that helps to facilitate this growth whilst keeping our combined core values in place. Xandra’s experience in managing successful integrations of companies, plus her focus on company growth, personal development, innovation, performance, but above all, well-being, makes her the perfect person to achieve this.”
\nDo you also want to join Ohpen’s mission to create the best core banking engine in the world? Take a look at our career page or get in touch with us!
","created_on":"2021-05-20T07:12:51+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/4798eb5e-4576-4b96-a6f2-31e43ea9a012.jpg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"0cb9e7ad-3683-5e39-9f7a-7ac6f2c3be32","slug":"digital-banking-provider-ohpen-announces-global-partnership-with-aspire-systems","type":"default","title":"DIGITAL BANKING PROVIDER OHPEN ANNOUNCES GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP WITH ASPIRE SYSTEMS","excerpt":"Today, Ohpen, the digital banking company, announces it has partnered with global technology services firm, Aspire Systems, to allow its ...","body":"Today, Ohpen, the digital banking company, announces it has partnered with global technology services firm, Aspire Systems, to allow its clients to benefit from Aspire’s implementation services. This move gives Ohpen the freedom to innovate with clients, whilst continuing to provide high-quality implementation services. This partnership begins with a focus on the UK market, followed by a gradual global expansion.
\nThe partnership will mean that building societies, credit unions, banks and mortgage lenders can now benefit from the combined innovation and problem-solving expertise, whilst building a future product roadmap for partners and clients. For Ohpen, this means continuing to deliver on its mission of freeing financial institutions from legacy systems and processes. For Aspire, it will help strengthen their key offerings in core banking, savings, investments, loans, and mortgages in the cloud, especially for building societies and credit unions. Aspire Systems’ presence in the UK and European marketplace, coupled with Ohpen’s stronghold in the Dutch region, will enable innovative go-to-market offerings.
\nRobin Peters, MD of Savings and Investments at Ohpen, explains, “Aspire Systems brings to the table 23 years of experience in the global technology space, and, with over 60 go-lives in the banking domain under their belt, instils the trust and reliability needed to implement projects from commencement to closure. This, coupled with the Aspire team’s deep expertise in software development, makes them the perfect, scalable, implementation partner for our customers. This partnership allows us to focus on what we do best – being a partner for innovation and continued product development for our clients, knowing that the implementation could not be in better hands.”
\nPrior to this partnership with Ohpen, Aspire and Davinci, which was acquired by Ohpen late last year, shared an eleven-year partnership in the product engineering space. During this partnership, Aspire worked closely with the teams at Davinci to deliver cloud-native lending solutions for banks and credit institutions. These solutions have a state-of-the-art microservices-based architecture and rely on sophisticated test and automation processes to achieve a high product maturity. As a result of this early cooperation, the full product suite benefitted from further standardisation and transformation of interfaces and increased scalability and performance.
\nPrem Sundaravadanam, Vice President, Europe and LATAM, Aspire Systems comments, “As the financial services market is rapidly moving towards adopting robust, digital, sophisticated and future-ready solutions to service their customers, Ohpen becomes the partner of choice for Aspire as their cloud-native solution helps in solving this exact challenge for banks. We are delighted to onboard this partnership to help banks to accelerate their digital transformation journey along with our entire banking and financial service offerings.”
\nFor more information, please contact: communications@ohpen.com.
","desktop_body":"Today, Ohpen, the digital banking company, announces it has partnered with global technology services firm, Aspire Systems, to allow its clients to benefit from Aspire’s implementation services. This move gives Ohpen the freedom to innovate with clients, whilst continuing to provide high-quality implementation services. This partnership begins with a focus on the UK market, followed by a gradual global expansion.
\nThe partnership will mean that building societies, credit unions, banks and mortgage lenders can now benefit from the combined innovation and problem-solving expertise, whilst building a future product roadmap for partners and clients. For Ohpen, this means continuing to deliver on its mission of freeing financial institutions from legacy systems and processes. For Aspire, it will help strengthen their key offerings in core banking, savings, investments, loans, and mortgages in the cloud, especially for building societies and credit unions. Aspire Systems’ presence in the UK and European marketplace, coupled with Ohpen’s stronghold in the Dutch region, will enable innovative go-to-market offerings.
\nRobin Peters, MD of Savings and Investments at Ohpen, explains, “Aspire Systems brings to the table 23 years of experience in the global technology space, and, with over 60 go-lives in the banking domain under their belt, instils the trust and reliability needed to implement projects from commencement to closure. This, coupled with the Aspire team’s deep expertise in software development, makes them the perfect, scalable, implementation partner for our customers. This partnership allows us to focus on what we do best – being a partner for innovation and continued product development for our clients, knowing that the implementation could not be in better hands.”
\nPrior to this partnership with Ohpen, Aspire and Davinci, which was acquired by Ohpen late last year, shared an eleven-year partnership in the product engineering space. During this partnership, Aspire worked closely with the teams at Davinci to deliver cloud-native lending solutions for banks and credit institutions. These solutions have a state-of-the-art microservices-based architecture and rely on sophisticated test and automation processes to achieve a high product maturity. As a result of this early cooperation, the full product suite benefitted from further standardisation and transformation of interfaces and increased scalability and performance.
\nPrem Sundaravadanam, Vice President, Europe and LATAM, Aspire Systems comments, “As the financial services market is rapidly moving towards adopting robust, digital, sophisticated and future-ready solutions to service their customers, Ohpen becomes the partner of choice for Aspire as their cloud-native solution helps in solving this exact challenge for banks. We are delighted to onboard this partnership to help banks to accelerate their digital transformation journey along with our entire banking and financial service offerings.”
\nFor more information, please contact: communications@ohpen.com.
","created_on":"2021-05-10T12:51:34+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/84df517c-4469-40b2-96cd-87f60135be05.png"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"a3f5f09b-b978-5718-a787-a7eef688df22","slug":"buy-to-let-in-today-s-digital-world","type":"default","title":"BUY TO LET IN TODAY'S DIGITAL WORLD","excerpt":"The need for flexible technology has become apparent to many institutions as the demands of the lending market have evolved so quickly of...","body":"The need for flexible technology has become apparent to many institutions as the demands of the lending market have evolved so quickly of late. In particular, where lenders have sought to expand into new markets, such as buy-to-let, to take advantage of the opportunities, so the restrictions of their existing platforms have often been exposed.
\nAcross much of Europe, the same business drivers are playing out. There is a lot of available equity and a search for investments beyond the relatively low margins in the residential housing market. At the same time, there is a significant housing shortage in many countries. There are a lot of projects to convert old buildings, including turning offices into residential apartments, increasingly eased by a relaxation in legislation. There is also considerable interest and investment around sustainability, for existing properties and new-builds, including insulation, solar panels and heating systems.
\nThese sorts of projects are often more complex and diverse. For buy-to-let, there might be projects spanning a single family house or a small number of apartments, to 60+ apartment developments. There are specific regulations that need to be met and these might vary on a regional or city level, as well as the need for reporting to central regulators and for internal risk management. There might also be an imperative for fast decision making for customers driven by commercial considerations and seeking a rapid response to their applications.
\nThis is bringing new and existing lenders to Ohpen’s door. Existing players in the owner-occupier space might want to move into buy-to-let, under their own brand or a new one. Those companies that service the assets for others similarly might want to broaden their services, based on demand from their customer bases.
\nCurrent systems typically cannot cope with the new requirements. Typically, due to the desire for a rapid time-to-market for new offerings, institutions are initially implementing Ohpen’s platform alongside their legacy systems. Then, over time, they might well decide to migrate their existing portfolios across, whether for residential mortgages, consumer loans, small business loans or commercial loans, to reduce costs and standardise on a single platform.
\nFor reporting, there are two options. One is the data view, with the ability to import the data into a warehouse for manipulation and reporting. Alternatively, or complementary to this, are reporting tools, files and dashboards.
\nThe pandemic has accelerated the trends and has also sometimes brought additional requirements, such as greater flexibility around arrears management and redemption terms.
\nStraight-through processing and other considerations
\nThere is an interesting decision to be made by the customer in an area such as buy-to-let around straight-through processing. If all of the documents are in place, then there is no technical reason to stop decisions being made in minutes. It becomes a business decision related to where the customer wants to apply checks along the way.
\nThat decision is likely to be influenced by the nature of the application. For instance, for small residential mortgages, where customers are likely to be shopping between different labels and where assessments are often relatively easy, there might be an emphasis on full automation. For buy-to-let, the focus might be on providing an initial proposal as quickly as possible, with more checks after this.
\nOne area related to straight-through processing is the need nowadays for a user-friendly solution where there is a break in the process, perhaps because a document or piece of information is missing. It can be extremely frustrating for the customer to have to go all the way back to the start of the application and repeat steps. This necessitates the ability to loop back to a previous step where the break occurred and pick up again from there.
\nMore generally, whatever the form of loan, there is real competitive edge in providing a slick, user-friendly digital experience. Digital newcomers are challenging incumbents and taking market share. Those institutions that can adapt will remain competitive but others risk being disintermediated.
\nOhpen’s platform covers a broad range of lending, including residential and commercial buy-to-let. Support includes:
\n\n
Come and talk to us!
\nOhpen would be delighted to talk to you about your requirements and to explain how we can help you to move forwards, how we are supporting some of Europe’s most sophisticated lenders, and to arrange a demo of our platform.
\nWritten by Martin Whybrow, Next Gen Core Banking Solutions
","desktop_body":"The need for flexible technology has become apparent to many institutions as the demands of the lending market have evolved so quickly of late. In particular, where lenders have sought to expand into new markets, such as buy-to-let, to take advantage of the opportunities, so the restrictions of their existing platforms have often been exposed.
\nAcross much of Europe, the same business drivers are playing out. There is a lot of available equity and a search for investments beyond the relatively low margins in the residential housing market. At the same time, there is a significant housing shortage in many countries. There are a lot of projects to convert old buildings, including turning offices into residential apartments, increasingly eased by a relaxation in legislation. There is also considerable interest and investment around sustainability, for existing properties and new-builds, including insulation, solar panels and heating systems.
\nThese sorts of projects are often more complex and diverse. For buy-to-let, there might be projects spanning a single family house or a small number of apartments, to 60+ apartment developments. There are specific regulations that need to be met and these might vary on a regional or city level, as well as the need for reporting to central regulators and for internal risk management. There might also be an imperative for fast decision making for customers driven by commercial considerations and seeking a rapid response to their applications.
\nThis is bringing new and existing lenders to Ohpen’s door. Existing players in the owner-occupier space might want to move into buy-to-let, under their own brand or a new one. Those companies that service the assets for others similarly might want to broaden their services, based on demand from their customer bases.
\nCurrent systems typically cannot cope with the new requirements. Typically, due to the desire for a rapid time-to-market for new offerings, institutions are initially implementing Ohpen’s platform alongside their legacy systems. Then, over time, they might well decide to migrate their existing portfolios across, whether for residential mortgages, consumer loans, small business loans or commercial loans, to reduce costs and standardise on a single platform.
\nFor reporting, there are two options. One is the data view, with the ability to import the data into a warehouse for manipulation and reporting. Alternatively, or complementary to this, are reporting tools, files and dashboards.
\nThe pandemic has accelerated the trends and has also sometimes brought additional requirements, such as greater flexibility around arrears management and redemption terms.
\nStraight-through processing and other considerations
\nThere is an interesting decision to be made by the customer in an area such as buy-to-let around straight-through processing. If all of the documents are in place, then there is no technical reason to stop decisions being made in minutes. It becomes a business decision related to where the customer wants to apply checks along the way.
\nThat decision is likely to be influenced by the nature of the application. For instance, for small residential mortgages, where customers are likely to be shopping between different labels and where assessments are often relatively easy, there might be an emphasis on full automation. For buy-to-let, the focus might be on providing an initial proposal as quickly as possible, with more checks after this.
\nOne area related to straight-through processing is the need nowadays for a user-friendly solution where there is a break in the process, perhaps because a document or piece of information is missing. It can be extremely frustrating for the customer to have to go all the way back to the start of the application and repeat steps. This necessitates the ability to loop back to a previous step where the break occurred and pick up again from there.
\nMore generally, whatever the form of loan, there is real competitive edge in providing a slick, user-friendly digital experience. Digital newcomers are challenging incumbents and taking market share. Those institutions that can adapt will remain competitive but others risk being disintermediated.
\nOhpen’s platform covers a broad range of lending, including residential and commercial buy-to-let. Support includes:
\n\n
Come and talk to us!
\nOhpen would be delighted to talk to you about your requirements and to explain how we can help you to move forwards, how we are supporting some of Europe’s most sophisticated lenders, and to arrange a demo of our platform.
\nWritten by Martin Whybrow, Next Gen Core Banking Solutions
","created_on":"2021-04-29T12:01:27+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/04e577a9-51d3-42ce-9efa-55e1035c836e.jpg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"237c7a77-90f0-5073-8185-394ed2974f90","slug":"core-banking-provider-ohpen-sells-davincis-consulting-activities-to-yellowtail-conclusion","type":"default","title":"CORE BANKING PROVIDER OHPEN SELLS DAVINCI’S CONSULTING ACTIVITIES TO YELLOWTAIL | CONCLUSION","excerpt":"Today, cloud-native core banking provider Ohpen announces the sale of Davinci Consulting, the consulting arm of Davinci Group it acquired...","body":"Today, cloud-native core banking provider Ohpen announces the sale of Davinci Consulting, the consulting arm of Davinci Group it acquired late last year, to Yellowtail | Conclusion, provider of software and solutions to the financial sector. Now, as a subsidiary of Yellowtail | Conclusion, it will continue to serve its customers under the Davinci Consulting name. The move allows Ohpen to focus on its cloud-native SaaS solution as it expands internationally.
\nIn September 2020, Ohpen acquired Davinci Group, Europe’s number one STP loan and mortgage software company, with the aim of integrating its Close software solution with Ohpen's platform, to become the only core banking engine to offer a full suite of products for challengers and incumbents. Davinci’s consulting arm, a key part of the group, has now been acquired by Yellowtail.
\nMatthijs Aler, CEO of Ohpen said, “When acquiring Davinci Group, we evaluated the options available for its consulting activities. While we saw huge value in Davinci’s Consulting services, Ohpen is first and foremost a SaaS company. We believe that focus is paramount if we are to fulfill our mission of freeing financial institutions from legacy systems and processes, and the sale of Davinci Consulting allows us to continue that focus. This joining of forces is a great fit for them both–we’re excited to see the work they can do together.”
\nDavinci Consulting works with partners to ensure that the data exchange processes between the notarial profession and lenders run safely, quickly and smoothly. Davinci Consulting was the architect of the Electronic Communication Mortgage Foundation (ECH), which provides a message standard for the exchange between notaries and lenders. This enables the civil-law notary and bank to provide security in mortgage legal transactions by securely exchanging data and documents digitally with each other and with consumers.
\nRobert Broek, director of Davinci Consulting: “We are very pleased with the acquisition by Yellowtail. Not only do the activities fit very well in terms of content, there is also a good cultural basis to make this collaboration a success.” Burny Verbeek, the other director of Davinci Consulting adds: “Both Yellowtail and Davinci Consulting are sector specialists with an innovative approach, but also the ability to convert progressive ideas into concrete results. This is a step that offers a lot of perspective–not only for our customers, but also for our employees”.
\nWith a strong position in the Dutch market, Yellowtail designs, builds and manages digital and data-driven software solutions for financial service providers, with the aim of improving the quality of consumers’ financial lives. Similar to Davinci Consulting, the company combines expertise from the financial market, IT and User Experience with innovation and implementation power to develop solutions such as MyLife, Mortgage Assist and MyMortgage. These solutions allow Yellowtail to bring financial service providers closer to their customers–providing them with advice that suits their financial situation. In turn, consumers have more control over their financial future.
\nMatthijs Mons, managing director of Yellowtail explains, “With our strategic ambition to expand across the entire residential domain, this marks a big step forward in that direction. Davinci Consulting is fully complementary to Yellowtail and gives us the opportunity to fully accelerate our ambition. Davinci Consulting brings sector-specific expertise and an additional network around the Mortgage Data Network, and the notarial and real estate domain.”
\nAbout Yellowtail
\nYellowtail has been designing, building and managing digital and data-driven software solutions for the financial sector for over 15 years. Yellowtail's mission is to improve the quality of the consumer's financial life. Yellowtail's products and services help to activate consumers, empower them to act and give them confidence in making (better) financial decisions. The focus is on creating the ultimate customer experience. Thanks to their domain focus, Yellowtail also has deep expertise in underlying business processes, data and technology, such as robotics and machine learning. For more information, see https://yellowtail.nl
","desktop_body":"Today, cloud-native core banking provider Ohpen announces the sale of Davinci Consulting, the consulting arm of Davinci Group it acquired late last year, to Yellowtail | Conclusion, provider of software and solutions to the financial sector. Now, as a subsidiary of Yellowtail | Conclusion, it will continue to serve its customers under the Davinci Consulting name. The move allows Ohpen to focus on its cloud-native SaaS solution as it expands internationally.
\nIn September 2020, Ohpen acquired Davinci Group, Europe’s number one STP loan and mortgage software company, with the aim of integrating its Close software solution with Ohpen's platform, to become the only core banking engine to offer a full suite of products for challengers and incumbents. Davinci’s consulting arm, a key part of the group, has now been acquired by Yellowtail.
\nMatthijs Aler, CEO of Ohpen said, “When acquiring Davinci Group, we evaluated the options available for its consulting activities. While we saw huge value in Davinci’s Consulting services, Ohpen is first and foremost a SaaS company. We believe that focus is paramount if we are to fulfill our mission of freeing financial institutions from legacy systems and processes, and the sale of Davinci Consulting allows us to continue that focus. This joining of forces is a great fit for them both–we’re excited to see the work they can do together.”
\nDavinci Consulting works with partners to ensure that the data exchange processes between the notarial profession and lenders run safely, quickly and smoothly. Davinci Consulting was the architect of the Electronic Communication Mortgage Foundation (ECH), which provides a message standard for the exchange between notaries and lenders. This enables the civil-law notary and bank to provide security in mortgage legal transactions by securely exchanging data and documents digitally with each other and with consumers.
\nRobert Broek, director of Davinci Consulting: “We are very pleased with the acquisition by Yellowtail. Not only do the activities fit very well in terms of content, there is also a good cultural basis to make this collaboration a success.” Burny Verbeek, the other director of Davinci Consulting adds: “Both Yellowtail and Davinci Consulting are sector specialists with an innovative approach, but also the ability to convert progressive ideas into concrete results. This is a step that offers a lot of perspective–not only for our customers, but also for our employees”.
\nWith a strong position in the Dutch market, Yellowtail designs, builds and manages digital and data-driven software solutions for financial service providers, with the aim of improving the quality of consumers’ financial lives. Similar to Davinci Consulting, the company combines expertise from the financial market, IT and User Experience with innovation and implementation power to develop solutions such as MyLife, Mortgage Assist and MyMortgage. These solutions allow Yellowtail to bring financial service providers closer to their customers–providing them with advice that suits their financial situation. In turn, consumers have more control over their financial future.
\nMatthijs Mons, managing director of Yellowtail explains, “With our strategic ambition to expand across the entire residential domain, this marks a big step forward in that direction. Davinci Consulting is fully complementary to Yellowtail and gives us the opportunity to fully accelerate our ambition. Davinci Consulting brings sector-specific expertise and an additional network around the Mortgage Data Network, and the notarial and real estate domain.”
\nAbout Yellowtail
\nYellowtail has been designing, building and managing digital and data-driven software solutions for the financial sector for over 15 years. Yellowtail's mission is to improve the quality of the consumer's financial life. Yellowtail's products and services help to activate consumers, empower them to act and give them confidence in making (better) financial decisions. The focus is on creating the ultimate customer experience. Thanks to their domain focus, Yellowtail also has deep expertise in underlying business processes, data and technology, such as robotics and machine learning. For more information, see https://yellowtail.nl
","created_on":"2021-05-03T06:47:29+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/0d01d80b-004a-409f-baa6-21547cb9ccb1.jpg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"a0a58de9-3daf-52b6-8665-398b9dfed41d","slug":"migration-from-legacy-common-challenges-best-practices","type":"default","title":"MIGRATION FROM LEGACY: COMMON CHALLENGES & BEST PRACTICES","excerpt":"What prompts institutions to finally replace their legacy systems and what are the success factors when embarking on that journey? asks J...","body":"What prompts institutions to finally replace their legacy systems and what are the success factors when embarking on that journey? asks Jo Triest, Ohpen Belgium’s managing director
\nWhat is it that finally prompts financial services companies to replace their legacy systems? Tough decisions have often been put off; old systems have been patched up and given a stay of execution. However, today’s sector is faster moving than ever before. Customers expect the same convenience and speed as they experience in the rest of their lives. The high costs, lack of resources, manual workarounds and limited functionality of those old platforms, plus their closed nature, make them ever less suited to this digital era.
\nTrigger points
\nOne reason legacy system replacement can often finally be triggered is lack of automation. This might be due to increased volumes and/or complexity. There is often scope to bring much greater levels of automation to resource-heavy areas such as management of direct debits or contractual rate revisions.
\nLack of straight-through processing also has competitive implications where rapid decision-making is paramount. The ability to provide loan approvals in minutes, not hours or days, becomes an important competitive advantage. The application process can become a fully digital one, with greater levels of self-service for customers and calls via the API layer to third-party sources for related data and documents.
\nAnother competitive element is time-to-market for new products and the ability to tailor offerings for particular customers or customer segments, providing timely and relevant offers at the moment they are needed. This puts a lot of pressure on old systems, where their monolithic and hard-coded nature means long lead-times between planning and delivering new products.
\nRegulatory requirements only increase and might be another factor, while the loss of internal expertise and the inability to access external resources is also a common factor.
\nThe replacement challenges – real and imagined
\nFirstly, it doesn’t need to be a “big bang” rip and replace. Components can be introduced that relieve some of the pain points and allow a phased migration. Functionality or loan books can be moved across in a planned, risk averse manner, with lessons from one phase then passed to the next.
\nThere is also a belief that, for all the issues, at least the legacy systems are understood and constitute a good fit. However, the configurability of today’s modern systems mean that they can be much more easily molded both to the current processes but also to better ways of working.
\nAt Ohpen, in any project, we would look to set up a sandbox environment within a few weeks of the start of the project. This gives customers early hands-on experience with the system and allows it to be configured on a partnership basis. The project can use a prototype model, with fast feedback loops, thereby avoiding later unwelcome surprises. In parallel, users gain important training from the outset of the project, familiarising themselves with the new system.
\nThat configuration can either initially be for a “like-for-like” replication of current processes, with a reengineering of these towards best practice after the go-live, or that reengineering can be done as part of the implementation.
\nIntegration is a focus from the start of any project and can be a challenge, particularly where the existing interdependencies are not well understood. The Ohpen platform uses REST API web services that make for a much more open environment.
\nData Migration – a project headache?
\nThen there’s data migration. So long as this is done in a planned, methodical way, using a framework approach, it need not be the headache that many assume. Whether it is onboarding a new loan book onto the existing system of a service provider or the replacement of a legacy platform at an individual lender, Ohpen’s experience shows that it can be a relatively automated and painless process.
\nThe size of the data migration is not important, it is the quality and complexity of that data. It is perfectly feasible to complete a migration in a couple of months. This is true even for an area such as buy-to-let lending, with likely considerably more data and complexity than, say, a straightforward consumer loan. For a buy-to-let book, there could be complex structures related to collateral or multiple borrowers, for instance.
\nThere are other factors to consider. In particular, there might be a lack of knowledge and documentation within an institution about the legacy platform, which can add to the challenge.
\nThere are also decisions to be made, such as whether to take a snapshot of the loan book or migrate on a phased basis, still working on the loans in the meantime. One customer, with a very new loan book, reentered the loans from scratch, thereby retaining the full history of those loans.
\nThe first step is usually data cleansing on the source platform and then a test upload via a staging post to validate the process from a technical perspective. This will give an initial indication of data quality, potential issues and the scope of the task.
\nThis is repeated in iterative steps, with validation reports, until a point is reached where those reports show that the issues have been removed. At this point there is an acceptance test phase, ahead of the full migration.
\nThe process is a joint one, between Ohpen and the customer, with the latter becoming more self-sufficient over the course of the project. Ohpen has refined its approach and tools over its multiple, varied projects so that, while it will never under-estimate the challenge, it is also confident that data migration should be a relatively painless part of legacy system renewal.
\nConclusion
\nAll of the above are important but if there is one other vital success factor, it is a local presence and deep business domain knowledge. Ultimately, this allows customer and supplier to speak the same language, removes scope for confusion and creates a partnership approach that can last long after the legacy system has been replaced.
\nWritten by Martin Whybrow, Next Gen Core Banking Solutions
","desktop_body":"What prompts institutions to finally replace their legacy systems and what are the success factors when embarking on that journey? asks Jo Triest, Ohpen Belgium’s managing director
\nWhat is it that finally prompts financial services companies to replace their legacy systems? Tough decisions have often been put off; old systems have been patched up and given a stay of execution. However, today’s sector is faster moving than ever before. Customers expect the same convenience and speed as they experience in the rest of their lives. The high costs, lack of resources, manual workarounds and limited functionality of those old platforms, plus their closed nature, make them ever less suited to this digital era.
\nTrigger points
\nOne reason legacy system replacement can often finally be triggered is lack of automation. This might be due to increased volumes and/or complexity. There is often scope to bring much greater levels of automation to resource-heavy areas such as management of direct debits or contractual rate revisions.
\nLack of straight-through processing also has competitive implications where rapid decision-making is paramount. The ability to provide loan approvals in minutes, not hours or days, becomes an important competitive advantage. The application process can become a fully digital one, with greater levels of self-service for customers and calls via the API layer to third-party sources for related data and documents.
\nAnother competitive element is time-to-market for new products and the ability to tailor offerings for particular customers or customer segments, providing timely and relevant offers at the moment they are needed. This puts a lot of pressure on old systems, where their monolithic and hard-coded nature means long lead-times between planning and delivering new products.
\nRegulatory requirements only increase and might be another factor, while the loss of internal expertise and the inability to access external resources is also a common factor.
\nThe replacement challenges – real and imagined
\nFirstly, it doesn’t need to be a “big bang” rip and replace. Components can be introduced that relieve some of the pain points and allow a phased migration. Functionality or loan books can be moved across in a planned, risk averse manner, with lessons from one phase then passed to the next.
\nThere is also a belief that, for all the issues, at least the legacy systems are understood and constitute a good fit. However, the configurability of today’s modern systems mean that they can be much more easily molded both to the current processes but also to better ways of working.
\nAt Ohpen, in any project, we would look to set up a sandbox environment within a few weeks of the start of the project. This gives customers early hands-on experience with the system and allows it to be configured on a partnership basis. The project can use a prototype model, with fast feedback loops, thereby avoiding later unwelcome surprises. In parallel, users gain important training from the outset of the project, familiarising themselves with the new system.
\nThat configuration can either initially be for a “like-for-like” replication of current processes, with a reengineering of these towards best practice after the go-live, or that reengineering can be done as part of the implementation.
\nIntegration is a focus from the start of any project and can be a challenge, particularly where the existing interdependencies are not well understood. The Ohpen platform uses REST API web services that make for a much more open environment.
\nData Migration – a project headache?
\nThen there’s data migration. So long as this is done in a planned, methodical way, using a framework approach, it need not be the headache that many assume. Whether it is onboarding a new loan book onto the existing system of a service provider or the replacement of a legacy platform at an individual lender, Ohpen’s experience shows that it can be a relatively automated and painless process.
\nThe size of the data migration is not important, it is the quality and complexity of that data. It is perfectly feasible to complete a migration in a couple of months. This is true even for an area such as buy-to-let lending, with likely considerably more data and complexity than, say, a straightforward consumer loan. For a buy-to-let book, there could be complex structures related to collateral or multiple borrowers, for instance.
\nThere are other factors to consider. In particular, there might be a lack of knowledge and documentation within an institution about the legacy platform, which can add to the challenge.
\nThere are also decisions to be made, such as whether to take a snapshot of the loan book or migrate on a phased basis, still working on the loans in the meantime. One customer, with a very new loan book, reentered the loans from scratch, thereby retaining the full history of those loans.
\nThe first step is usually data cleansing on the source platform and then a test upload via a staging post to validate the process from a technical perspective. This will give an initial indication of data quality, potential issues and the scope of the task.
\nThis is repeated in iterative steps, with validation reports, until a point is reached where those reports show that the issues have been removed. At this point there is an acceptance test phase, ahead of the full migration.
\nThe process is a joint one, between Ohpen and the customer, with the latter becoming more self-sufficient over the course of the project. Ohpen has refined its approach and tools over its multiple, varied projects so that, while it will never under-estimate the challenge, it is also confident that data migration should be a relatively painless part of legacy system renewal.
\nConclusion
\nAll of the above are important but if there is one other vital success factor, it is a local presence and deep business domain knowledge. Ultimately, this allows customer and supplier to speak the same language, removes scope for confusion and creates a partnership approach that can last long after the legacy system has been replaced.
\nWritten by Martin Whybrow, Next Gen Core Banking Solutions
","created_on":"2021-04-29T11:31:31+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9d52edb6-5a57-4ca5-90e8-7f800539a96f.jpg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"7eaf9033-94d4-569f-ba8a-2932d61ce00a","slug":"webinar-pensions-summary","type":"default","title":"WEBINAR PENSIONS – SUMMARY","excerpt":"The Pension Agreement – Turning it upside down: Yellowtail, Ortec Finance and Ohpen“To improve the financial quality of life of participa...","body":"The Pension Agreement – Turning it upside down: Yellowtail, Ortec Finance and Ohpen
\n“To improve the financial quality of life of participants”
\nThat's the goal of Yellowtail, Ortec Finance and Ohpen. Thursday March 11, 2021, we hosted a joint webinar about the new Pension Agreement. First, guest speaker Stephan van Stalborch had the floor. A lot has changed at a rapid pace in the past year. One change that has taken a lot longer, 11 years to be precise, is the change in our pension system. The transition from the old to the new contract will take four years, with the transition FTK coming into effect from 2022. The new pension contract ensures that pensions can and will move faster with the economy.
\nAccording to him, the possibilities of the new contract lie in more transparency, among other things. Currently, it is difficult for young people as well as the elderly to determine which part of the collective pension “pot” belongs to him or her. With the new contract, this will be made transparent to everyone.
\nBelieve it or not, pension communication is still largely limited to old-fashioned letters sent by post. Jan Marten van Seijst from Yellowtail’s main message was 'go digital'.
\nJan Marten's main goal is to activate the participant (an employee who is building up a pension, or a pensioner). Most do nothing with the letters they receive and if they do read the letters, they are difficult to understand. Add to this that the pension is a 'low interest' product, it only becomes interesting from the age of 55, so why should the participant do anything with it now?
\nHowever, it is important that the participant gets to work with it now. So, pension providers need to activate them and to get that done: 'go digital'.
\nBut, what does this digitisation mean for pension providers?
\nIn addition, it is important to experiment with the different channels that are used and to analyze the data from these, measuring is knowing. We will soon enter a new system which will entail more risks and uncertainty. It is very important to remove complexity here. Make it manageable and understandable for the participant.
\nIn summary: Turning it upside down
\n“Use the momentum! Start experimenting with channels and remove the complexity for the participant.”
\nThen, David Kronbichler from Ortec Finance spoke about the communication to the participant.
\nA common goal when people retire is to travel the world. With the new pension system, we must help people understand whether this is possible for them to achieve.
\nCurrently, we communicate through the navigation metaphor. This allows us to bring all pension income together in a consistent and uniform manner and to map out the associated risks. The Netherlands is at the forefront here, compared to the rest of the world. However, the communication behind this is still “one size fits all”. Everyone still has to determine for themselves whether the pension is sufficient to achieve their intended goals. It turns out that people find it difficult to make this translation themselves, which is why we as a sector have to take steps to better organize this communication for the participant. Here, it is important to centralize the personal goals, instead of the pension product. However, there is more to it, because you need the full financial picture to estimate whether these goals can be achieved. But, this is the only way to communicate correctly about this and to provide insight into the pension product.
\nThe overall picture will therefore become more important, looking at the new pension agreement. But, in this case the whole financial situation needs to be taken into account before anything can be done with the Lumpsum. That is why the focus must be on what the participant wants, and not on the Lumpsum.
\nIn summary: Turning it upside down
\n\"Do not put the pension product at the center of the communication, but centralize the personal goals instead and show the positive contribution that pensions can make to achieve these goals.\"
\nBut where should all this data come from? Those are the participants' own potjes. Lex Solleveld from Ohpen provides insight into what it is like “under the hood”.
\nThe new pension agreement comes with two variants: the New Pension Contract (NPC), mainly aimed at convenience, and the Improved Contribution Scheme Act (WVP), where the choices lie with the participant. However, under the hood, both variants are actually very similar. Both variants involve investing and the goals are also the same: a good pension. We also have the “potjes”. In both variants there are own potjes, investment accounts, and the way in which investments are made is also comparable. The cohorts in the NPC contain a risk reduction towards the retirement date and the WVP contains the well-known lifecycle investment, which also has a reduction in risk. In the NPC there is the compulsory solidarity reserve and there is also an option in the WVP to include a solidarity reserve. Last but not least, there is investment and therefore uncertainty in both variants. That is why there are projections that should give the participants an idea of what they expect to receive in future pension.
\nBut, how can the risks be mapped out in a transparent way? An investment administration is perfectly set up for this. What does this mean?
\nIn both variants, each participant receives their own “potje” (investment account). The premium goes into the individual potjes for all active members until the retirement date and after retirement the payment is withdrawn from the potjes. If you want to be able to control this in the NPC variant, you need to take all reserves into account. Not only the potjes of the participants, but all the elements that you use to control the future pension of your participants. So, also set up separate potjes (accounts) for your reserves. Make it transparent and clear. The entire existing pot must be split into several pots for this to work. The actuarial department then manages it by simply shifting fund participations (units) between potjes. For the most part, by using internal transfers, this can be done without passing on transaction costs.
\nAs for disbursements, there are many payment variants that must be administered in an efficient and workable manner. This works well in an investment administration. When the age of a member is known, a payment schedule must be linked to this from the pension administration, which indicates which variant applies. The combination of these makes it possible to determine on a monthly basis what should be sold from the funds of the investments in order to finance the pension payment. Because all reserves of the pension fund are also placed in potjes, when the individual pot is empty, the same system can continue as usual.
\nIn summary: Turning it upside down
\n\"Don't make the participant's potje a closing post, but put this central.\"
","desktop_body":"The Pension Agreement – Turning it upside down: Yellowtail, Ortec Finance and Ohpen
\n“To improve the financial quality of life of participants”
\nThat's the goal of Yellowtail, Ortec Finance and Ohpen. Thursday March 11, 2021, we hosted a joint webinar about the new Pension Agreement. First, guest speaker Stephan van Stalborch had the floor. A lot has changed at a rapid pace in the past year. One change that has taken a lot longer, 11 years to be precise, is the change in our pension system. The transition from the old to the new contract will take four years, with the transition FTK coming into effect from 2022. The new pension contract ensures that pensions can and will move faster with the economy.
\nAccording to him, the possibilities of the new contract lie in more transparency, among other things. Currently, it is difficult for young people as well as the elderly to determine which part of the collective pension “pot” belongs to him or her. With the new contract, this will be made transparent to everyone.
\nBelieve it or not, pension communication is still largely limited to old-fashioned letters sent by post. Jan Marten van Seijst from Yellowtail’s main message was 'go digital'.
\nJan Marten's main goal is to activate the participant (an employee who is building up a pension, or a pensioner). Most do nothing with the letters they receive and if they do read the letters, they are difficult to understand. Add to this that the pension is a 'low interest' product, it only becomes interesting from the age of 55, so why should the participant do anything with it now?
\nHowever, it is important that the participant gets to work with it now. So, pension providers need to activate them and to get that done: 'go digital'.
\nBut, what does this digitisation mean for pension providers?
\nIn addition, it is important to experiment with the different channels that are used and to analyze the data from these, measuring is knowing. We will soon enter a new system which will entail more risks and uncertainty. It is very important to remove complexity here. Make it manageable and understandable for the participant.
\nIn summary: Turning it upside down
\n“Use the momentum! Start experimenting with channels and remove the complexity for the participant.”
\nThen, David Kronbichler from Ortec Finance spoke about the communication to the participant.
\nA common goal when people retire is to travel the world. With the new pension system, we must help people understand whether this is possible for them to achieve.
\nCurrently, we communicate through the navigation metaphor. This allows us to bring all pension income together in a consistent and uniform manner and to map out the associated risks. The Netherlands is at the forefront here, compared to the rest of the world. However, the communication behind this is still “one size fits all”. Everyone still has to determine for themselves whether the pension is sufficient to achieve their intended goals. It turns out that people find it difficult to make this translation themselves, which is why we as a sector have to take steps to better organize this communication for the participant. Here, it is important to centralize the personal goals, instead of the pension product. However, there is more to it, because you need the full financial picture to estimate whether these goals can be achieved. But, this is the only way to communicate correctly about this and to provide insight into the pension product.
\nThe overall picture will therefore become more important, looking at the new pension agreement. But, in this case the whole financial situation needs to be taken into account before anything can be done with the Lumpsum. That is why the focus must be on what the participant wants, and not on the Lumpsum.
\nIn summary: Turning it upside down
\n"Do not put the pension product at the center of the communication, but centralize the personal goals instead and show the positive contribution that pensions can make to achieve these goals."
\nBut where should all this data come from? Those are the participants' own potjes. Lex Solleveld from Ohpen provides insight into what it is like “under the hood”.
\nThe new pension agreement comes with two variants: the New Pension Contract (NPC), mainly aimed at convenience, and the Improved Contribution Scheme Act (WVP), where the choices lie with the participant. However, under the hood, both variants are actually very similar. Both variants involve investing and the goals are also the same: a good pension. We also have the “potjes”. In both variants there are own potjes, investment accounts, and the way in which investments are made is also comparable. The cohorts in the NPC contain a risk reduction towards the retirement date and the WVP contains the well-known lifecycle investment, which also has a reduction in risk. In the NPC there is the compulsory solidarity reserve and there is also an option in the WVP to include a solidarity reserve. Last but not least, there is investment and therefore uncertainty in both variants. That is why there are projections that should give the participants an idea of what they expect to receive in future pension.
\nBut, how can the risks be mapped out in a transparent way? An investment administration is perfectly set up for this. What does this mean?
\nIn both variants, each participant receives their own “potje” (investment account). The premium goes into the individual potjes for all active members until the retirement date and after retirement the payment is withdrawn from the potjes. If you want to be able to control this in the NPC variant, you need to take all reserves into account. Not only the potjes of the participants, but all the elements that you use to control the future pension of your participants. So, also set up separate potjes (accounts) for your reserves. Make it transparent and clear. The entire existing pot must be split into several pots for this to work. The actuarial department then manages it by simply shifting fund participations (units) between potjes. For the most part, by using internal transfers, this can be done without passing on transaction costs.
\nAs for disbursements, there are many payment variants that must be administered in an efficient and workable manner. This works well in an investment administration. When the age of a member is known, a payment schedule must be linked to this from the pension administration, which indicates which variant applies. The combination of these makes it possible to determine on a monthly basis what should be sold from the funds of the investments in order to finance the pension payment. Because all reserves of the pension fund are also placed in potjes, when the individual pot is empty, the same system can continue as usual.
\nIn summary: Turning it upside down
\n"Don't make the participant's potje a closing post, but put this central."
","created_on":"2021-03-30T12:37:52+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/a9d3269b-2879-4895-b4c7-c3d9da727fdd.png"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"5553d55c-bce1-5887-a32e-7fd180369ec8","slug":"core-banking-provider-ohpen-appoints-leni-boeren-as-chair-of-supervisory-board","type":"default","title":"CORE BANKING PROVIDER OHPEN APPOINTS LENI BOEREN AS CHAIR OF SUPERVISORY BOARD","excerpt":"Instrumental in Ohpen’s initial success, Boeren will now supervise its next phase of growthToday, Ohpen announces the addition of Leni Bo...","body":"Instrumental in Ohpen’s initial success, Boeren will now supervise its next phase of growth
\nToday, Ohpen announces the addition of Leni Boeren to its supervisory board. Boeren will join Leonard van Loon (NPM) and Michel Vrolijk (Amerborgh) to supervise Ohpen’s international growth as it brings its cloud-native combined savings, investment and lending platform to the market. Boeren continues to hold non-executive board seats for, amongst others, Air France–KLM and Tata Steel Nederland.
\nBoeren has over 20 years of board experience, including seats on the executive board of the Amsterdam Exchanges, Euronext, the Dutch Fund and Asset Management Association (DUFAS), Robeco Groep, Van Lanschot Kempen and was most recently CEO of Kempen Capital Management. In 2011, Robeco, with Boeren as its COO, became Ohpen’s first client. Boeren was instrumental in Ohpen’s initial success; working with Ohpen to coordinate the Dutch Central Bank’s approval of the use of AWS for storing financial data, and AWS’s approval for the Dutch Central Bank’s right to audit–both of which had never been done before.
\nMatthijs Aler, CEO of Ohpen, said, “Leni is one of the rare powerhouses of Dutch supervisory boards, and I am extremely proud to welcome her to this role. She brings a unique combination of both experience in the finance sector with a focus on technology and operations, and as an executive and supervisory board member in an international setup. Leni was the first person to take a chance on us–so we’ve seen first-hand her ability to take calculated risks, and push for innovation, whilst keeping a close eye on customer experience. We have no doubt that she will be of enormous value to Ohpen and its clients.”
\nOn her appointment, Leni Boeren commented, “Ohpen has always been at the forefront of innovation. When I first met Ohpen 10 years ago, I knew that its truly unique cloud-based platform would be the future. Since then, we’ve seen more companies wake up to the benefits of using a cloud-native core banking provider. This change in attitudes, coupled with Ohpen’s acquisition of Davinci last year, means this is an opportune moment for Ohpen to change the industry once again with their combined cloud-native savings, investment and lending platform. I was excited to work with Ohpen all those years ago; seeing that more financial institutions are recognising the freedom that Ohpen’s platform can give them to innovate rather than maintain makes me excited about what the next decade holds.”
\nOhpen plans to bolster its supervisory board in the near future by adding a fourth supervisory board member with in-depth technical knowledge and experience.
\nContact info@ohpen.com for more information.
\nAbout Ohpen
Ohpen was the first core-banking platform in the cloud. Built from the ground up by experienced bankers and software developers, Ohpen is the leading platform for mortgage/consumer lending origination and the administration of savings-, investment- and mortgage products. Ohpen frees financial institutions such as banks, mortgage lenders, building societies and pension funds from having to use legacy systems and processes. Aegon, Knab, Robeco, Link Asset Services, CMIS, Volksbank and LeasePlan Bank are all customers who have found an adaptable, reliable and compliant solution in the Ohpen Platform. More than 300 people work at the company’s Amsterdam headquarters and its offices in Antwerp, London, Barcelona, Bratislava and Zilina.
Instrumental in Ohpen’s initial success, Boeren will now supervise its next phase of growth
\nToday, Ohpen announces the addition of Leni Boeren to its supervisory board. Boeren will join Leonard van Loon (NPM) and Michel Vrolijk (Amerborgh) to supervise Ohpen’s international growth as it brings its cloud-native combined savings, investment and lending platform to the market. Boeren continues to hold non-executive board seats for, amongst others, Air France–KLM and Tata Steel Nederland.
\nBoeren has over 20 years of board experience, including seats on the executive board of the Amsterdam Exchanges, Euronext, the Dutch Fund and Asset Management Association (DUFAS), Robeco Groep, Van Lanschot Kempen and was most recently CEO of Kempen Capital Management. In 2011, Robeco, with Boeren as its COO, became Ohpen’s first client. Boeren was instrumental in Ohpen’s initial success; working with Ohpen to coordinate the Dutch Central Bank’s approval of the use of AWS for storing financial data, and AWS’s approval for the Dutch Central Bank’s right to audit–both of which had never been done before.
\nMatthijs Aler, CEO of Ohpen, said, “Leni is one of the rare powerhouses of Dutch supervisory boards, and I am extremely proud to welcome her to this role. She brings a unique combination of both experience in the finance sector with a focus on technology and operations, and as an executive and supervisory board member in an international setup. Leni was the first person to take a chance on us–so we’ve seen first-hand her ability to take calculated risks, and push for innovation, whilst keeping a close eye on customer experience. We have no doubt that she will be of enormous value to Ohpen and its clients.”
\nOn her appointment, Leni Boeren commented, “Ohpen has always been at the forefront of innovation. When I first met Ohpen 10 years ago, I knew that its truly unique cloud-based platform would be the future. Since then, we’ve seen more companies wake up to the benefits of using a cloud-native core banking provider. This change in attitudes, coupled with Ohpen’s acquisition of Davinci last year, means this is an opportune moment for Ohpen to change the industry once again with their combined cloud-native savings, investment and lending platform. I was excited to work with Ohpen all those years ago; seeing that more financial institutions are recognising the freedom that Ohpen’s platform can give them to innovate rather than maintain makes me excited about what the next decade holds.”
\nOhpen plans to bolster its supervisory board in the near future by adding a fourth supervisory board member with in-depth technical knowledge and experience.
\nContact info@ohpen.com for more information.
\nAbout Ohpen
Ohpen was the first core-banking platform in the cloud. Built from the ground up by experienced bankers and software developers, Ohpen is the leading platform for mortgage/consumer lending origination and the administration of savings-, investment- and mortgage products. Ohpen frees financial institutions such as banks, mortgage lenders, building societies and pension funds from having to use legacy systems and processes. Aegon, Knab, Robeco, Link Asset Services, CMIS, Volksbank and LeasePlan Bank are all customers who have found an adaptable, reliable and compliant solution in the Ohpen Platform. More than 300 people work at the company’s Amsterdam headquarters and its offices in Antwerp, London, Barcelona, Bratislava and Zilina.
Ohpen, the first fintech platform to bring a bank to the cloud, today announces the appointment of Douwe-Klaas Bijl as its new CFO. Joining the Executive Board, Douwe will be responsible for Ohpen’s continued expansion from a financial, risk, legal and compliance perspective.
\nThis latest appointment forms part of Ohpen’s wider growth strategy and vision. Last month, Ohpen acquired Davinci, Europe’s STP number one loan and mortgage software company, to challenge leading core banking software providers. As a result, Ohpen now holds assets under administration in the region of $100 billion. Douwe brings his 15+ years of international experience across finance, strategy and operational implementation in the financial services sector to continue the seamless and successful integration of Davinci.
\nDouwe spent over 10 years with McKinsey, some of which was working at McKinsey Australia and United Kingdom, both advising clients on corporate finance and strategy and supporting them through large scale transformation programmes. He was part of the team that set-up and scaled LeasePlan’s European used-car marketplace, responsible for finance, analytics and business intelligence. Most recently, Douwe served as the CFO for Digital Insurance Group, focusing on fundraising and growth.
\n“Ohpen is at an incredibly exciting stage of growth and Douwe’s experience will be crucial to our continued expansion and momentum. He has a strong perspective on the benefits of integration and a careful eye for both commercial and efficiency opportunities. He will be a key asset as we continue working on our mission of setting financial institutions free from legacy software.” said Matthijs Aler, CEO of Ohpen.
\nOn his appointment, Douwe said, “I feel privileged to join Ohpen at the brink of its next wave of growth and innovation. It is uniquely placed to challenge legacy technology providers in the financial services sector and its client proposition as the only cloud-native core banking engine to offer a full suite of products is not just compelling, but proven. I am thrilled to be playing a role changing the face of finance by joining the team.”
\nOhpen was the first core-banking platform in the cloud. Built from the ground up by experienced bankers and software developers, the Ohpen Platform administers retail savings and investment accounts – with or without a fiscal wrapper. Ohpen frees financial institutions such as banks, insurers, building societies, investment institutions and pension funds from having to use legacy systems and processes. Aegon, Knab, Robeco, Nationale-Nederlanden, Link Asset Services, CMIS, Volksbank and LeasePlan Bank are all customers who have found a reliable, flexible and compliant solution in the Ohpen Platform. More than 350 people work at the company’s Amsterdam headquarters and at its offices in Antwerp, London, Barcelona, Bratislava and Zilina. For more information visit: https://www.ohpen.com/.
\nPress contact
\nGemma Lingham (UK) gemma.lingham@fhflondon.co.uk +44 (0)7525 699347
\nOhpen, the first fintech platform to bring a bank to the cloud, today announces the appointment of Douwe-Klaas Bijl as its new CFO. Joining the Executive Board, Douwe will be responsible for Ohpen’s continued expansion from a financial, risk, legal and compliance perspective.
\nThis latest appointment forms part of Ohpen’s wider growth strategy and vision. Last month, Ohpen acquired Davinci, Europe’s STP number one loan and mortgage software company, to challenge leading core banking software providers. As a result, Ohpen now holds assets under administration in the region of $100 billion. Douwe brings his 15+ years of international experience across finance, strategy and operational implementation in the financial services sector to continue the seamless and successful integration of Davinci.
\nDouwe spent over 10 years with McKinsey, some of which was working at McKinsey Australia and United Kingdom, both advising clients on corporate finance and strategy and supporting them through large scale transformation programmes. He was part of the team that set-up and scaled LeasePlan’s European used-car marketplace, responsible for finance, analytics and business intelligence. Most recently, Douwe served as the CFO for Digital Insurance Group, focusing on fundraising and growth.
\n“Ohpen is at an incredibly exciting stage of growth and Douwe’s experience will be crucial to our continued expansion and momentum. He has a strong perspective on the benefits of integration and a careful eye for both commercial and efficiency opportunities. He will be a key asset as we continue working on our mission of setting financial institutions free from legacy software.” said Matthijs Aler, CEO of Ohpen.
\nOn his appointment, Douwe said, “I feel privileged to join Ohpen at the brink of its next wave of growth and innovation. It is uniquely placed to challenge legacy technology providers in the financial services sector and its client proposition as the only cloud-native core banking engine to offer a full suite of products is not just compelling, but proven. I am thrilled to be playing a role changing the face of finance by joining the team.”
\nOhpen was the first core-banking platform in the cloud. Built from the ground up by experienced bankers and software developers, the Ohpen Platform administers retail savings and investment accounts – with or without a fiscal wrapper. Ohpen frees financial institutions such as banks, insurers, building societies, investment institutions and pension funds from having to use legacy systems and processes. Aegon, Knab, Robeco, Nationale-Nederlanden, Link Asset Services, CMIS, Volksbank and LeasePlan Bank are all customers who have found a reliable, flexible and compliant solution in the Ohpen Platform. More than 350 people work at the company’s Amsterdam headquarters and at its offices in Antwerp, London, Barcelona, Bratislava and Zilina. For more information visit: https://www.ohpen.com/.
\nPress contact
\nGemma Lingham (UK) gemma.lingham@fhflondon.co.uk +44 (0)7525 699347
\nAmsterdam, September 8, 2020 – Ohpen, the first fintech platform to bring a bank to the cloud, today announces its acquisition of cross-border loan and mortgages Software as a Service (SaaS) provider Davinci. The combination of these two growing companies will allow Ohpen to address the $300 billion global bank IT spending market[1] as it targets international expansion. This acquisition is testament to Ohpen’s commitment to disrupting banking by liberating financial institutions of burdensome legacy software. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic rapidly accelerating the shift to digital, the combined entity is set to change the face of finance forever.
\nThe transaction is a pivotal moment for both companies. Easily integrated via a plug-and-play API, Ohpen will become the only cloud-native core banking engine to offer a full suite of products – across savings, investments, loans, mortgages and current accounts. With 20+ top tier financial institutions as existing customers, Ohpen will support retail banks, asset managers, insurers, building societies, lending & mortgage specialists, online brokers and private banks to build new propositions and migrate complex legacy products into the cloud within a matter of weeks.
\nIt also marks the beginning of Ohpen’s global growth ambitions. Its serverless microservices platform, leveraging shared Amazon Web Services (AWS) capabilities, is already set to support multiple countries seamlessly. Ohpen will focus first on scaling up across the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Belgium with development centres also in Spain and Slovakia, before entering into other markets.
\nThe new entity, built on a foundation of decades of expertise, will have a combined headcount of 350 and $35 million revenue, making it the most serious challenger to legacy technology providers in the financial services sector. Davinci is recognised for its machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities, resulting in an unprecedented level of straight-through processing along with fast onboarding and acceptance during the loans and mortgages processes, resulting in cost savings of up to 80%.
\nThis perfectly complements Ohpen’s robust core banking engine. Ohpen is already a market leader in the Netherlands, with Aegon and Volksbank amongst its clients. With a 25% increase to its R&D budget following the acquisition, the new Ohpen proposition and its future innovations are set to be transformative for the wider industry.
Matthijs Aler, CEO at Ohpen, commented: “Businesses like Ohpen and Davinci are the unsung heroes propelling the real shift to digital in the financial services industry. We are a growing company with huge ambitions. Together, we intend to lead the charge in directly challenging incumbent providers with outdated technology. Our mission is – and always has been – to set financial institutions free from legacy software. Now we can help a broader range of financial institutions deliver tangible change to meet the needs of tomorrow’s customers.”
\n“This is the natural next step on our shared journey to deliver the complete SaaS core banking offering of the future,” added Alwin van Dijk, Director at Davinci. “Our complementary business offerings, and combined company values based on a solid foundation of innovation – we are the only two players with a real focus on back and middle office innovation for new AND existing propositions. Now offering a full range of products – will be a market game changer. There are many opportunities, not only for present and future customers, but also for our experienced staff and we’re excited to see what the future holds.”
\nABOUT OHPEN
\nOhpen was the first core-banking engine in the cloud. Built from the ground up by experienced bankers and software developers, the Ohpen Platform administers retail savings and investment accounts – with or without a fiscal wrapper. Ohpen frees financial institutions such as banks, insurers, building societies, investment institutions and pension funds from having to use legacy systems and processes. Aegon, Knap, Robeco, Nationale-Nederlanden, Volksbank and LeasePlan Bank are all customers who have found a reliable, flexible and compliant solution in the Ohpen Platform. More than 150 people work at the company’s Amsterdam headquarters and at its software development office in Barcelona, Spain. For more information visit: www.ohpen.com
\nDavinci is the supplier of the Close lending platform with a mission to make lending easy. Close is a market-leading, cloud-native platform for the origination and servicing of mortgages and loans. More than 200 highly trained professionals from Amsterdam, Antwerp (Belgium), Bratislava and Žilina (Slovakia) work closely together to provide our customers with the best results. For more information visit: www.davincigroup.international.
\n[1] Source: Celent Global Tech Spending Forecast: Banking Edition, 2019 https://www.celent.com/insights/964486482
\nAmsterdam, September 8, 2020 – Ohpen, the first fintech platform to bring a bank to the cloud, today announces its acquisition of cross-border loan and mortgages Software as a Service (SaaS) provider Davinci. The combination of these two growing companies will allow Ohpen to address the $300 billion global bank IT spending market[1] as it targets international expansion. This acquisition is testament to Ohpen’s commitment to disrupting banking by liberating financial institutions of burdensome legacy software. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic rapidly accelerating the shift to digital, the combined entity is set to change the face of finance forever.
\nThe transaction is a pivotal moment for both companies. Easily integrated via a plug-and-play API, Ohpen will become the only cloud-native core banking engine to offer a full suite of products – across savings, investments, loans, mortgages and current accounts. With 20+ top tier financial institutions as existing customers, Ohpen will support retail banks, asset managers, insurers, building societies, lending & mortgage specialists, online brokers and private banks to build new propositions and migrate complex legacy products into the cloud within a matter of weeks.
\nIt also marks the beginning of Ohpen’s global growth ambitions. Its serverless microservices platform, leveraging shared Amazon Web Services (AWS) capabilities, is already set to support multiple countries seamlessly. Ohpen will focus first on scaling up across the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Belgium with development centres also in Spain and Slovakia, before entering into other markets.
\nThe new entity, built on a foundation of decades of expertise, will have a combined headcount of 350 and $35 million revenue, making it the most serious challenger to legacy technology providers in the financial services sector. Davinci is recognised for its machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities, resulting in an unprecedented level of straight-through processing along with fast onboarding and acceptance during the loans and mortgages processes, resulting in cost savings of up to 80%.
\nThis perfectly complements Ohpen’s robust core banking engine. Ohpen is already a market leader in the Netherlands, with Aegon and Volksbank amongst its clients. With a 25% increase to its R&D budget following the acquisition, the new Ohpen proposition and its future innovations are set to be transformative for the wider industry.
Matthijs Aler, CEO at Ohpen, commented: “Businesses like Ohpen and Davinci are the unsung heroes propelling the real shift to digital in the financial services industry. We are a growing company with huge ambitions. Together, we intend to lead the charge in directly challenging incumbent providers with outdated technology. Our mission is – and always has been – to set financial institutions free from legacy software. Now we can help a broader range of financial institutions deliver tangible change to meet the needs of tomorrow’s customers.”
\n“This is the natural next step on our shared journey to deliver the complete SaaS core banking offering of the future,” added Alwin van Dijk, Director at Davinci. “Our complementary business offerings, and combined company values based on a solid foundation of innovation – we are the only two players with a real focus on back and middle office innovation for new AND existing propositions. Now offering a full range of products – will be a market game changer. There are many opportunities, not only for present and future customers, but also for our experienced staff and we’re excited to see what the future holds.”
\nABOUT OHPEN
\nOhpen was the first core-banking engine in the cloud. Built from the ground up by experienced bankers and software developers, the Ohpen Platform administers retail savings and investment accounts – with or without a fiscal wrapper. Ohpen frees financial institutions such as banks, insurers, building societies, investment institutions and pension funds from having to use legacy systems and processes. Aegon, Knap, Robeco, Nationale-Nederlanden, Volksbank and LeasePlan Bank are all customers who have found a reliable, flexible and compliant solution in the Ohpen Platform. More than 150 people work at the company’s Amsterdam headquarters and at its software development office in Barcelona, Spain. For more information visit: www.ohpen.com
\nDavinci is the supplier of the Close lending platform with a mission to make lending easy. Close is a market-leading, cloud-native platform for the origination and servicing of mortgages and loans. More than 200 highly trained professionals from Amsterdam, Antwerp (Belgium), Bratislava and Žilina (Slovakia) work closely together to provide our customers with the best results. For more information visit: www.davincigroup.international.
\n[1] Source: Celent Global Tech Spending Forecast: Banking Edition, 2019 https://www.celent.com/insights/964486482
\nToday, the world’s first cloud-native core banking provider Ohpen announces the appointment of CTO Joost Reijnen to its executive board. Reijnen joined Ohpen in 2016 as Engineering Manager. His work with the evolving and growing engineering teams at Ohpen has been key to the company’s success, and in his new role as executive board member at Ohpen, Joost’s responsibilities will focus on the realisation of new products in the Ohpen Platform as they enter into new markets.
\nIn his new role as executive board member at Ohpen, Joost will oversee the continuous integration, delivery and deployment of new products within the Ohpen Platform as it undergoes the further transformation from cloud core banking to completely serverless cloud core banking platform.
\n“The addition of Joost as a director complements our board of directors’ skills and experiences. Joost is the architect of some of the Ohpen Platform’s key features, and has been responsible for its transformation to become fully serverless,” said Matthijs Aler, CEO of Ohpen. “Joost’s constant drive for perfection allows us to deliver one version of the platform that is able to support all clients, in all countries – unique to the world of core banking.”
\nOn his board appointment, Reijnen said, “I’ll be continuing to work with my team of outspokenly talented and dedicated specialists to deliver the most technically advanced platform that builds upon the foundation laid by the founder Chris Zadeh, who was lightyears ahead back in 2009 building a bank in the cloud. From the board, I’ll be ensuring that our future product additions and geographical expansion plans will be supported from a technical and roadmap perspective.”
\nPrior to Ohpen, Reijnen spent several years in leadership roles at Backbase for example, where he was responsible for growing a skilled team of developers, product designers and owners and technical writers to build both the FE and BE stacks for digital banking. Reijnen also launched the first mobile banking web and apps for Rabobank in 2007, during his time at Rabo Mobiel, the bank’s telecoms and innovation arm.
\n“We are excited to welcome Joost to our board of directors. He brings decades of leadership in key areas, such as engineering and technology development, and having that experience represented at board level will be vital to our future operations and strategy,” said Chris Zadeh, Ohpen’s founder and supervisory board chair.
\nOhpen is the world’s first cloud-based core banking engine with a simple promise: IT. JUST. WORKS. The Ohpen Platform is built from scratch by experienced bankers and software engineers to administer retail saving and investment accounts. Ohpen liberates financial services providers such as banks, insurance companies, asset managers and pension providers from their legacy systems and processes. Aegon, Knab, Robeco, Nationale-Nederlanden, Volksbank and LeasePlan Bank are all examples of customers who found a reliable, adaptable and compliant solution in the Ohpen Platform. The head office is in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and the company has a software development office in Barcelona, Spain, employing approximately 150 people.
\nToday, the world’s first cloud-native core banking provider Ohpen announces the appointment of CTO Joost Reijnen to its executive board. Reijnen joined Ohpen in 2016 as Engineering Manager. His work with the evolving and growing engineering teams at Ohpen has been key to the company’s success, and in his new role as executive board member at Ohpen, Joost’s responsibilities will focus on the realisation of new products in the Ohpen Platform as they enter into new markets.
\nIn his new role as executive board member at Ohpen, Joost will oversee the continuous integration, delivery and deployment of new products within the Ohpen Platform as it undergoes the further transformation from cloud core banking to completely serverless cloud core banking platform.
\n“The addition of Joost as a director complements our board of directors’ skills and experiences. Joost is the architect of some of the Ohpen Platform’s key features, and has been responsible for its transformation to become fully serverless,” said Matthijs Aler, CEO of Ohpen. “Joost’s constant drive for perfection allows us to deliver one version of the platform that is able to support all clients, in all countries – unique to the world of core banking.”
\nOn his board appointment, Reijnen said, “I’ll be continuing to work with my team of outspokenly talented and dedicated specialists to deliver the most technically advanced platform that builds upon the foundation laid by the founder Chris Zadeh, who was lightyears ahead back in 2009 building a bank in the cloud. From the board, I’ll be ensuring that our future product additions and geographical expansion plans will be supported from a technical and roadmap perspective.”
\nPrior to Ohpen, Reijnen spent several years in leadership roles at Backbase for example, where he was responsible for growing a skilled team of developers, product designers and owners and technical writers to build both the FE and BE stacks for digital banking. Reijnen also launched the first mobile banking web and apps for Rabobank in 2007, during his time at Rabo Mobiel, the bank’s telecoms and innovation arm.
\n“We are excited to welcome Joost to our board of directors. He brings decades of leadership in key areas, such as engineering and technology development, and having that experience represented at board level will be vital to our future operations and strategy,” said Chris Zadeh, Ohpen’s founder and supervisory board chair.
\nOhpen is the world’s first cloud-based core banking engine with a simple promise: IT. JUST. WORKS. The Ohpen Platform is built from scratch by experienced bankers and software engineers to administer retail saving and investment accounts. Ohpen liberates financial services providers such as banks, insurance companies, asset managers and pension providers from their legacy systems and processes. Aegon, Knab, Robeco, Nationale-Nederlanden, Volksbank and LeasePlan Bank are all examples of customers who found a reliable, adaptable and compliant solution in the Ohpen Platform. The head office is in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and the company has a software development office in Barcelona, Spain, employing approximately 150 people.
\nToday, core banking platform Ohpen and technology and solution provider Ortec Finance announce a partnership to bring much-needed innovation to pensions solutions available in the market. By combining the Ohpen Platform with Ortec Finance’s forecasting engine (OPAL), retail customers of financial services companies now have access to a comprehensive wealth forecast including all of their assets. Those customers now also have the option to keep their assets invested after retirement age, due to the introduction of new individual retirement products like ‘doorbeleggen’ and options like lump sum withdrawal. For the average Dutch pensioner, choosing a ‘doorbeleggen’ product for their individual pension over a traditional annuity could mean a possible pension increase of one third1.
\nOhpen’s platform will be used for the administration of investment accounts and Ortec Finance will provide a forecasting engine (OPAL) which can forecast customers’ wealth based on their investment products and forecast income to extract from such investment products. Both the Ohpen Platform and OPAL work cross-pillar, taking into account all of the customer’s assets – their government pension, workplace pension, fiscal investments, and unwrapped investments and savings. This means for the first-time customers will have a comprehensive view of their forecasted pension income.
\nIwan Schafthuizen, Partner Managing Director at Ortec Finance: “We see an increase in life expectancy and more responsibility for customers to arrange their individual pension. Customer research has shown that a better understanding of retirement and retirement options is key. Ohpen and Ortec Finance worked on a simple customer client journey which is accessible to this target group, alerts them to take action for their retirement, let them play with options to retire and help them achieve a better retirement with innovative individual pension products. We strongly believe in combining core-banking technology of Ohpen with our best of breed OPAL calculation engine.”
\nCurrently, when customers reach retirement age their investments are sold, and a cash disbursing product is bought. Now, thanks to this partnership, customers can leave their assets invested after retirement age. This means that if the average pensioner swaps their regular annuity for a ‘doorbeleggen’ product for their individual pension, it can increase by 30%1 over a period of 20 years. As the pension remains invested, customers will also have access to Ortec Finance’s institutional grade economic scenario engine, enabling monitoring of the financial goals of a customer.
\nAngelique Schouten, CCO at Ohpen explains: “Innovation has been long needed in this sector. Previously, pensioners have had little choice in investment options for their pension once retired. Traditional annuities, while still generating additional funds, are tied to low interest rates and not in line with the returns investments in, say, equity and fixed income can bring. Our partnership with Ortec Finance, and this much-needed innovation, enables banks, asset managers and pension providers to fully support customers across all pillars, offering them a clear view of their monthly income for the first time.”
\nAn integration showing the combined power of OPAL and the Ohpen Platform is available for demonstration. If you are interested in exploring how Ortec Finance and Ohpen can help you innovate your individual pension services, please contact Iwan Schafthuizen (iwan.schafthuizen@ortec-finance.com, +31(0)620620086) or Kees Postma (kees@ohpen.com, +31(0)640865973).
\nNotes to Editors
\n1 based on comparisons between a ‘doorbeleggen’ product for an individual pension with a neutral risk appetite and a traditional annuity, assuming a pension capital of €250,000 paid out over 20 years. As with all investments, profit is not guaranteed, and capital is at risk.
\nOhpen is the first core-banking engine in the cloud to fulfil one simple promise: IT. JUST. WORKS. The Ohpen Platform was built from the ground up by experienced bankers and software developers to administer retail savings and investment accounts. Ohpen frees financial institutions such as banks, insurers, investment institutions and pension funds from having to use legacy systems and processes. Aegon, Knab, Robeco, Nationale-Nederlanden, Volksbank and LeasePlan Bank are all customers who have found a reliable, flexible and compliant solution in the Ohpen Platform. More than 150 people work at the company’s Amsterdam headquarters and at its software development office in Barcelona, Spain. For more information visit: www.ohpen.com
\nOrtec Finance is the leading provider of technology and solutions for risk and return management.
\nIt is our purpose to enable people to manage the complexity of investment decisions. OPAL facilitates goal-based planning and monitoring of goals. It is a software solution based on proven asset and liability management techniques from the world of institutional investments and crucial for supporting and improving investment decision making. We do this by leveraging our world-class institutional scenario engine as the core of the solution. OPAL enables financial institutions and advisers to translate clients personal goals into an optimal investment plan and monitor these goals over time.
\nWith more than 500 customers represented over 20+ countries, a retention rate of 96% and 3 trillion euro total assets managed by our clients Ortec Finance is headquartered in Rotterdam and has offices in Amsterdam, London, Toronto, Hong Kong, Zurich and Melbourne.
\nFor more information visit: www.ortecfinance.com
\nFor more information, please contact:
\nLaura Winn
laura@ohpen.com
+31 (0)6 83488658
Ergaalem Daniel
Ergaalem.Daniel@ortec-finance.com
+31 (0)6 50091882
Today, core banking platform Ohpen and technology and solution provider Ortec Finance announce a partnership to bring much-needed innovation to pensions solutions available in the market. By combining the Ohpen Platform with Ortec Finance’s forecasting engine (OPAL), retail customers of financial services companies now have access to a comprehensive wealth forecast including all of their assets. Those customers now also have the option to keep their assets invested after retirement age, due to the introduction of new individual retirement products like ‘doorbeleggen’ and options like lump sum withdrawal. For the average Dutch pensioner, choosing a ‘doorbeleggen’ product for their individual pension over a traditional annuity could mean a possible pension increase of one third1.
\nOhpen’s platform will be used for the administration of investment accounts and Ortec Finance will provide a forecasting engine (OPAL) which can forecast customers’ wealth based on their investment products and forecast income to extract from such investment products. Both the Ohpen Platform and OPAL work cross-pillar, taking into account all of the customer’s assets – their government pension, workplace pension, fiscal investments, and unwrapped investments and savings. This means for the first-time customers will have a comprehensive view of their forecasted pension income.
\nIwan Schafthuizen, Partner Managing Director at Ortec Finance: “We see an increase in life expectancy and more responsibility for customers to arrange their individual pension. Customer research has shown that a better understanding of retirement and retirement options is key. Ohpen and Ortec Finance worked on a simple customer client journey which is accessible to this target group, alerts them to take action for their retirement, let them play with options to retire and help them achieve a better retirement with innovative individual pension products. We strongly believe in combining core-banking technology of Ohpen with our best of breed OPAL calculation engine.”
\nCurrently, when customers reach retirement age their investments are sold, and a cash disbursing product is bought. Now, thanks to this partnership, customers can leave their assets invested after retirement age. This means that if the average pensioner swaps their regular annuity for a ‘doorbeleggen’ product for their individual pension, it can increase by 30%1 over a period of 20 years. As the pension remains invested, customers will also have access to Ortec Finance’s institutional grade economic scenario engine, enabling monitoring of the financial goals of a customer.
\nAngelique Schouten, CCO at Ohpen explains: “Innovation has been long needed in this sector. Previously, pensioners have had little choice in investment options for their pension once retired. Traditional annuities, while still generating additional funds, are tied to low interest rates and not in line with the returns investments in, say, equity and fixed income can bring. Our partnership with Ortec Finance, and this much-needed innovation, enables banks, asset managers and pension providers to fully support customers across all pillars, offering them a clear view of their monthly income for the first time.”
\nAn integration showing the combined power of OPAL and the Ohpen Platform is available for demonstration. If you are interested in exploring how Ortec Finance and Ohpen can help you innovate your individual pension services, please contact Iwan Schafthuizen (iwan.schafthuizen@ortec-finance.com, +31(0)620620086) or Kees Postma (kees@ohpen.com, +31(0)640865973).
\nNotes to Editors
\n1 based on comparisons between a ‘doorbeleggen’ product for an individual pension with a neutral risk appetite and a traditional annuity, assuming a pension capital of €250,000 paid out over 20 years. As with all investments, profit is not guaranteed, and capital is at risk.
\nOhpen is the first core-banking engine in the cloud to fulfil one simple promise: IT. JUST. WORKS. The Ohpen Platform was built from the ground up by experienced bankers and software developers to administer retail savings and investment accounts. Ohpen frees financial institutions such as banks, insurers, investment institutions and pension funds from having to use legacy systems and processes. Aegon, Knab, Robeco, Nationale-Nederlanden, Volksbank and LeasePlan Bank are all customers who have found a reliable, flexible and compliant solution in the Ohpen Platform. More than 150 people work at the company’s Amsterdam headquarters and at its software development office in Barcelona, Spain. For more information visit: www.ohpen.com
\nOrtec Finance is the leading provider of technology and solutions for risk and return management.
\nIt is our purpose to enable people to manage the complexity of investment decisions. OPAL facilitates goal-based planning and monitoring of goals. It is a software solution based on proven asset and liability management techniques from the world of institutional investments and crucial for supporting and improving investment decision making. We do this by leveraging our world-class institutional scenario engine as the core of the solution. OPAL enables financial institutions and advisers to translate clients personal goals into an optimal investment plan and monitor these goals over time.
\nWith more than 500 customers represented over 20+ countries, a retention rate of 96% and 3 trillion euro total assets managed by our clients Ortec Finance is headquartered in Rotterdam and has offices in Amsterdam, London, Toronto, Hong Kong, Zurich and Melbourne.
\nFor more information visit: www.ortecfinance.com
\nFor more information, please contact:
\nLaura Winn
laura@ohpen.com
+31 (0)6 83488658
Ergaalem Daniel
Ergaalem.Daniel@ortec-finance.com
+31 (0)6 50091882
At Ohpen, we know that coronavirus (COVID-19) is top of mind everywhere, just as it is for all of us here at Ohpen. We wanted to share with you the measures we are taking to ensure that our employees are safe and that we avoid any disruption to our services to any of our clients.
\nAt Ohpen, our founding principle has been that the Ohpen Platform should work at all times and our employees should be able to work from any location. This principle has made it possible for Ohpen to transition to a state of prolonged remote working very quickly and smoothly over the past few weeks. Besides the health and well-being of our colleagues and their families, providing uninterrupted service to our clients, and our clients’ customers, is our highest priority.
\nTip of the week
\nTo combat feelings of isolation while teams all work from home, we arranged voluntary virtual team coffee breaks, lunch meetups and live online fitness trainings for our staff – leading to glimpses of quirky WFH outfits and misbehaving pets. We’d love you to share your tips with us as well or if you have any questions, feel free to contact us at: info@ohpen.com.
","desktop_body":"At Ohpen, we know that coronavirus (COVID-19) is top of mind everywhere, just as it is for all of us here at Ohpen. We wanted to share with you the measures we are taking to ensure that our employees are safe and that we avoid any disruption to our services to any of our clients.
\nAt Ohpen, our founding principle has been that the Ohpen Platform should work at all times and our employees should be able to work from any location. This principle has made it possible for Ohpen to transition to a state of prolonged remote working very quickly and smoothly over the past few weeks. Besides the health and well-being of our colleagues and their families, providing uninterrupted service to our clients, and our clients’ customers, is our highest priority.
\n\nTip of the week
\nTo combat feelings of isolation while teams all work from home, we arranged voluntary virtual team coffee breaks, lunch meetups and live online fitness trainings for our staff – leading to glimpses of quirky WFH outfits and misbehaving pets. We’d love you to share your tips with us as well or if you have any questions, feel free to contact us at: info@ohpen.com.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T16:16:56+00:00","city":null,"thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/0d998545-e26f-4639-9e49-48ef06f8f864.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"1d2b05ab-d646-5eaa-87c4-f29ad491dc76","slug":"fintech-company-ohpen-enters-pension-market-through-partnership-with-tkp","type":"default","title":"FINTECH COMPANY OHPEN ENTERS PENSION MARKET THROUGH PARTNERSHIP WITH TKP","excerpt":"Today, TKP Pensioen and core-banking provider Ohpen announce their cooperation in the DC pensions sector. With this move, the pension ad...","body":"Today, TKP Pensioen and core-banking provider Ohpen announce their cooperation in the DC pensions sector. With this move, the pension administrator is looking to realise its ambitions in this area, while for Ohpen the partnership will allow it to enter the pensions market. Both parties expect a great deal from this win-win situation.
\nThe Groningen-based company is in the process of creating a state-of-the-art digital pension platform for participants and employers in which ‘convenience’ and ‘insight into the financial situation of individual participants’ are of paramount importance. TKP had been looking for an investment administration partner that could help them achieve this, and Ohpen was the best choice.
\nAccording to Bert Vos, CFO at TKP, Ohpen’s cutting-edge core-banking solution fits in seamlessly with the demands and requirements of customers, participants and employers when it comes to the administration of their DC schemes. “In an era in which pensions and wealth accumulation are becoming increasingly intertwined, joining forces within the banking and administration sector is, in our view, the way to go.”
\n“The current administrative core of TKP is a robust and stable system. At the same time, developments are progressing at a rapid speed: technology is offering more and more possibilities, legislation and regulations are changing, pension plan participants are expecting more, and the nature of the Dutch Pension Agreement, which will change the pension system fundamentally, is becoming increasingly clear,” adds Vos.
\nThe integrated solution (digital pension platform/ investment platform) is being developed from scratch in the cloud and is therefore easily scalable. The platform enables each participant to have a simple and real-time understanding of their individual pension, accumulation and decumulation possibilities. As a result, they will find making the right choices for the future easier than ever before and will have full control over their pension buckets.
\nMatthijs Aler, CEO of Ohpen, says: “By integrating both platforms, this originally conservative industry will now have a fully digital and futureproof pension solution at its disposal. A solution focused on the individual but with the advantages of the collective. With years of retail experience in the banking world, we as a fintech company are going to do a lot for the pension world when it comes to digital individual customer service”.
\nBert Vos says: “The collaboration between TKP and Ohpen is fully in line with our vision for participant and employer service offering as well as our innovation programme TKP Connect, which has ease of use as one of its core aims. With TKP Connect, we help pension funds implement their strategy in a world that is changing rapidly”.
\nTKP will initially use Ohpen’s platform for investment account administration, allowing its customers to offer pension participants modern investment propositions.
\nOhpen is no stranger within Aegon, having worked with Knab on banking annuities and (deposit) savings since 2017.
\nWe administer the pensions of 3.7 million Dutch citizens on behalf of 23 pension funds. We are part of Aegon Netherlands. Each day our 900+ employees seek to make pensions as easy as possible. We do this for pension members and their employers – whom we serve via smart websites and a state-of-the-art digital pension platform. Thanks to customer journeys and data analytics, we know exactly what is needed. That’s how we make pensions easy. For more information visit: www.tkppensioen.nl
\nOhpen is the first core-banking engine in the cloud to fulfil one simple promise: IT. JUST. WORKS. The Ohpen Platform was built from the ground up by experienced bankers and software developers to administer retail savings and investment accounts. Ohpen frees financial institutions such as banks, insurers, investment institutions and pension funds from having to use legacy systems and processes. Aegon, Knab, Robeco, Nationale-Nederlanden, Volksbank and LeasePlan Bank are all customers who have found a reliable, flexible and compliant solution in the Ohpen Platform. More than 150 people work at the company’s Amsterdam headquarters and at its software development office in Barcelona, Spain. For more information visit: www.ohpen.com
\nClick here for photos, the Ohpen logo and various portraits.
\nToday, TKP Pensioen and core-banking provider Ohpen announce their cooperation in the DC pensions sector. With this move, the pension administrator is looking to realise its ambitions in this area, while for Ohpen the partnership will allow it to enter the pensions market. Both parties expect a great deal from this win-win situation.
\nThe Groningen-based company is in the process of creating a state-of-the-art digital pension platform for participants and employers in which ‘convenience’ and ‘insight into the financial situation of individual participants’ are of paramount importance. TKP had been looking for an investment administration partner that could help them achieve this, and Ohpen was the best choice.
\nAccording to Bert Vos, CFO at TKP, Ohpen’s cutting-edge core-banking solution fits in seamlessly with the demands and requirements of customers, participants and employers when it comes to the administration of their DC schemes. “In an era in which pensions and wealth accumulation are becoming increasingly intertwined, joining forces within the banking and administration sector is, in our view, the way to go.”
\n“The current administrative core of TKP is a robust and stable system. At the same time, developments are progressing at a rapid speed: technology is offering more and more possibilities, legislation and regulations are changing, pension plan participants are expecting more, and the nature of the Dutch Pension Agreement, which will change the pension system fundamentally, is becoming increasingly clear,” adds Vos.
\nThe integrated solution (digital pension platform/ investment platform) is being developed from scratch in the cloud and is therefore easily scalable. The platform enables each participant to have a simple and real-time understanding of their individual pension, accumulation and decumulation possibilities. As a result, they will find making the right choices for the future easier than ever before and will have full control over their pension buckets.
\nMatthijs Aler, CEO of Ohpen, says: “By integrating both platforms, this originally conservative industry will now have a fully digital and futureproof pension solution at its disposal. A solution focused on the individual but with the advantages of the collective. With years of retail experience in the banking world, we as a fintech company are going to do a lot for the pension world when it comes to digital individual customer service”.
\nBert Vos says: “The collaboration between TKP and Ohpen is fully in line with our vision for participant and employer service offering as well as our innovation programme TKP Connect, which has ease of use as one of its core aims. With TKP Connect, we help pension funds implement their strategy in a world that is changing rapidly”.
\nTKP will initially use Ohpen’s platform for investment account administration, allowing its customers to offer pension participants modern investment propositions.
\nOhpen is no stranger within Aegon, having worked with Knab on banking annuities and (deposit) savings since 2017.
\nWe administer the pensions of 3.7 million Dutch citizens on behalf of 23 pension funds. We are part of Aegon Netherlands. Each day our 900+ employees seek to make pensions as easy as possible. We do this for pension members and their employers – whom we serve via smart websites and a state-of-the-art digital pension platform. Thanks to customer journeys and data analytics, we know exactly what is needed. That’s how we make pensions easy. For more information visit: www.tkppensioen.nl
\nOhpen is the first core-banking engine in the cloud to fulfil one simple promise: IT. JUST. WORKS. The Ohpen Platform was built from the ground up by experienced bankers and software developers to administer retail savings and investment accounts. Ohpen frees financial institutions such as banks, insurers, investment institutions and pension funds from having to use legacy systems and processes. Aegon, Knab, Robeco, Nationale-Nederlanden, Volksbank and LeasePlan Bank are all customers who have found a reliable, flexible and compliant solution in the Ohpen Platform. More than 150 people work at the company’s Amsterdam headquarters and at its software development office in Barcelona, Spain. For more information visit: www.ohpen.com
\nClick here for photos, the Ohpen logo and various portraits.
\nCore banking provider Ohpen and international software services provider virtual affairs announce a jointly developed out-of-the-box bank and wealth manager. Ohpen’s core banking platform is connected to virtual affairs’ mobile banking solution, creating a one-stop-shop for financial services providers that want to launch a new investment proposition for retail customers.
\nThe partnership enables banks, insurers and asset managers to reduce their time to market by approximately 6 months. They don’t need to worry about complex implementations and integrations. By using the end-to-end solution created by Ohpen and Virtual Affairs, financial services providers can focus time and money on where it matters: servicing their customers and delivering new products.
\nAngelique Schouten, Board member at Ohpen:
\n“Financial services providers now have the opportunity to launch a fully compliant, reliable and adaptable retail investment proposition within months or even weeks. The solution can be tailored with unique branding, proposition and product characteristics, while a standard set of third-party integrations connects it to the outside world. It’s as simple as that,” said Angelique Schouten, executive board member at Ohpen. “Integrating Virtual Affairs’ mobile app and the Ohpen Platform creates a true out-of-the-box solution for any execution only, advice or discretionary wealth management proposition and speeds up delivery times by half a year.”
\nRobin Peters, Director Virtual Affairs:
\n“We chose to invest in this integration to provide banks, insurers and asset managers with a shorter time to market and a seamless experience for their customers”, Robin Peters, Managing Partner of Virtual Affairs states. “We focus on a mobile first approach for now, but we can easily expand our interface to include service specific web requirements. We can now better serve both our current and new clients, by offering an end-to-end solution rather than front-end only.”
\nThe wealth manager-out-of-the-box will be available in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
\nAbout Ohpen
\nOhpen is the world’s first cloud-based core banking engine with a simple promise: IT. JUST. WORKS. The Ohpen Platform is built from scratch by experienced bankers and software engineers to administer retail saving and investment accounts. Ohpen liberates financial services providers such as banks, insurance companies, asset managers and pension providers from their legacy systems and processes. Aegon, Knab, Robeco, Nationale-Nederlanden, Volksbank and LeasePlan Bank are all examples of customers who found a reliable, adaptable and compliant solution in the Ohpen Platform. The head office is in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and the company has a software development office in Barcelona, Spain, employing approximately 150 people.
\nAbout Virtual Affairs
\nVirtual Affairs is an international software- and services provider specialized in digital interaction for financial services. As part of the digital agency We are you they conceptualize, design, develop, and optimize digital channels for banks and insurers. They have helped many clients in financial services such as Knab, Achmea International, Rabobank, ABN Amro, ING, Onlia and TD Bank and offer over 20 years of experience delivering web and mobile solutions that consist of custom code, productized components and partner technology, integrated to work seamlessly. Their focus is on achieving the ultimate customer experience and continuous digital innovation. Virtual Affairs employs over 100 specialists in Amsterdam and Sofia. We are you counts over 400 employees in 7 locations.
","desktop_body":"Core banking provider Ohpen and international software services provider virtual affairs announce a jointly developed out-of-the-box bank and wealth manager. Ohpen’s core banking platform is connected to virtual affairs’ mobile banking solution, creating a one-stop-shop for financial services providers that want to launch a new investment proposition for retail customers.
\nThe partnership enables banks, insurers and asset managers to reduce their time to market by approximately 6 months. They don’t need to worry about complex implementations and integrations. By using the end-to-end solution created by Ohpen and Virtual Affairs, financial services providers can focus time and money on where it matters: servicing their customers and delivering new products.
\nAngelique Schouten, Board member at Ohpen:
\n“Financial services providers now have the opportunity to launch a fully compliant, reliable and adaptable retail investment proposition within months or even weeks. The solution can be tailored with unique branding, proposition and product characteristics, while a standard set of third-party integrations connects it to the outside world. It’s as simple as that,” said Angelique Schouten, executive board member at Ohpen. “Integrating Virtual Affairs’ mobile app and the Ohpen Platform creates a true out-of-the-box solution for any execution only, advice or discretionary wealth management proposition and speeds up delivery times by half a year.”
\nRobin Peters, Director Virtual Affairs:
\n“We chose to invest in this integration to provide banks, insurers and asset managers with a shorter time to market and a seamless experience for their customers”, Robin Peters, Managing Partner of Virtual Affairs states. “We focus on a mobile first approach for now, but we can easily expand our interface to include service specific web requirements. We can now better serve both our current and new clients, by offering an end-to-end solution rather than front-end only.”
\nThe wealth manager-out-of-the-box will be available in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
\nAbout Ohpen
\nOhpen is the world’s first cloud-based core banking engine with a simple promise: IT. JUST. WORKS. The Ohpen Platform is built from scratch by experienced bankers and software engineers to administer retail saving and investment accounts. Ohpen liberates financial services providers such as banks, insurance companies, asset managers and pension providers from their legacy systems and processes. Aegon, Knab, Robeco, Nationale-Nederlanden, Volksbank and LeasePlan Bank are all examples of customers who found a reliable, adaptable and compliant solution in the Ohpen Platform. The head office is in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and the company has a software development office in Barcelona, Spain, employing approximately 150 people.
\nAbout Virtual Affairs
\nVirtual Affairs is an international software- and services provider specialized in digital interaction for financial services. As part of the digital agency We are you they conceptualize, design, develop, and optimize digital channels for banks and insurers. They have helped many clients in financial services such as Knab, Achmea International, Rabobank, ABN Amro, ING, Onlia and TD Bank and offer over 20 years of experience delivering web and mobile solutions that consist of custom code, productized components and partner technology, integrated to work seamlessly. Their focus is on achieving the ultimate customer experience and continuous digital innovation. Virtual Affairs employs over 100 specialists in Amsterdam and Sofia. We are you counts over 400 employees in 7 locations.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T16:18:04+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/4723bbd6-9edf-49bc-aef1-c4d34e025101.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"d34677b3-8757-5af9-8775-fe10de9d6584","slug":"leaseplan-bank-goes-live-with-ohpen-s-cloud-core-banking-engine","type":"default","title":"LEASEPLAN BANK GOES LIVE WITH OHPEN’S CLOUD CORE BANKING ENGINE","excerpt":"Cloud banking provider Ohpen has successfully migrated close to 1 million Dutch and German savings accounts from LeasePlan Bank to its Co...","body":"Cloud banking provider Ohpen has successfully migrated close to 1 million Dutch and German savings accounts from LeasePlan Bank to its Core Banking Engine in a complete technology overhaul of the bank.
\nThe project was completed by migrating almost 1 million Dutch and German savings accounts and more than 17 million historical records. The smooth transition was the result of a close collaboration between LeasePlan Bank and Ohpen.
\nSander Frons, Director LeasePlan Bank:
\n“We set out to reduce our IT complexity and improve the flexibility, reliability and efficiency of our services. Meanwhile, we wanted to avoid any negative impact as much as possible during the transition phase. We’ve successfully achieved all of that. I’d say the migration and implementation to the purely cloud-native SaaS-solution from Ohpen was a textbook example of how such an operation should be run.”
\nAngelique Schouten, Board Member at Ohpen:
\n“More and more financial organisations want to increase the digitalisation and flexibility of their technology stack, and at the same time want to decrease their IT-complexity. In the case of LeasePlan Bank, Ohpen replaced several solutions from different providers with one platform. The move to the Ohpen Platform, running on Amazon Web Services, makes LeasePlan Bank an efficient and future-proof bank operating in multiple countries”.
\nAbout LeasePlan Bank
\nLeasePlan Bank, founded in 2010, is an online retail deposits bank and part of LeasePlan Corporation N.V. LeasePlan has a Dutch banking license and is supervised by the Dutch Central Bank (DNB). LeasePlan Bank is currently serving over 200,000 customers across the Netherlands and Germany with total savings deposits of approximately EUR 7.7 billion. LeasePlan Bank is committed to the careful management of its saving funds and will invest them only in LeasePlan Corporation’s core activity, namely vehicle Car-as-a-Service. For information about LeasePlan Bank and its current product offering, visit www.leaseplanbank.nl or www.leaseplanbank.de.
\nAbout Ohpen
\nOhpen is the world’s first cloud native core banking provider. Ohpen liberates its customers from their legacy systems, making them more flexible, safe, scalable and compliant. Founded in 2009 by a team of experienced bankers and software developers, the Ohpen platform administers savings and investment accounts for clients as Aegon, Nationale Nederlanden, Volksbank, LeasePlan Bank and other banks, investment institutions and insurers.
\nRequest demo
\nDo you consider a technology overhaul? Are you looking for one platform to support multiple countries? Go to your email box now and request a demo via info@ohpen.com.
\nCloud banking provider Ohpen has successfully migrated close to 1 million Dutch and German savings accounts from LeasePlan Bank to its Core Banking Engine in a complete technology overhaul of the bank.
\nThe project was completed by migrating almost 1 million Dutch and German savings accounts and more than 17 million historical records. The smooth transition was the result of a close collaboration between LeasePlan Bank and Ohpen.
\nSander Frons, Director LeasePlan Bank:
\n“We set out to reduce our IT complexity and improve the flexibility, reliability and efficiency of our services. Meanwhile, we wanted to avoid any negative impact as much as possible during the transition phase. We’ve successfully achieved all of that. I’d say the migration and implementation to the purely cloud-native SaaS-solution from Ohpen was a textbook example of how such an operation should be run.”
\nAngelique Schouten, Board Member at Ohpen:
\n“More and more financial organisations want to increase the digitalisation and flexibility of their technology stack, and at the same time want to decrease their IT-complexity. In the case of LeasePlan Bank, Ohpen replaced several solutions from different providers with one platform. The move to the Ohpen Platform, running on Amazon Web Services, makes LeasePlan Bank an efficient and future-proof bank operating in multiple countries”.
\nAbout LeasePlan Bank
\nLeasePlan Bank, founded in 2010, is an online retail deposits bank and part of LeasePlan Corporation N.V. LeasePlan has a Dutch banking license and is supervised by the Dutch Central Bank (DNB). LeasePlan Bank is currently serving over 200,000 customers across the Netherlands and Germany with total savings deposits of approximately EUR 7.7 billion. LeasePlan Bank is committed to the careful management of its saving funds and will invest them only in LeasePlan Corporation’s core activity, namely vehicle Car-as-a-Service. For information about LeasePlan Bank and its current product offering, visit www.leaseplanbank.nl or www.leaseplanbank.de.
\nAbout Ohpen
\nOhpen is the world’s first cloud native core banking provider. Ohpen liberates its customers from their legacy systems, making them more flexible, safe, scalable and compliant. Founded in 2009 by a team of experienced bankers and software developers, the Ohpen platform administers savings and investment accounts for clients as Aegon, Nationale Nederlanden, Volksbank, LeasePlan Bank and other banks, investment institutions and insurers.
\nRequest demo
\nDo you consider a technology overhaul? Are you looking for one platform to support multiple countries? Go to your email box now and request a demo via info@ohpen.com.
\nFirst and long-time investor Amerborgh sells a part of its stake in Ohpen to NPM Capital, that upon the transaction, will have a 35% stake in Ohpen. Amerborgh wanted to sell this stake to finance ongoing and future projects, like the arts and culture centre “het HEM” in Zaandam.
\nOhpen is a fast-growing Fintech company. The Ohpen SaaS, cloud native core banking platform administers retail investment and savings accounts for banks and other financial institutions.
\nRutger Ruigrok, managing director at NPM Capital explains: “The technology sector is an increasingly important focus point in our investment portfolio. Already, we have had Ohpen in sight as one of the most promising technology companies that we have seen in the past few years. We are impressed with their achievements over the past ten years: a cloud native core banking engine, an impressive customer base and a wonderful foundation for further growth. We are very enthusiastic about now being part of their future.”
\nHaving the new shareholder on board means a broadening of our options to finance future growth, although Ohpen can still advance with the growth capital that we raised early 2018, says Matthijs Aler, CEO of Ohpen. “With Amerborgh and now also with NPM, we have a well-balanced long-term shareholder structure that enables Ohpen to realize all of its future growth ambitions. I am really looking forward to working with the NPM team.”
\nOhpen is the world’s first cloud native core banking provider and became a market leader in the Dutch midsize banking market over the past few years. In the near future, Ohpen will extend its services to large banks and the pension market.
\nMichel Vrolijk, managing director at Amerborgh Netherlands is happy with the fact that the company decided to invest in Ohpen ten years ago. “Our expectations at the time have always been exceeded. We hope to be a partner of Ohpen’s incredible adventure for a long time to come.”
\nAbout Ohpen
\nOhpen is the first SaaS core banking engine in the world that runs entirely in the cloud. Ohpen liberates its customers from their legacy systems, making them more flexible, safe, scalable and compliant. Founded in 2009 by a team of experienced bankers and software developers, the Ohpen platform administers savings and investment accounts for clients such as Aegon, Nationale-Nederlanden, Volksbank and other banks, investment institutions and insurers. The company employs over 120 people in the Netherlands and Spain.
\nAbout NPM Capital
\nNPM Capital supplies risk capital to medium to large-sized Benelux companies that focus on long-term value creation. Following from its ambition to be socially relevant, NPM Capital aims to respond with investments to long-term trends such as wellbeing, resource scarcity and the rise of technology. Being a part of SHV, NPM Capital has a flexible investment horizon and ample supply of capital, which allows it to focus on supporting the long-term value creation of its portfolio companies. The portfolio includes 26 participations.
\nAbout Amerborgh
\nAmerborgh is a management company, investing in financial services, software development, hotel management, and property development. Amerborgh also supports and develops a variety of cultural projects and activities.
","desktop_body":"First and long-time investor Amerborgh sells a part of its stake in Ohpen to NPM Capital, that upon the transaction, will have a 35% stake in Ohpen. Amerborgh wanted to sell this stake to finance ongoing and future projects, like the arts and culture centre “het HEM” in Zaandam.
\nOhpen is a fast-growing Fintech company. The Ohpen SaaS, cloud native core banking platform administers retail investment and savings accounts for banks and other financial institutions.
\nRutger Ruigrok, managing director at NPM Capital explains: “The technology sector is an increasingly important focus point in our investment portfolio. Already, we have had Ohpen in sight as one of the most promising technology companies that we have seen in the past few years. We are impressed with their achievements over the past ten years: a cloud native core banking engine, an impressive customer base and a wonderful foundation for further growth. We are very enthusiastic about now being part of their future.”
\nHaving the new shareholder on board means a broadening of our options to finance future growth, although Ohpen can still advance with the growth capital that we raised early 2018, says Matthijs Aler, CEO of Ohpen. “With Amerborgh and now also with NPM, we have a well-balanced long-term shareholder structure that enables Ohpen to realize all of its future growth ambitions. I am really looking forward to working with the NPM team.”
\nOhpen is the world’s first cloud native core banking provider and became a market leader in the Dutch midsize banking market over the past few years. In the near future, Ohpen will extend its services to large banks and the pension market.
\nMichel Vrolijk, managing director at Amerborgh Netherlands is happy with the fact that the company decided to invest in Ohpen ten years ago. “Our expectations at the time have always been exceeded. We hope to be a partner of Ohpen’s incredible adventure for a long time to come.”
\nAbout Ohpen
\nOhpen is the first SaaS core banking engine in the world that runs entirely in the cloud. Ohpen liberates its customers from their legacy systems, making them more flexible, safe, scalable and compliant. Founded in 2009 by a team of experienced bankers and software developers, the Ohpen platform administers savings and investment accounts for clients such as Aegon, Nationale-Nederlanden, Volksbank and other banks, investment institutions and insurers. The company employs over 120 people in the Netherlands and Spain.
\nAbout NPM Capital
\nNPM Capital supplies risk capital to medium to large-sized Benelux companies that focus on long-term value creation. Following from its ambition to be socially relevant, NPM Capital aims to respond with investments to long-term trends such as wellbeing, resource scarcity and the rise of technology. Being a part of SHV, NPM Capital has a flexible investment horizon and ample supply of capital, which allows it to focus on supporting the long-term value creation of its portfolio companies. The portfolio includes 26 participations.
\nAbout Amerborgh
\nAmerborgh is a management company, investing in financial services, software development, hotel management, and property development. Amerborgh also supports and develops a variety of cultural projects and activities.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T16:21:46+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/cb157828-418c-4c8b-b46f-155b4742dac0.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"c0a761f9-1354-5368-bf18-b46eea62bf73","slug":"core-banking-provider-ohpen-appoints-matthijs-aler-as-ceo","type":"default","title":"CORE BANKING PROVIDER OHPEN APPOINTS MATTHIJS ALER AS CEO","excerpt":"After being ten years at the helm of core banking provider Ohpen, founder Chris Zadeh (43) transfers the CEO position to Matthijs Aler (4...","body":"After being ten years at the helm of core banking provider Ohpen, founder Chris Zadeh (43) transfers the CEO position to Matthijs Aler (42) per January 1st 2019. Zadeh started Ohpen out of dissatisfaction with the existing legacy core banking software that never worked. In 2008, he left BinckBank to develop a completely new, cloud-native, core banking platform. “A platform that would always work, guaranteed- and would leave the competition far behind” says Zadeh. In ten years, Ohpen became a market leader in the Netherlands and is still the only full SaaS core banking platform in the world.
\nMatthijs Aler, an accomplished banker has extensive experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining Ohpen he held several positions at BinckBank including: Managing Director of The Netherlands and CEO France where he was responsible for setting up the French branch.
\nAler joined Ohpen seven years ago to become CCO and later Chief Operational Officer (COO). He will take over the day-to-day management from Chris Zadeh who will remain affiliated with Ohpen as chairman of the board. Zadeh will focus on the overall strategy, clients and future technology development.
\nChris Zadeh: “When we were a startup, we had nothing but our mission to build the best core banking engine in the world. No employees. No customers. No office. After having heard “no” from banks a thousand times and after a million hours of development, we are now a scale-up with satisfied clients; we have moved on from working in a basement to working in offices that accommodate our 150 employees. Matthijs and I have been colleagues and friends for over seventeen years, first at BinckBank and now at Ohpen. He is the one to lead Ohpen.”
\nMatthijs Aler: “Chris already foresaw that banking would go to the cloud when Amazon was still just known as a bookstore and nobody had heard of the cloud. He is a pioneer who literally overcame all obstacles to bring core banking to the cloud. Ohpen was the first company worldwide to gain approval for banking in the cloud by a regulator. Without Chris, the financial services industry would literally have looked totally different. “
\nAfter ten years of growth under the leadership of Chris Zadeh, Ohpen is the core banking market leader in the Netherlands, has a head office in Amsterdam and a software development hub in Barcelona. Further expansion plans of the core banking factory are well advanced. In 2017 and 2018, a total of € 40 million in investments was raised to allow the company to grow further.
\nMore changes to the Ohpen board to prepare for the next 10 years
\nIn addition to Chris Zadeh, as chairman, Matthijs Aler as CEO and Angelique Schouten as CCO, employee of the first hour, Lydia van de Voort (34) will join the Ohpen Board as Chief of Staff as of January 1st 2019.
\nPieter Aartsen, CEO NL, leaves Ohpen on January 1st 2019. Upon the acquisition and successful integration of his company, Fynn Advice in Ohpen, he wants to pursue other interests.
\nWith this composition of the board, Ohpen is getting ready for the next 10 years of growth, Aler concludes: “We are just scratching the surface and prepare for exponential growth of the company.”
","desktop_body":"After being ten years at the helm of core banking provider Ohpen, founder Chris Zadeh (43) transfers the CEO position to Matthijs Aler (42) per January 1st 2019. Zadeh started Ohpen out of dissatisfaction with the existing legacy core banking software that never worked. In 2008, he left BinckBank to develop a completely new, cloud-native, core banking platform. “A platform that would always work, guaranteed- and would leave the competition far behind” says Zadeh. In ten years, Ohpen became a market leader in the Netherlands and is still the only full SaaS core banking platform in the world.
\nMatthijs Aler, an accomplished banker has extensive experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining Ohpen he held several positions at BinckBank including: Managing Director of The Netherlands and CEO France where he was responsible for setting up the French branch.
\nAler joined Ohpen seven years ago to become CCO and later Chief Operational Officer (COO). He will take over the day-to-day management from Chris Zadeh who will remain affiliated with Ohpen as chairman of the board. Zadeh will focus on the overall strategy, clients and future technology development.
\nChris Zadeh: “When we were a startup, we had nothing but our mission to build the best core banking engine in the world. No employees. No customers. No office. After having heard “no” from banks a thousand times and after a million hours of development, we are now a scale-up with satisfied clients; we have moved on from working in a basement to working in offices that accommodate our 150 employees. Matthijs and I have been colleagues and friends for over seventeen years, first at BinckBank and now at Ohpen. He is the one to lead Ohpen.”
\nMatthijs Aler: “Chris already foresaw that banking would go to the cloud when Amazon was still just known as a bookstore and nobody had heard of the cloud. He is a pioneer who literally overcame all obstacles to bring core banking to the cloud. Ohpen was the first company worldwide to gain approval for banking in the cloud by a regulator. Without Chris, the financial services industry would literally have looked totally different. “
\nAfter ten years of growth under the leadership of Chris Zadeh, Ohpen is the core banking market leader in the Netherlands, has a head office in Amsterdam and a software development hub in Barcelona. Further expansion plans of the core banking factory are well advanced. In 2017 and 2018, a total of € 40 million in investments was raised to allow the company to grow further.
\nMore changes to the Ohpen board to prepare for the next 10 years
\nIn addition to Chris Zadeh, as chairman, Matthijs Aler as CEO and Angelique Schouten as CCO, employee of the first hour, Lydia van de Voort (34) will join the Ohpen Board as Chief of Staff as of January 1st 2019.
\nPieter Aartsen, CEO NL, leaves Ohpen on January 1st 2019. Upon the acquisition and successful integration of his company, Fynn Advice in Ohpen, he wants to pursue other interests.
\nWith this composition of the board, Ohpen is getting ready for the next 10 years of growth, Aler concludes: “We are just scratching the surface and prepare for exponential growth of the company.”
","created_on":"2020-11-24T16:22:42+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/5bf6ebf6-e6ab-448e-bea7-39a7429f1955.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"1044eed1-4a1e-5e14-9be4-61f4b0e1ebca","slug":"aegon-migrates-over-400-000-savings-and-investment-accounts-to-ohpen","type":"default","title":"AEGON MIGRATES OVER 400.000 SAVINGS AND INVESTMENT ACCOUNTS TO OHPEN","excerpt":"Building the infrastructure and architecture of the futureOhpen has successfully migrated over 400.000 savings and investment accounts fr...","body":"Ohpen has successfully migrated over 400.000 savings and investment accounts from Aegon to its core banking engine. This migration is in line with their previously communicated ambition to build the infrastructure and architecture of the future.
\nChris Zadeh, founder and CEO of Ohpen: “Ohpen has developed its cloud-based core banking engine from scratch to ensure that the technology and processes actually work, all the time. Even after migrations of this size. Retail banks, insurance companies and asset managers should focus on offering the best solution to consumers and leave the rest to us.”
\nAegon and Ohpen jointly developed the intention to migrate other parts of Aegon’s services in the Netherlands to the core banking engine of Ohpen to create a future-proof setup.
\nAbout Aegon
\nAegon is one of the world’s leading providers of life insurance, pensions and asset management. Our Dutch roots date back almost 200 years. Today, we have operations in over 20 countries, including the USA where we’re known as Transamerica.
\nAbout Ohpen
\nOhpen uses its core banking engine to deliver BPO services and SaaS solutions to financial services providers, such as banks, insurance companies and asset managers. Founded in 2009 by a team of experienced bankers and software engineers, the Ohpen platform supports the savings and investment propositions of its clients.
\nOhpen has successfully migrated over 400.000 savings and investment accounts from Aegon to its core banking engine. This migration is in line with their previously communicated ambition to build the infrastructure and architecture of the future.
\nChris Zadeh, founder and CEO of Ohpen: “Ohpen has developed its cloud-based core banking engine from scratch to ensure that the technology and processes actually work, all the time. Even after migrations of this size. Retail banks, insurance companies and asset managers should focus on offering the best solution to consumers and leave the rest to us.”
\nAegon and Ohpen jointly developed the intention to migrate other parts of Aegon’s services in the Netherlands to the core banking engine of Ohpen to create a future-proof setup.
\nAbout Aegon
\nAegon is one of the world’s leading providers of life insurance, pensions and asset management. Our Dutch roots date back almost 200 years. Today, we have operations in over 20 countries, including the USA where we’re known as Transamerica.
\nAbout Ohpen
\nOhpen uses its core banking engine to deliver BPO services and SaaS solutions to financial services providers, such as banks, insurance companies and asset managers. Founded in 2009 by a team of experienced bankers and software engineers, the Ohpen platform supports the savings and investment propositions of its clients.
\nIT and re-platforming projects in financial services have a reputation of running over time and budget. Therefore the world’s first fully cloud-based core banking provider Ohpen, has launched the Ohpen API Portal (OAP) in beta. OAP allows banks, insurance companies, and asset managers to easily assemble the products and services they would like to use, generate code and apply it in their online or mobile banking sites. This reduces time to market of API integration by up to 40% for new features and functionalities – or for even launching a whole new bank.
\nSandboxing, time travelling, and “copy-pasting” code made easy
\nSince its start in 2009, Ohpen was one of the first to follow a full-scale API strategy, enabling easy integration in new and legacy architectures. Ohpen currently boasts over 300 API calls which can create a full savings or investment bank.
\nThe Ohpen API Portal features a development console where all process operations required to run a bank can be explored. The console offers a sandbox that simulates the client’s technical landscape where these operations can be built, tried, and tested. These operations can be easily integrated in any application and website, in the knowledge that they have been tested and actually work.
\nReducing complexity in IT transformations
\nThe Ohpen API portal and the Ohpen Platform, both being cloud-native, are real-time synced. New features and releases in the Ohpen Platform are immediately available to software developers who use the Ohpen API Portal. The development console works for software engineers and product owners. When both user types are aligned, this makes core banking IT transformations simpler.
\nErik Drijkoningen, Ohpen’s director of product development: “Providing our clients with the ability to assemble blocks of API calls that they can easily integrate in their own applications, whether it is internet or mobile banking, just works. Time to market of new releases, adding extra functionalities, or deploying a whole new investment or savings bank can now be done much faster and better improving reliability – all to the benefit of the retail customer.”
\nIncreasing reliability and adaptability
\nIn the past, financial services companies didn’t really know what to expect from upgrades or even from replatforming. They had no way to predict how the new software would perform or interact with their applications. The Ohpen API Portal allows them to choose any function or module from the Ohpen Platform, test it, assess its workings and then integrate it in their online or mobile sites. They will always have the latest version and compliance updates and it just works.
\nThe Ohpen API Portal is available to all Ohpen clients.
","desktop_body":"IT and re-platforming projects in financial services have a reputation of running over time and budget. Therefore the world’s first fully cloud-based core banking provider Ohpen, has launched the Ohpen API Portal (OAP) in beta. OAP allows banks, insurance companies, and asset managers to easily assemble the products and services they would like to use, generate code and apply it in their online or mobile banking sites. This reduces time to market of API integration by up to 40% for new features and functionalities – or for even launching a whole new bank.
\nSandboxing, time travelling, and “copy-pasting” code made easy
\nSince its start in 2009, Ohpen was one of the first to follow a full-scale API strategy, enabling easy integration in new and legacy architectures. Ohpen currently boasts over 300 API calls which can create a full savings or investment bank.
\nThe Ohpen API Portal features a development console where all process operations required to run a bank can be explored. The console offers a sandbox that simulates the client’s technical landscape where these operations can be built, tried, and tested. These operations can be easily integrated in any application and website, in the knowledge that they have been tested and actually work.
\nReducing complexity in IT transformations
\nThe Ohpen API portal and the Ohpen Platform, both being cloud-native, are real-time synced. New features and releases in the Ohpen Platform are immediately available to software developers who use the Ohpen API Portal. The development console works for software engineers and product owners. When both user types are aligned, this makes core banking IT transformations simpler.
\nErik Drijkoningen, Ohpen’s director of product development: “Providing our clients with the ability to assemble blocks of API calls that they can easily integrate in their own applications, whether it is internet or mobile banking, just works. Time to market of new releases, adding extra functionalities, or deploying a whole new investment or savings bank can now be done much faster and better improving reliability – all to the benefit of the retail customer.”
\nIncreasing reliability and adaptability
\nIn the past, financial services companies didn’t really know what to expect from upgrades or even from replatforming. They had no way to predict how the new software would perform or interact with their applications. The Ohpen API Portal allows them to choose any function or module from the Ohpen Platform, test it, assess its workings and then integrate it in their online or mobile sites. They will always have the latest version and compliance updates and it just works.
\nThe Ohpen API Portal is available to all Ohpen clients.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T16:35:10+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/8bf56c65-bfd8-4710-9d08-24a29f824102.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"61dae944-4388-59ea-bbf4-b0a1cd2f870d","slug":"ohpen-dutch-growth-hero","type":"default","title":"OHPEN DUTCH GROWTH HERO","excerpt":"Ohpen’s Matthijs Aler speaks about growth on BNR’s “Groeihelden”.Ohpen’s COO/CFO, Matthijs Aler was invited onto the Netherlands’ premier...","body":"Ohpen’s Matthijs Aler speaks about growth on BNR’s “Groeihelden”.
\nOhpen’s COO/CFO, Matthijs Aler was invited onto the Netherlands’ premier business news outlet, Business Nieuws Radio’s (BNR) show Groeihelden (Growth heroes).
\nBesides Matthijs, the show also featured Wouter de Bruijne of Dutch Parking startup, Parkbee, and together they discussed different business topics, such as company growth, managing growth and expectations, and dealing with investors.
\nAbout BNR’s Growth Heroes (Groeihelden)
\nExtra sales. More employees. New markets. Higher profits. In BNR Groeihelden, entrepreneurs tell how they grow their business.
\nAbout BNR
\nBNR always broadcasts the latest news, but also touches upon deeper issues and aspects. BNR creates news for curious people who look and listen further. Top-tier journalism with intelligent programmes, high-profile presenters, exciting debates, and playful entertainment. All so the listener gets the right information to get further. Every day.
\nTo learn more about BNR, visit the BNR website.
","desktop_body":"Ohpen’s Matthijs Aler speaks about growth on BNR’s “Groeihelden”.
\nOhpen’s COO/CFO, Matthijs Aler was invited onto the Netherlands’ premier business news outlet, Business Nieuws Radio’s (BNR) show Groeihelden (Growth heroes).
\nBesides Matthijs, the show also featured Wouter de Bruijne of Dutch Parking startup, Parkbee, and together they discussed different business topics, such as company growth, managing growth and expectations, and dealing with investors.
\nAbout BNR’s Growth Heroes (Groeihelden)
\nExtra sales. More employees. New markets. Higher profits. In BNR Groeihelden, entrepreneurs tell how they grow their business.
\nAbout BNR
\nBNR always broadcasts the latest news, but also touches upon deeper issues and aspects. BNR creates news for curious people who look and listen further. Top-tier journalism with intelligent programmes, high-profile presenters, exciting debates, and playful entertainment. All so the listener gets the right information to get further. Every day.
\nTo learn more about BNR, visit the BNR website.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T16:36:09+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/512c4fec-1337-49cc-a4de-9e455c5fcdd5.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"bd79f353-b711-5c0f-a489-fc16a68e1cf2","slug":"ohpen-nominated-in-two-categories-in-linkedin-talent-awards","type":"default","title":"OHPEN NOMINATED IN TWO CATEGORIES IN LINKEDIN TALENT AWARDS","excerpt":"We are proud and excited that our Talent Acquisition gurus have been nominated in two categories in the LinkedIn Talent awards.The team h...","body":"We are proud and excited that our Talent Acquisition gurus have been nominated in two categories in the LinkedIn Talent awards.
\nThe team has been nominated for Best Talent Acquisition Team and our Rock Star Recruiter Tommy Thomassen made it to the: Top Social Recruiter category.
\nWe already knew about the stellar performance of our recruitment team and now the world’s leading networking and professional social platform recognizes it as well; and even more important: acknowledges their skills and achievements by nominating them to two of the most prestigious recruitment awards in the world.
\nThis is not the only recognition our Talent Acquisition team has obtained. Earlier, they were applauded by the world’s largest job site, Indeed, for the fast and efficient application process and ability to attract “top achievers”.
\nAbout the LinkedIn Talent Awards
\nThe LinkedIn Talent Awards is a recognition awarded by LinkedIn to companies based on their utilization of LinkedIn Solutions and activities on the LinkedIn platform. LinkedIn Insight’s team will analyze the performance, results and impact of more than 1000 companies headquartered in each of the participating countries utilizing LinkedIn Solutions.
\nLinkedIn Talent Awards recognizes the achievements of individuals and teams of LinkedIn customers in the participating regions.
\nThe LinkedIn Talent Awards finalists are not chosen based on the value of the customer’s investment with LinkedIn.
","desktop_body":"We are proud and excited that our Talent Acquisition gurus have been nominated in two categories in the LinkedIn Talent awards.
\nThe team has been nominated for Best Talent Acquisition Team and our Rock Star Recruiter Tommy Thomassen made it to the: Top Social Recruiter category.
\nWe already knew about the stellar performance of our recruitment team and now the world’s leading networking and professional social platform recognizes it as well; and even more important: acknowledges their skills and achievements by nominating them to two of the most prestigious recruitment awards in the world.
\nThis is not the only recognition our Talent Acquisition team has obtained. Earlier, they were applauded by the world’s largest job site, Indeed, for the fast and efficient application process and ability to attract “top achievers”.
\nAbout the LinkedIn Talent Awards
\nThe LinkedIn Talent Awards is a recognition awarded by LinkedIn to companies based on their utilization of LinkedIn Solutions and activities on the LinkedIn platform. LinkedIn Insight’s team will analyze the performance, results and impact of more than 1000 companies headquartered in each of the participating countries utilizing LinkedIn Solutions.
\nLinkedIn Talent Awards recognizes the achievements of individuals and teams of LinkedIn customers in the participating regions.
\nThe LinkedIn Talent Awards finalists are not chosen based on the value of the customer’s investment with LinkedIn.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T16:36:53+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/bb6f9d2e-3dc2-40c9-8721-b9293a741769.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"5d043b91-e43a-5eb4-a11d-a4ccda9a1e9a","slug":"ohpen-shortlisted-for-the-banking-technology-awards-2018","type":"default","title":"OHPEN SHORTLISTED FOR THE BANKING TECHNOLOGY AWARDS 2018","excerpt":"Ohpen has been shortlisted for the annual Banking Technology Awards for “Best Core Banking System Provider”Ohpen is excited to be shortli...","body":"Ohpen has been shortlisted for the annual Banking Technology Awards for “Best Core Banking System Provider”
\nOhpen is excited to be shortlisted for one of the most prestigious awards in the financial services industry: The Banking Technology Awards, category: Editor´s Choice. Nominees for this award are selected by the editorial team of Fintech Futures. Next to Ohpen, three other core banking providers have made the nomination.
\nThe awards showcase vendors whose offerings are deemed to be the most comprehensive, innovative and technologically sound whilst addressing market requirements.
\nThe Editor’s Choice Award is a new category (now in its second year) in the Banking Technology Awards portfolio. In the course of the year, the Fintech Futures editorial team analyses and reports on a vast number of fintech vendors, their products, solutions and services. Nominations have been made based on their reports.
\nThis year’s Banking Technology Awards will take place on December 13th, 2018 at an elegant 5-star hotel in London: the Marriott Hotel at Grosvenor Square.
","desktop_body":"Ohpen has been shortlisted for the annual Banking Technology Awards for “Best Core Banking System Provider”
\nOhpen is excited to be shortlisted for one of the most prestigious awards in the financial services industry: The Banking Technology Awards, category: Editor´s Choice. Nominees for this award are selected by the editorial team of Fintech Futures. Next to Ohpen, three other core banking providers have made the nomination.
\nThe awards showcase vendors whose offerings are deemed to be the most comprehensive, innovative and technologically sound whilst addressing market requirements.
\nThe Editor’s Choice Award is a new category (now in its second year) in the Banking Technology Awards portfolio. In the course of the year, the Fintech Futures editorial team analyses and reports on a vast number of fintech vendors, their products, solutions and services. Nominations have been made based on their reports.
\nThis year’s Banking Technology Awards will take place on December 13th, 2018 at an elegant 5-star hotel in London: the Marriott Hotel at Grosvenor Square.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T16:37:34+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/a82bf00e-af09-491d-bc43-7abb4a3df1b9.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"8c98ac9f-ff0a-5896-8326-8542751087ea","slug":"two-of-the-worlds-leading-media-highlight-ohpen-hot-startup-and-employee-retention-powerhouse","type":"default","title":"TWO OF THE WORLD'S LEADING MEDIA HIGHLIGHT OHPEN: HOT STARTUP AND EMPLOYEE RETENTION POWERHOUSE","excerpt":"The editors at WIRED believe that we are amongst Europe’s 100 Hottest Startups of 2018 and Bloomberg believes that we have a word to say ...","body":"The editors at WIRED believe that we are amongst Europe’s 100 Hottest Startups of 2018 and Bloomberg believes that we have a word to say about hiring talent. Who are we to disagree?
\nWIRED
\nIn this year’s edition of Europe’s 100 hottest start-ups, only 10 Dutch companies were listed. One of them was Ohpen.
\nThis is what WIRED wrote about Ohpen in their print edition:
\n“Ohpen’s premise is simple: existing banks and financial service providers are hampered by legacy systems, so it offers cloud-based core banking software as a service (SaaS) to replace the entire back-end. This allows its customers to focus on front-end experience and brand differentiation. In July 2017, the Chris Zadeh-founded company secured €15 million from private-equity firm Amerborgh, which then led a €25 million Series C round in February 2018. The cash will help expansion into France, Canada, Australia and the US.”
\nIn this article: “The best startups in Amsterdam” you can read more about Ohpen on WIRED’s website.
\nAll 100 start-ups
\nIn the forthcoming weeks, WIRED’s list of Europe’s 100 hottest startups 2018 will be published in installments. Make sure to regularly check all the amazing start-ups Europe has to offer.
\nBLOOMBERG
\nOn August 16th, Bloomberg asked our CEO, Chris Zadeh, about Ohpen’s way of attracting and keeping scarce talent. Ownership, freedom, and a personal trainer are only a small part of the perks.
\nTo read the entire article and find out for yourself: Dutch Job Squeeze Brings Perks for Workers as Companies Scramble.
","desktop_body":"The editors at WIRED believe that we are amongst Europe’s 100 Hottest Startups of 2018 and Bloomberg believes that we have a word to say about hiring talent. Who are we to disagree?
\nWIRED
\nIn this year’s edition of Europe’s 100 hottest start-ups, only 10 Dutch companies were listed. One of them was Ohpen.
\nThis is what WIRED wrote about Ohpen in their print edition:
\n“Ohpen’s premise is simple: existing banks and financial service providers are hampered by legacy systems, so it offers cloud-based core banking software as a service (SaaS) to replace the entire back-end. This allows its customers to focus on front-end experience and brand differentiation. In July 2017, the Chris Zadeh-founded company secured €15 million from private-equity firm Amerborgh, which then led a €25 million Series C round in February 2018. The cash will help expansion into France, Canada, Australia and the US.”
\nIn this article: “The best startups in Amsterdam” you can read more about Ohpen on WIRED’s website.
\nAll 100 start-ups
\nIn the forthcoming weeks, WIRED’s list of Europe’s 100 hottest startups 2018 will be published in installments. Make sure to regularly check all the amazing start-ups Europe has to offer.
\nBLOOMBERG
\nOn August 16th, Bloomberg asked our CEO, Chris Zadeh, about Ohpen’s way of attracting and keeping scarce talent. Ownership, freedom, and a personal trainer are only a small part of the perks.
\nTo read the entire article and find out for yourself: Dutch Job Squeeze Brings Perks for Workers as Companies Scramble.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T16:39:34+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/dec5b90e-a60e-4017-b420-4b5ea4e92626.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"bf50510b-4fff-5d84-9fe0-29d653adfd28","slug":"leaseplan-bank-selects-ohpen-for-servicing-dutch-and-german-clients","type":"default","title":"LEASEPLAN BANK SELECTS OHPEN FOR SERVICING DUTCH AND GERMAN CLIENTS","excerpt":"Amsterdam, The Netherlands – July 2nd, 2018: Cloud banking provider Ohpen has strengthened its position as the market leader in the Nethe...","body":"Amsterdam, The Netherlands – July 2nd, 2018: Cloud banking provider Ohpen has strengthened its position as the market leader in the Netherlands, signing LeasePlan Bank as its latest customer. The cloud-native Ohpen core banking platform will replace several on-premises applications, reducing complexity and increasing LeasePlan Bank’s technological and functional capabilities to better support its retail banking customers.
\nDanny te Brinke, Director LeasePlan Bank & Strategic Finance:
\n“In Ohpen we have found a partner that allows us to further increase our efficiency and enhance our capabilities to keep track of market developments and changing customer demand. This will help us deliver on our commitment to bring user-friendly, clear and competitive savings products to our customers.”
\nPieter Aartsen, CEO NL Ohpen:
\n“Migrating LeasePlan Bank’s customers to the Ohpen core banking platform will reduce the complexity of their savings and deposits IT architecture and make LeasePlan Bank more agile. Over the last twelve months, we have experienced an increased demand from retail banks to close down their own on-premises IT infrastructure and replace it with cloud-based applications. For the past ten years, we have proved that our cloud-based core banking platform ensures reliability, availability and compliancy. A lot of interesting words, but at the end of the day, all financials want is for their technology to just work. We are very happy to welcome a 100% online and customer-friendly savings bank to our client base.”
\nAbout LeasePlan Bank
\nLeasePlan Bank is part of LeasePlan Corporation N.V., which has a Dutch banking license and is supervised by the Dutch Central Bank (DNB). Through its offices in Amsterdam, LeasePlan Bank offers straightforward savings products to private individuals in The Netherlands and Germany. LeasePlan Bank is committed to the careful management of its saving funds and will only invest them in LeasePlan Corporation’s core activities, namely vehicle leasing. As per March 2018, LeasePlan Bank manages over 140,000 saving accounts with a total volume of more than EUR 6.2 billion.
\nFor information about LeasePlan Bank and its current product offering, visit www.leaseplanbank.nl or www.leaseplanbank.de.
\nAbout Ohpen
\nOhpen uses its cloud core banking engine to deliver Software-as-a-Service and Business Process Outsourcing solutions to financial services providers, such as banks, insurance companies and asset managers. Founded in 2009 by a team of experienced bankers and software engineers, the Ohpen platform supports retail savings and investment propositions of its clients. Ohpen was the first cloud-native core banking engine in the world with an all-in cloud strategy. Employing over 160 people, Ohpen has offices in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Spain.
\nAmsterdam, The Netherlands – July 2nd, 2018: Cloud banking provider Ohpen has strengthened its position as the market leader in the Netherlands, signing LeasePlan Bank as its latest customer. The cloud-native Ohpen core banking platform will replace several on-premises applications, reducing complexity and increasing LeasePlan Bank’s technological and functional capabilities to better support its retail banking customers.
\nDanny te Brinke, Director LeasePlan Bank & Strategic Finance:
\n“In Ohpen we have found a partner that allows us to further increase our efficiency and enhance our capabilities to keep track of market developments and changing customer demand. This will help us deliver on our commitment to bring user-friendly, clear and competitive savings products to our customers.”
\nPieter Aartsen, CEO NL Ohpen:
\n“Migrating LeasePlan Bank’s customers to the Ohpen core banking platform will reduce the complexity of their savings and deposits IT architecture and make LeasePlan Bank more agile. Over the last twelve months, we have experienced an increased demand from retail banks to close down their own on-premises IT infrastructure and replace it with cloud-based applications. For the past ten years, we have proved that our cloud-based core banking platform ensures reliability, availability and compliancy. A lot of interesting words, but at the end of the day, all financials want is for their technology to just work. We are very happy to welcome a 100% online and customer-friendly savings bank to our client base.”
\nAbout LeasePlan Bank
\nLeasePlan Bank is part of LeasePlan Corporation N.V., which has a Dutch banking license and is supervised by the Dutch Central Bank (DNB). Through its offices in Amsterdam, LeasePlan Bank offers straightforward savings products to private individuals in The Netherlands and Germany. LeasePlan Bank is committed to the careful management of its saving funds and will only invest them in LeasePlan Corporation’s core activities, namely vehicle leasing. As per March 2018, LeasePlan Bank manages over 140,000 saving accounts with a total volume of more than EUR 6.2 billion.
\nFor information about LeasePlan Bank and its current product offering, visit www.leaseplanbank.nl or www.leaseplanbank.de.
\nAbout Ohpen
\nOhpen uses its cloud core banking engine to deliver Software-as-a-Service and Business Process Outsourcing solutions to financial services providers, such as banks, insurance companies and asset managers. Founded in 2009 by a team of experienced bankers and software engineers, the Ohpen platform supports retail savings and investment propositions of its clients. Ohpen was the first cloud-native core banking engine in the world with an all-in cloud strategy. Employing over 160 people, Ohpen has offices in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Spain.
\nThe Fintech Circle Institute will officially launch the WealthTECH book, in “The Shard” in London, featuring an array of technology and FinServ innovation leaders and experts including Ohpen’s CCO Angelique Schouten.
\nThe Fintech Circle Institute is one of the UK’s leading education, networking and knowledge sharing organisations and publisher of the bestselling “TECH” book series. The first instalment of this series: the FINTECH book, published in 2016, became a worldwide bestseller, selling over 10.000 copies.
\nThe WealthTECH book
\nThe WealthTECH Book offers critical thinking and actionable insights from global start–ups, incumbents, investors, tech companies, and advisors in this evolving ecosystem. For some, the investment & private wealth management sector is either facing an existential threat; for others, it is a sector on the brink of transforming itself. Either way, business models, value chains, customer understanding and engagement, organisational structures and even what Asset and Wealth Management is for, is never going to be the same. Be informed, be part of it and meet our Co-Authors who are flying in from all over the world.
\nThe WealthTECH book is edited and compiled by Susanne Chishti & Thomas Puschmann.
\nAngelique Schouten in The WealthTECH book
\nAngelique’s contribution to the WealthTECH book focuses on achieving tangible business results with a digital architecture, stressing that a true digital strategy is more than just a front-end, a fancy website and a mobile banking app. A true digital architecture in asset management supports the full customer life cycle, life events, regulatory reporting, offers a high degree of straight through processing and robo advice. Asset managers should identify the generic “utility” part of their businesses and outsource them, in order to focus on the areas where they can add value.
","desktop_body":"The Fintech Circle Institute will officially launch the WealthTECH book, in “The Shard” in London, featuring an array of technology and FinServ innovation leaders and experts including Ohpen’s CCO Angelique Schouten.
\nThe Fintech Circle Institute is one of the UK’s leading education, networking and knowledge sharing organisations and publisher of the bestselling “TECH” book series. The first instalment of this series: the FINTECH book, published in 2016, became a worldwide bestseller, selling over 10.000 copies.
\nThe WealthTECH book
\nThe WealthTECH Book offers critical thinking and actionable insights from global start–ups, incumbents, investors, tech companies, and advisors in this evolving ecosystem. For some, the investment & private wealth management sector is either facing an existential threat; for others, it is a sector on the brink of transforming itself. Either way, business models, value chains, customer understanding and engagement, organisational structures and even what Asset and Wealth Management is for, is never going to be the same. Be informed, be part of it and meet our Co-Authors who are flying in from all over the world.
\nThe WealthTECH book is edited and compiled by Susanne Chishti & Thomas Puschmann.
\nAngelique Schouten in The WealthTECH book
\nAngelique’s contribution to the WealthTECH book focuses on achieving tangible business results with a digital architecture, stressing that a true digital strategy is more than just a front-end, a fancy website and a mobile banking app. A true digital architecture in asset management supports the full customer life cycle, life events, regulatory reporting, offers a high degree of straight through processing and robo advice. Asset managers should identify the generic “utility” part of their businesses and outsource them, in order to focus on the areas where they can add value.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T16:40:19+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/fd3fb602-e728-4716-b47e-e5fd71eb06aa.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"43904784-d565-5a7b-bbcf-50199ea92da1","slug":"when-mavericks-collide-marks-slats-and-ohpen","type":"default","title":"WHEN MAVERICKS COLLIDE: MARKS SLATS & OHPEN","excerpt":"Kindred spirits that like to overcome impossible challenges: That is how Mark Slats ended up with main sponsor Ohpen. However, impossible...","body":"Kindred spirits that like to overcome impossible challenges: That is how Mark Slats ended up with main sponsor Ohpen. However, impossible is not part of the vocabulary at Ohpen. The same applies for Mark.
\nSimilar to Ohpen’s story of going against multi-billion giants in our industry, Mark Slats also faces giant obstacles of his own. Mark enlisted for the 2017 Talisker Transatlantic Rowing Challenge with a partner. This challenge is known as the world’s toughest 3,000 miles rowing trans-Atlantic. Mark had never rowed in his life before, so he had to take up an intense training regime to be able to compete in the race. He was set on completing the race, not only for himself, but for his mother, who became seriously ill with cancer. However, shortly before the race, his partner dropped out, leaving Mark to face the challenge alone vs the rest of the 2-man crews.
\nJOINING FORCES
\nMark Slats was in need of a main sponsor. He did not have enough funds, even after selling his house for his previous adventure, to participate in the greatest, most gruelling round-the-world sailing race. The Golden Globe Race is an non-stop 30,000 nautical mile solo race, without any modern technology or outside assistance. Core banking provider Ohpen stepped in, with just a week and a half before Slats has to set sail from the Netherlands to the United Kingdom for the start of the official program.
\nMark Slats, a carpenter by trade, had never rowed before and decided to participate in the 3,000 mile Atlantic Challenge after his mother became seriously ill. He sold his house to fund his adventure and in January 2018 he broke the world record solo-ocean-rowing race by 5 days and did it in less than 31 days. Having completed this challenge, Slats wanted to embark on the world’s most challenging retro sailing race. He will compete with 17 other participants, most of whom have been preparing mentally, physically, operationally and financially for months. Some even years.
\nInstead of securing a main sponsor for the Golden Globe Race, Slats was busy setting a world-record in his rowing ‘Peanuts’. Upon his return, Slats really had to focus on the Golden Globe Race and sell everything he had left to finance his new adventure. Even the boat with which he had been so much through is up for sale. But it was not enough; there was a big chance of Slats having to withdraw from the race. With hope fading, a chance encounter in May 2018 with Chris Zadeh, founder of Ohpen, changed the course of his adventure.
\n“When a mutual contact introduced me to Mark, I immediately saw the spitting image of our core values. I have never met a person that embodies ”give it all” as much as he does. The word “impossible” is not in his dictionary. Based on mental strength, tactics and pure perseverance, he overcomes and takes on new challenges. Quite like the journey we have been on in building the world’s first cloud-based core banking engine. With this sponsorship, I want to set an example for our team and our customers, that we can achieve anything if we just set our mind to it”.
\nWith the financial support of Ohpen, Mark and his team, which is managed by Dutch naval architect Dick Koopmans, could focus on getting ready for the 7 to 9 month sailing race. By participating in the Golden Globe Race, Mark Slats raised money for Sailing4Cancer.
\nMark not only exceeded his own expectations, but everyone else’s by finishing the race on his own and breaking the Guinness World Record by 5 days as he completed it in 30 days, 7 hours and 49 minutes. By January, when he made it back to port, he was already convinced he wanted to join the Golden Globe Race. The Golden Globe Race is extremely challenging and gruelling: sailing 30,000 miles across the world, non-stop, solo, without any modern technology or outside assistance.
\nFor Mark, joining the race at that late stage meant that what his competitors of the Golden Globe Race had achieved in a year or more of preparation, he would have to achieve in less. He would have to accomplish everything, including getting sponsors and funding in little less than 5 months if he wanted to meet the deadlines.
\nGiving it ALL
\nMark is willing to go all in when taking on any challenge. He had already sold his house for his previous rowing race, and he was willing to give it all again to join the 50th anniversary of the Golden Globe Race: even his old rowing boat ‘Peanuts’ with which he completed the Talisker is now up for sale. On top of that, he had to start a race of his own against time to get enough funds to cover the costs to enter this new race. But all his efforts didn’t cut it. Just when he was about to lose hope and drop out of the race, a mutual friend introduced him to Chris Zadeh, founder of Ohpen.
\nChris knows everything about giving it all. Approximately a decade ago, along with his co-founders, he quit his job to start from scratch something that hadn’t been done before: Build a cloud-based core banking engine, reinventing technology that hadn’t been built in over 30 years. When Chris met Mark, he immediately saw the spitting image of Ohpen’s core values in him and decided to support Mark’s journey.
\nMark teamed up with Ohpen to make sure that everything gets done before the race kicks-off. What would seem impossible to other competing teams who have had a full year and more to prepare, Mark and Ohpen are doing in a week and half. A challenge the team of mavericks, the ‘Ohpen mavericks’, decided to take: give it all and exceed expectations, whilst also having fun and enjoying the ride.
\nAbout the Golden Globe Race
\n19 sailors will try to recreate the first solo non-stop circumnavigation of the world that takes place over 30,000 miles; this feat was originally completed/done by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston in the first Sunday Times Global Globe Yacht Race back in 1968/69. The sailors will depart from Les Sables d’Olonne (France) on July 1st, 2018. As part of the rules of the competition, the competitors will all race without modern technology or navigational aid and even weather forecasts. For more information please refer to www.goldengloberace.com.
\nAbout Mark Slats
\nMark Slats (41 years), is a true adventurer. He thinks big and believes that nothing is impossible. When he became a kickboxing champion in Australia he used the price money to buy a boat and sail back to his home country the Netherlands. He sold his house to fund joining the world’s toughest Atlantic rowing challenge. He beat the world record by 5 days and rowed 3.000 miles in just under 31 days. ‘The Gentle Giant’ is now preparing for his next adventure in which he will sail in the Golden Globe Race; 30,000 miles, non-stop, solo, without any modern technology or outside assistance on his boat the Ohpen Maverick. For more information, please refer to www.markslats.nl.
\nAbout Ohpen
\nOhpen uses its core banking engine to deliver BPO services and SaaS solutions to financial services providers, such as banks, insurance companies and asset managers. Founded in 2009 by a team of experienced bankers and software engineers, the Ohpen platform supports the savings and investment propositions of its clients. Employing over 150 people, Ohpen has offices in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Spain. For more information, please refer to www.ohpen.com.
","desktop_body":"Kindred spirits that like to overcome impossible challenges: That is how Mark Slats ended up with main sponsor Ohpen. However, impossible is not part of the vocabulary at Ohpen. The same applies for Mark.
\nSimilar to Ohpen’s story of going against multi-billion giants in our industry, Mark Slats also faces giant obstacles of his own. Mark enlisted for the 2017 Talisker Transatlantic Rowing Challenge with a partner. This challenge is known as the world’s toughest 3,000 miles rowing trans-Atlantic. Mark had never rowed in his life before, so he had to take up an intense training regime to be able to compete in the race. He was set on completing the race, not only for himself, but for his mother, who became seriously ill with cancer. However, shortly before the race, his partner dropped out, leaving Mark to face the challenge alone vs the rest of the 2-man crews.
\nJOINING FORCES
\nMark Slats was in need of a main sponsor. He did not have enough funds, even after selling his house for his previous adventure, to participate in the greatest, most gruelling round-the-world sailing race. The Golden Globe Race is an non-stop 30,000 nautical mile solo race, without any modern technology or outside assistance. Core banking provider Ohpen stepped in, with just a week and a half before Slats has to set sail from the Netherlands to the United Kingdom for the start of the official program.
\nMark Slats, a carpenter by trade, had never rowed before and decided to participate in the 3,000 mile Atlantic Challenge after his mother became seriously ill. He sold his house to fund his adventure and in January 2018 he broke the world record solo-ocean-rowing race by 5 days and did it in less than 31 days. Having completed this challenge, Slats wanted to embark on the world’s most challenging retro sailing race. He will compete with 17 other participants, most of whom have been preparing mentally, physically, operationally and financially for months. Some even years.
\nInstead of securing a main sponsor for the Golden Globe Race, Slats was busy setting a world-record in his rowing ‘Peanuts’. Upon his return, Slats really had to focus on the Golden Globe Race and sell everything he had left to finance his new adventure. Even the boat with which he had been so much through is up for sale. But it was not enough; there was a big chance of Slats having to withdraw from the race. With hope fading, a chance encounter in May 2018 with Chris Zadeh, founder of Ohpen, changed the course of his adventure.
\n“When a mutual contact introduced me to Mark, I immediately saw the spitting image of our core values. I have never met a person that embodies ”give it all” as much as he does. The word “impossible” is not in his dictionary. Based on mental strength, tactics and pure perseverance, he overcomes and takes on new challenges. Quite like the journey we have been on in building the world’s first cloud-based core banking engine. With this sponsorship, I want to set an example for our team and our customers, that we can achieve anything if we just set our mind to it”.
\nWith the financial support of Ohpen, Mark and his team, which is managed by Dutch naval architect Dick Koopmans, could focus on getting ready for the 7 to 9 month sailing race. By participating in the Golden Globe Race, Mark Slats raised money for Sailing4Cancer.
\nMark not only exceeded his own expectations, but everyone else’s by finishing the race on his own and breaking the Guinness World Record by 5 days as he completed it in 30 days, 7 hours and 49 minutes. By January, when he made it back to port, he was already convinced he wanted to join the Golden Globe Race. The Golden Globe Race is extremely challenging and gruelling: sailing 30,000 miles across the world, non-stop, solo, without any modern technology or outside assistance.
\nFor Mark, joining the race at that late stage meant that what his competitors of the Golden Globe Race had achieved in a year or more of preparation, he would have to achieve in less. He would have to accomplish everything, including getting sponsors and funding in little less than 5 months if he wanted to meet the deadlines.
\nGiving it ALL
\nMark is willing to go all in when taking on any challenge. He had already sold his house for his previous rowing race, and he was willing to give it all again to join the 50th anniversary of the Golden Globe Race: even his old rowing boat ‘Peanuts’ with which he completed the Talisker is now up for sale. On top of that, he had to start a race of his own against time to get enough funds to cover the costs to enter this new race. But all his efforts didn’t cut it. Just when he was about to lose hope and drop out of the race, a mutual friend introduced him to Chris Zadeh, founder of Ohpen.
\nChris knows everything about giving it all. Approximately a decade ago, along with his co-founders, he quit his job to start from scratch something that hadn’t been done before: Build a cloud-based core banking engine, reinventing technology that hadn’t been built in over 30 years. When Chris met Mark, he immediately saw the spitting image of Ohpen’s core values in him and decided to support Mark’s journey.
\nMark teamed up with Ohpen to make sure that everything gets done before the race kicks-off. What would seem impossible to other competing teams who have had a full year and more to prepare, Mark and Ohpen are doing in a week and half. A challenge the team of mavericks, the ‘Ohpen mavericks’, decided to take: give it all and exceed expectations, whilst also having fun and enjoying the ride.
\nAbout the Golden Globe Race
\n19 sailors will try to recreate the first solo non-stop circumnavigation of the world that takes place over 30,000 miles; this feat was originally completed/done by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston in the first Sunday Times Global Globe Yacht Race back in 1968/69. The sailors will depart from Les Sables d’Olonne (France) on July 1st, 2018. As part of the rules of the competition, the competitors will all race without modern technology or navigational aid and even weather forecasts. For more information please refer to www.goldengloberace.com.
\nAbout Mark Slats
\nMark Slats (41 years), is a true adventurer. He thinks big and believes that nothing is impossible. When he became a kickboxing champion in Australia he used the price money to buy a boat and sail back to his home country the Netherlands. He sold his house to fund joining the world’s toughest Atlantic rowing challenge. He beat the world record by 5 days and rowed 3.000 miles in just under 31 days. ‘The Gentle Giant’ is now preparing for his next adventure in which he will sail in the Golden Globe Race; 30,000 miles, non-stop, solo, without any modern technology or outside assistance on his boat the Ohpen Maverick. For more information, please refer to www.markslats.nl.
\nAbout Ohpen
\nOhpen uses its core banking engine to deliver BPO services and SaaS solutions to financial services providers, such as banks, insurance companies and asset managers. Founded in 2009 by a team of experienced bankers and software engineers, the Ohpen platform supports the savings and investment propositions of its clients. Employing over 150 people, Ohpen has offices in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Spain. For more information, please refer to www.ohpen.com.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T16:41:19+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/afc64448-ee09-40cb-b085-f68045aa4234.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"77edc635-844f-5c23-aec6-eecf389851ff","slug":"world-record-holder-mark-slats-secures-ohpen-as-main-sponsor-for-new-adventure","type":"default","title":"WORLD RECORD HOLDER MARK SLATS SECURES OHPEN AS MAIN SPONSOR FOR NEW ADVENTURE","excerpt":"Mark Slats was in need of a main sponsor. He did not have enough funds, even after selling his house for his previous adventure, to parti...","body":"Mark Slats was in need of a main sponsor. He did not have enough funds, even after selling his house for his previous adventure, to participate in the greatest, most grueling round-the-world sailing race. The Golden Globe Race is a non-stop 30,000 nautical mile solo race, without any modern technology or outside assistance. Core banking provider Ohpen stepped in, with just a week and a half before Slats has to set sail from the Netherlands to the United Kingdom for the start of the official program.
\nMark Slats, a carpenter by trade, had never rowed before and decided to participate in the 3,000 mile Atlantic Challenge after his mother became seriously ill. He sold his house to fund his adventure and last January he broke the world record solo-ocean-rowing race by 5 days and did it in less than 31 days. Having completed this challenge, Slats wanted to embark on the world’s most challenging retro sailing race. He will compete with 17 other participants, most of whom have been preparing mentally, physically, operationally and financially for months. Some even years.
\nInstead of securing a main sponsor for the Golden Globe Race, Slats was busy setting a world-record in his rowing boat ‘Peanuts’. Upon his return, Slats really had to focus on the Golden Globe Race and sell everything he had left to finance his new adventure. Even the boat with which he had been so much through is up for sale. But it was not enough; there was a big chance of Slats having to withdraw from the race. With hope fading, a chance encounter on May 22nd 2018 with Chris Zadeh, founder and CEO of Ohpen changed the course of his adventure.
\n“When a mutual contact introduced me to Mark, I immediately saw the spitting image of our core values. I have never met a person that embodies ”give it all” as much as he does. The word “impossible” is not in his dictionary. Based on mental strength, tactics and pure perseverance, he overcomes and takes on new challenges. Quite like the journey we have been on in building the world’s first cloud-based core banking engine. With this sponsorship, I want to set an example for our team and our customers, that we can achieve anything if we just set our mind to it”.
\nWith the financial support of Ohpen, Mark and his team, which is managed by Dutch naval architect Dick Koopmans, can now focus on getting ready for the 7 to 9 month sailing race.
\nCharity
By participating in the Golden Globe Race, Mark Slats raises money for Sailing4Cancer. To learn more about Sailing4Cancer, please visits Mark Slats website: www.markslats.nl/en
Mark Slats was in need of a main sponsor. He did not have enough funds, even after selling his house for his previous adventure, to participate in the greatest, most grueling round-the-world sailing race. The Golden Globe Race is a non-stop 30,000 nautical mile solo race, without any modern technology or outside assistance. Core banking provider Ohpen stepped in, with just a week and a half before Slats has to set sail from the Netherlands to the United Kingdom for the start of the official program.
\nMark Slats, a carpenter by trade, had never rowed before and decided to participate in the 3,000 mile Atlantic Challenge after his mother became seriously ill. He sold his house to fund his adventure and last January he broke the world record solo-ocean-rowing race by 5 days and did it in less than 31 days. Having completed this challenge, Slats wanted to embark on the world’s most challenging retro sailing race. He will compete with 17 other participants, most of whom have been preparing mentally, physically, operationally and financially for months. Some even years.
\nInstead of securing a main sponsor for the Golden Globe Race, Slats was busy setting a world-record in his rowing boat ‘Peanuts’. Upon his return, Slats really had to focus on the Golden Globe Race and sell everything he had left to finance his new adventure. Even the boat with which he had been so much through is up for sale. But it was not enough; there was a big chance of Slats having to withdraw from the race. With hope fading, a chance encounter on May 22nd 2018 with Chris Zadeh, founder and CEO of Ohpen changed the course of his adventure.
\n“When a mutual contact introduced me to Mark, I immediately saw the spitting image of our core values. I have never met a person that embodies ”give it all” as much as he does. The word “impossible” is not in his dictionary. Based on mental strength, tactics and pure perseverance, he overcomes and takes on new challenges. Quite like the journey we have been on in building the world’s first cloud-based core banking engine. With this sponsorship, I want to set an example for our team and our customers, that we can achieve anything if we just set our mind to it”.
\nWith the financial support of Ohpen, Mark and his team, which is managed by Dutch naval architect Dick Koopmans, can now focus on getting ready for the 7 to 9 month sailing race.
\nCharity
By participating in the Golden Globe Race, Mark Slats raises money for Sailing4Cancer. To learn more about Sailing4Cancer, please visits Mark Slats website: www.markslats.nl/en
After revealing that it has completed a €25 million Series C investment round with private equity firm Amerborgh, Ohpen’s Angelique Schouten was invited onto the Netherlands’ premier business news outlet, Business Nieuws Radio (BNR) to discuss the core banking provider’s growth plans for 2018.
\nBNR were eager to learn more about how the Series C investment will be utilized. Schouten delved into detail on a wide range of issues, including how the funding will be deployed to build a team in the third market and to develop the Ohpen platform with country specific requirements. Schouten also discussed the five potential markets that Ohpen is considering for expansion, with a final decision to be revealed later in the year.
\nYou can watch the interview (in Dutch) by clicking play on the video to the right-hand side.
\nAbout Ohpen
Ohpen uses its core banking engine to deliver BPO services and SaaS solutions to financial services providers, such as banks, insurance companies and asset managers. Founded in 2009 by a team of experienced bankers and software engineers, the Ohpen platform supports the savings and investment propositions of its clients. Employing over 150 people, Ohpen has offices in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Spain.
After revealing that it has completed a €25 million Series C investment round with private equity firm Amerborgh, Ohpen’s Angelique Schouten was invited onto the Netherlands’ premier business news outlet, Business Nieuws Radio (BNR) to discuss the core banking provider’s growth plans for 2018.
\nBNR were eager to learn more about how the Series C investment will be utilized. Schouten delved into detail on a wide range of issues, including how the funding will be deployed to build a team in the third market and to develop the Ohpen platform with country specific requirements. Schouten also discussed the five potential markets that Ohpen is considering for expansion, with a final decision to be revealed later in the year.
\nYou can watch the interview (in Dutch) by clicking play on the video to the right-hand side.
\nAbout Ohpen
Ohpen uses its core banking engine to deliver BPO services and SaaS solutions to financial services providers, such as banks, insurance companies and asset managers. Founded in 2009 by a team of experienced bankers and software engineers, the Ohpen platform supports the savings and investment propositions of its clients. Employing over 150 people, Ohpen has offices in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Spain.
The world’s only cloud-based SaaS core banking provider Ohpen has successfully closed a €25 million Series C investment round, with private equity firm Amerborgh. Ohpen will use these funds to further fuel growth and expand into a third country, where it will enable financial services companies to digitalise their services, migrate their customer accounts into the cloud and reduce costs by up to 40 percent.
\nOhpen will utilise this investment round to build a team in the third market and further develop the platform with country specific requirements. The company is reviewing potential countries for its third base and found five promising candidates: Germany, France, Canada, Australia and the United States of America. Ohpen will announce its final decision in the first half of 2018.
\nThe global financial services industry is seeking to replace outdated, on-premises legacy technology that is not fit to meet modern digital requirements. Ohpen’s cloud-based core banking engine is designed to solve this problem, allowing banks and other financial services firms to plug into a secure, cloud-based administration factory.
\n“We’re just scratching the surface,” says Ohpen Founder and CEO Chris Zadeh. “Ohpen is changing the core banking software industry, advocating a totally digital solution that is based on one version of the platform for all clients and countries. This has never been done before: it requires creativity, commitment and also the necessary capital to implement our vision.”
\nMultiple investors worldwide competed to join this investment round. It was Amerborgh’s approach to supporting entrepreneurs and encouraging them to freely implement their vision that was the deciding factor for Ohpen, aligning with the Ohpen team’s preferred way of working.
\nMichel Vrolijk, Managing Director Amerborgh Nederland: “Our private equity firm primarily looks at execution power of entrepreneurs because we get thousands of requests from people with great ideas. The execution power of the Ohpen team is unparalleled. Since the start of its journey in 2008, Ohpen has pioneered setting up worldwide hubs that banks can just plug into. This is the future of the core banking industry. Launching the third country is crucial for Ohpen’s strategy and Amerborgh is thrilled to support them at this decisive point in their growth story.”
\nThe new round of capital follows a year of significant growth. In 2017 Ohpen more than doubled in staff and revenue, announcing a large scale cooperation with both Aegon Bank and de Volksbank. In July 2017, Ohpen confirmed a previous investment round of €15 million to support its expansion to the United Kingdom, where the company is implementing its first overseas client. The Series C investment brings the total investment in the past six months to €40 million for the Ohpen team.
\nAbout Ohpen
\nOhpen uses its core banking engine to deliver BPO services and SaaS solutions to financial services providers, such as banks, insurance companies and asset managers. Founded in 2009 by a team of experienced bankers and software engineers, the Ohpen platform supports the savings and investment propositions of its clients. Employing over 150 people, Ohpen has offices in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Spain.
\nAbout Amerborgh
\nAmerborgh International N.V. is a management company that specialises in, among other things, investing and acquiring stakes in companies, asset management, cross-media expenditure, hotel operations and property development. The company is also involved in activities related to the arts and culture. For more information, please refer to www.amerborgh.com.
","desktop_body":"The world’s only cloud-based SaaS core banking provider Ohpen has successfully closed a €25 million Series C investment round, with private equity firm Amerborgh. Ohpen will use these funds to further fuel growth and expand into a third country, where it will enable financial services companies to digitalise their services, migrate their customer accounts into the cloud and reduce costs by up to 40 percent.
\nOhpen will utilise this investment round to build a team in the third market and further develop the platform with country specific requirements. The company is reviewing potential countries for its third base and found five promising candidates: Germany, France, Canada, Australia and the United States of America. Ohpen will announce its final decision in the first half of 2018.
\nThe global financial services industry is seeking to replace outdated, on-premises legacy technology that is not fit to meet modern digital requirements. Ohpen’s cloud-based core banking engine is designed to solve this problem, allowing banks and other financial services firms to plug into a secure, cloud-based administration factory.
\n“We’re just scratching the surface,” says Ohpen Founder and CEO Chris Zadeh. “Ohpen is changing the core banking software industry, advocating a totally digital solution that is based on one version of the platform for all clients and countries. This has never been done before: it requires creativity, commitment and also the necessary capital to implement our vision.”
\nMultiple investors worldwide competed to join this investment round. It was Amerborgh’s approach to supporting entrepreneurs and encouraging them to freely implement their vision that was the deciding factor for Ohpen, aligning with the Ohpen team’s preferred way of working.
\nMichel Vrolijk, Managing Director Amerborgh Nederland: “Our private equity firm primarily looks at execution power of entrepreneurs because we get thousands of requests from people with great ideas. The execution power of the Ohpen team is unparalleled. Since the start of its journey in 2008, Ohpen has pioneered setting up worldwide hubs that banks can just plug into. This is the future of the core banking industry. Launching the third country is crucial for Ohpen’s strategy and Amerborgh is thrilled to support them at this decisive point in their growth story.”
\nThe new round of capital follows a year of significant growth. In 2017 Ohpen more than doubled in staff and revenue, announcing a large scale cooperation with both Aegon Bank and de Volksbank. In July 2017, Ohpen confirmed a previous investment round of €15 million to support its expansion to the United Kingdom, where the company is implementing its first overseas client. The Series C investment brings the total investment in the past six months to €40 million for the Ohpen team.
\nAbout Ohpen
\nOhpen uses its core banking engine to deliver BPO services and SaaS solutions to financial services providers, such as banks, insurance companies and asset managers. Founded in 2009 by a team of experienced bankers and software engineers, the Ohpen platform supports the savings and investment propositions of its clients. Employing over 150 people, Ohpen has offices in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Spain.
\nAbout Amerborgh
\nAmerborgh International N.V. is a management company that specialises in, among other things, investing and acquiring stakes in companies, asset management, cross-media expenditure, hotel operations and property development. The company is also involved in activities related to the arts and culture. For more information, please refer to www.amerborgh.com.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T16:48:06+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/35b44b1b-aa35-4903-8a6c-40be7c8fde17.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"15f5867a-7ced-5b92-9c65-e0f64485bf68","slug":"google-boss-bank-in-cloud-is-a-breakthrough","type":"default","title":"GOOGLE BOSS: BANK IN CLOUD IS A BREAKTHROUGH","excerpt":"Analysts expect Google’s parent company Alphabet to get half of its revenue from the cloud by 2020. The 300% annual growth required for t...","body":"Analysts expect Google’s parent company Alphabet to get half of its revenue from the cloud by 2020. The 300% annual growth required for this is an ambitious goal. André Hoekzema, the Dutchman in charge of Google Cloud in the Benelux, is hopeful: “Things are moving so fast.”
\nHoekzema managed to win Spotify as a customer earlier. He had prepared an agenda for one of the first conversations with the Swedish music service: first discuss which features were coming up, then look at the revenue model. But he was interrupted by the people at Spotify. Hoekzema: “They corrected me. The future features are the revenue model, they said.”
\nAt first, he did not understand. “But they thought: if we can jump on Google’s roadmap, we will no longer have to build all kinds of features ourselves. If we can free up the people working on those features, they’ll be able to focus on building the best music service.”
\nIn order to save its customers’ work, Google is actually trying to expand its team globally, including in the Netherlands. This will also make the company less dependent on its advertising revenues. In 2016, no less than 88% of Alphabet’s turnover came from advertising. Android Play Store and hardware revenues are accounted for in the remaining $10 billion. If the company manages to earn half of its revenue from the cloud by 2020, then it should be generating $45 billion – even if sales do not rise. Market leader Amazon earned only $ 12.2 billion from the cloud last year.
\nDespite this ambitious goal, Hoekzema is not spiteful towards his competitors. He mentions the Dutch company Ohpen, the first bank in the world to operate in the cloud, as “a fantastic success.” Oddly enough Ohpen is a customer of Google Cloud’s main competitor, Amazon Web Services.
\nDoesn’t that sting? Hoekzema: “That’s not how I am. We still have to convince people that it’s completely safe to store your files with a cloud provider. The cloud is still in its infancy. So it helps when a heavily secured and regulated institution, such as a bank, migrates to the cloud – even if it’s not our cloud.”
\nNot everyone is positive Google’s cloud ambitions. Wouldn’t growth in that area only add to the enormous amount of information the company has already collected about its users, which is, in turn, used to sell more ads?
\nAccording to Hoekzema, this was not a problem for a customer like Spotify. “Google was born in the cloud, we understand that not all employees require access to all kinds code, for instance. Customers are impressed by the fact that a Google search result appears on their screen within 24 milliseconds. Surely we must be doing something right.”
\nAnd what of the financial world, which is traditionally cautious? The sector already has a player which operates fully in the cloud. “Things are moving very fast. We’re almost ready to have a standard contract for financial institutions,” Hoekzema says.
\nWritten by Rob Goossens, originally published in Dutch, in De Telegraaf on 13-12-2017.
","desktop_body":"Analysts expect Google’s parent company Alphabet to get half of its revenue from the cloud by 2020. The 300% annual growth required for this is an ambitious goal. André Hoekzema, the Dutchman in charge of Google Cloud in the Benelux, is hopeful: “Things are moving so fast.”
\nHoekzema managed to win Spotify as a customer earlier. He had prepared an agenda for one of the first conversations with the Swedish music service: first discuss which features were coming up, then look at the revenue model. But he was interrupted by the people at Spotify. Hoekzema: “They corrected me. The future features are the revenue model, they said.”
\nAt first, he did not understand. “But they thought: if we can jump on Google’s roadmap, we will no longer have to build all kinds of features ourselves. If we can free up the people working on those features, they’ll be able to focus on building the best music service.”
\nIn order to save its customers’ work, Google is actually trying to expand its team globally, including in the Netherlands. This will also make the company less dependent on its advertising revenues. In 2016, no less than 88% of Alphabet’s turnover came from advertising. Android Play Store and hardware revenues are accounted for in the remaining $10 billion. If the company manages to earn half of its revenue from the cloud by 2020, then it should be generating $45 billion – even if sales do not rise. Market leader Amazon earned only $ 12.2 billion from the cloud last year.
\nDespite this ambitious goal, Hoekzema is not spiteful towards his competitors. He mentions the Dutch company Ohpen, the first bank in the world to operate in the cloud, as “a fantastic success.” Oddly enough Ohpen is a customer of Google Cloud’s main competitor, Amazon Web Services.
\nDoesn’t that sting? Hoekzema: “That’s not how I am. We still have to convince people that it’s completely safe to store your files with a cloud provider. The cloud is still in its infancy. So it helps when a heavily secured and regulated institution, such as a bank, migrates to the cloud – even if it’s not our cloud.”
\nNot everyone is positive Google’s cloud ambitions. Wouldn’t growth in that area only add to the enormous amount of information the company has already collected about its users, which is, in turn, used to sell more ads?
\nAccording to Hoekzema, this was not a problem for a customer like Spotify. “Google was born in the cloud, we understand that not all employees require access to all kinds code, for instance. Customers are impressed by the fact that a Google search result appears on their screen within 24 milliseconds. Surely we must be doing something right.”
\nAnd what of the financial world, which is traditionally cautious? The sector already has a player which operates fully in the cloud. “Things are moving very fast. We’re almost ready to have a standard contract for financial institutions,” Hoekzema says.
\nWritten by Rob Goossens, originally published in Dutch, in De Telegraaf on 13-12-2017.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T16:48:55+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/42ffaf14-eec2-4f90-865e-ce861a750be5.jpg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"e10e4ce1-d8ae-50fc-a617-f9fddd90017b","slug":"ohpen-to-attend-aws-reinvent-in-las-vegas","type":"default","title":"OHPEN TO ATTEND AWS RE:INVENT IN LAS VEGAS","excerpt":"Next week, Ohpen will be attending AWS re:Invent in Las Vegas. AWS re:Invent is the biggest learning conference hosted by Amazon Web Serv...","body":"Next week, Ohpen will be attending AWS re:Invent in Las Vegas. AWS re:Invent is the biggest learning conference hosted by Amazon Web Services, and this year, it promises to be bigger and better than ever before.
\nAs a proud Amazon partner, this year our company is sending the largest European delegation to AWS re:Invent. Our team, composed of 21 top executives and experts will be there to introduce Ohpen’s core banking engine and participate in knowledge sharing.
\nAmazon Web Services and Ohpen have been pioneering the field of cloud banking since 2010. In 2013 Ohpen became the first company in the world to host a core banking platform in the cloud; after obtaining official approval of the Dutch Central Bank (De Nederlandsche Bank) for using the AWS cloud in the financial sector. Since then, we have on-boarded some of the largest financial institutions on our core banking engine.
\nWANT TO KNOW MORE?
\nIf you are interested to know more about us, or in meeting our key people at the event, then let us know so we can set up a meeting.
\nYou can contact us at: info@ohpen.com
\nABOUT AWS RE:INVENT
\nAWS re:Invent is a learning conference hosted by Amazon Web Services for the global cloud computing community. The event features keynote announcements, training and certification opportunities. At the conference, you’ll have access to more than 1,000 technical sessions, a partner expo, after-hours events, and so much more. To learn more about AWS re:Invent, click here. The event will be held from November 27th– December 1st over six different venues in Las Vegas, NV.
\nImage “The Las Vegas Strip from NYNY Bridge”, courtesy of Jay Soriano, licensed under CC 4.0. The “Ohpen” name and logo are trademarks and properties of Ohpen.
","desktop_body":"Next week, Ohpen will be attending AWS re:Invent in Las Vegas. AWS re:Invent is the biggest learning conference hosted by Amazon Web Services, and this year, it promises to be bigger and better than ever before.
\nAs a proud Amazon partner, this year our company is sending the largest European delegation to AWS re:Invent. Our team, composed of 21 top executives and experts will be there to introduce Ohpen’s core banking engine and participate in knowledge sharing.
\nAmazon Web Services and Ohpen have been pioneering the field of cloud banking since 2010. In 2013 Ohpen became the first company in the world to host a core banking platform in the cloud; after obtaining official approval of the Dutch Central Bank (De Nederlandsche Bank) for using the AWS cloud in the financial sector. Since then, we have on-boarded some of the largest financial institutions on our core banking engine.
\nWANT TO KNOW MORE?
\nIf you are interested to know more about us, or in meeting our key people at the event, then let us know so we can set up a meeting.
\nYou can contact us at: info@ohpen.com
\nABOUT AWS RE:INVENT
\nAWS re:Invent is a learning conference hosted by Amazon Web Services for the global cloud computing community. The event features keynote announcements, training and certification opportunities. At the conference, you’ll have access to more than 1,000 technical sessions, a partner expo, after-hours events, and so much more. To learn more about AWS re:Invent, click here. The event will be held from November 27th– December 1st over six different venues in Las Vegas, NV.
\nImage “The Las Vegas Strip from NYNY Bridge”, courtesy of Jay Soriano, licensed under CC 4.0. The “Ohpen” name and logo are trademarks and properties of Ohpen.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T16:49:37+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/789d77d9-461c-44db-87d2-da72f93c9189.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"8cfe6943-5476-53bd-85d0-111f01264402","slug":"ohpen-helps-de-volksbank-optimize-investment-experience","type":"default","title":"OHPEN HELPS DE VOLKSBANK OPTIMIZE INVESTMENT EXPERIENCE","excerpt":"Ohpen's sophisticated API enables De Volksbank to integrate its new 'goal based' investment proposition into its own banking environment....","body":"De Volksbank and Ohpen have successfully completed the migration of over 122,000 investment accounts to Ohpen’s core banking platform.
\nUsing The Ohpen API, de Volksbank has now completely and seamlessly integrated its investment services into its internet banking environments, offering a greatly improved investment experience for its customers.
\nTECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION, THE BASIS FOR AN IMPROVED INVESTMENT EXPERIENCE
\nOhpen’s sophisticated API enables de Volksbank to integrate its new ‘goal based’ investment proposition into its own banking environment. All investment processes – from the opening and maintenance of an investment account, to order execution and portfolio management – from the different internet banking environments of ASN Bank, BLG Wonen, RegioBank and SNS are managed in Ohpen’s core banking platform.
\n“I am proud of the way my colleagues and Ohpen have worked at de Volksbank to ensure a smooth migration. The migration to Ohpen has further improved usability and enables us to provide a solid investment administration that our customers can continue to rely on,” says Alexander Baas, COO at de Volksbank.
\nMatthijs Aler, CCO at Ohpen: “We are very proud of our joint performance: investment processes were renewed, integrated and migrated in a very short amount of time. By outsourcing all operational processes, de Volksbank can focus on product innovation and optimal customer service. That’s where the difference is made.”
\nABOUT DE VOLKSBANK
\nDe Volksbank is a financial services provider engaged in banking, with a particular focus on the Dutch retail market, including small and medium-sized enterprises. De Volksbank carries multiple brands with a single back office and IT organisation. The product range consists of three core product groups: payments, mortgages and savings. De Volksbank has a balance sheet total of € 62 billion and about 3.500 employees (FTE), which makes it a major player in the Dutch market. The head office of De Volksbank is located in Utrecht.
\nABOUT OHPEN
\nOhpen uses its core banking engine to deliver BPO services and SaaS solutions to financial services providers, such as banks, insurance companies and asset managers. Founded in 2009 by a team of experienced bankers and software engineers, the Ohpen platform supports the savings and investment propositions of its clients. Employing over 130 people, Ohpen has offices in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Spain. For more information, please refer to www.ohpen.com.
\nDe Volksbank and Ohpen have successfully completed the migration of over 122,000 investment accounts to Ohpen’s core banking platform.
\nUsing The Ohpen API, de Volksbank has now completely and seamlessly integrated its investment services into its internet banking environments, offering a greatly improved investment experience for its customers.
\nTECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION, THE BASIS FOR AN IMPROVED INVESTMENT EXPERIENCE
\nOhpen’s sophisticated API enables de Volksbank to integrate its new ‘goal based’ investment proposition into its own banking environment. All investment processes – from the opening and maintenance of an investment account, to order execution and portfolio management – from the different internet banking environments of ASN Bank, BLG Wonen, RegioBank and SNS are managed in Ohpen’s core banking platform.
\n“I am proud of the way my colleagues and Ohpen have worked at de Volksbank to ensure a smooth migration. The migration to Ohpen has further improved usability and enables us to provide a solid investment administration that our customers can continue to rely on,” says Alexander Baas, COO at de Volksbank.
\nMatthijs Aler, CCO at Ohpen: “We are very proud of our joint performance: investment processes were renewed, integrated and migrated in a very short amount of time. By outsourcing all operational processes, de Volksbank can focus on product innovation and optimal customer service. That’s where the difference is made.”
\nABOUT DE VOLKSBANK
\nDe Volksbank is a financial services provider engaged in banking, with a particular focus on the Dutch retail market, including small and medium-sized enterprises. De Volksbank carries multiple brands with a single back office and IT organisation. The product range consists of three core product groups: payments, mortgages and savings. De Volksbank has a balance sheet total of € 62 billion and about 3.500 employees (FTE), which makes it a major player in the Dutch market. The head office of De Volksbank is located in Utrecht.
\nABOUT OHPEN
\nOhpen uses its core banking engine to deliver BPO services and SaaS solutions to financial services providers, such as banks, insurance companies and asset managers. Founded in 2009 by a team of experienced bankers and software engineers, the Ohpen platform supports the savings and investment propositions of its clients. Employing over 130 people, Ohpen has offices in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Spain. For more information, please refer to www.ohpen.com.
\nOhpen, the world’s first cloud-based core banking engine and KZ / Hiltex, three-time national indoor champion of the Dutch korfball league announce a three-year shirt sponsorship.
\nThe deal will see Ohpen become the shirt sponsor of KZ / Hiltex from the start of the 2017/2018 season. Ohpen not only sponsors the shirts of the performance teams of KZ / Hiltex but also provides a set of Whoop straps to KZ / Hiltex to track physiological, recovery and performance data of the players.
\nWHY SPONSOR KZ / HILTEX?
“There is a lot of similarity between practising top sports and running a fast growing technology company. Perseverance and a good team are essential to be successful,” says Chris Zadeh, CEO and founder of Ohpen.
Corrie Noom, President KZ / Hiltex: “We are very proud to feature a company such as Ohpen on our shirts. Especially considering our shared ambition to grow and to be innovative.”
\nKORFBALL
Korfball is a ball sport with Dutch origins. It is played by two teams of eight players. The objective is to throw a ball through a bottomless basket that is mounted on a 3.5 m high pole. In the Netherlands, over 100,000 people play korfball.
KZ / HILTEX
Since its inception in 1910, KZ / Hiltex has always been in the top regions of Dutch korfball. KZ / Hiltex was a Dutch champion in field korfball twice and indoor korfball three times.
Ohpen, the world’s first cloud-based core banking engine and KZ / Hiltex, three-time national indoor champion of the Dutch korfball league announce a three-year shirt sponsorship.
\nThe deal will see Ohpen become the shirt sponsor of KZ / Hiltex from the start of the 2017/2018 season. Ohpen not only sponsors the shirts of the performance teams of KZ / Hiltex but also provides a set of Whoop straps to KZ / Hiltex to track physiological, recovery and performance data of the players.
\nWHY SPONSOR KZ / HILTEX?
“There is a lot of similarity between practising top sports and running a fast growing technology company. Perseverance and a good team are essential to be successful,” says Chris Zadeh, CEO and founder of Ohpen.
Corrie Noom, President KZ / Hiltex: “We are very proud to feature a company such as Ohpen on our shirts. Especially considering our shared ambition to grow and to be innovative.”
\nKORFBALL
Korfball is a ball sport with Dutch origins. It is played by two teams of eight players. The objective is to throw a ball through a bottomless basket that is mounted on a 3.5 m high pole. In the Netherlands, over 100,000 people play korfball.
KZ / HILTEX
Since its inception in 1910, KZ / Hiltex has always been in the top regions of Dutch korfball. KZ / Hiltex was a Dutch champion in field korfball twice and indoor korfball three times.
Ohpen was chosen to join a roundtable discussion with the Deputy Mayor of London for Business, Rajesh Agrawal earlier this week.
\nThe roundtable took place on Tuesday October 17th and had 10 participants in total. The discussion was spearheaded by the Deputy Mayor, Rajesh Agrawal and supported by 9 exclusively selected FinTech heads, including Angelique Schouten, CEO of Ohpen UK.
\nThe event allowed internationally operating FinTech companies with operations in London to express their thoughts and concerns regarding this issue, as well as the general business environment. The FinTech representatives attending shared valuable insights that may help to shape future policy.
\nOhpen provides financial institutions with a cloud based solution that has received international acclaim for its pioneering approach, recently winning an Innovation Award from the UK’s Department for International Trade.
\n“For us, this was an honour and an acknowledgement of our contribution to the industry to be part of this discussion with Deputy Mayor Agrawal, and be able to share our thoughts in representation of the FinTech community,” Ohpen’s UK CEO, Angelique Schouten said. “Brexit is a significant challenge, but it is only one of many hurdles that FinTech companies face as they attempt to revolutionise the financial services industry. Fortunately, the UK remains the leading financial centre of the world and an exciting hub for start-up activity.”
\nOffering a fully compliant cloud-based core banking engine, Ohpen gained approval in January 2017 from the FCA to carry out regulated activities in the UK. Earlier this year, it secured €15 Million Series B financing at €100 million valuation. Ohpen’s growth capital will be used to finance UK expansion and enter new markets.
","desktop_body":"Ohpen was chosen to join a roundtable discussion with the Deputy Mayor of London for Business, Rajesh Agrawal earlier this week.
\nThe roundtable took place on Tuesday October 17th and had 10 participants in total. The discussion was spearheaded by the Deputy Mayor, Rajesh Agrawal and supported by 9 exclusively selected FinTech heads, including Angelique Schouten, CEO of Ohpen UK.
\nThe event allowed internationally operating FinTech companies with operations in London to express their thoughts and concerns regarding this issue, as well as the general business environment. The FinTech representatives attending shared valuable insights that may help to shape future policy.
\nOhpen provides financial institutions with a cloud based solution that has received international acclaim for its pioneering approach, recently winning an Innovation Award from the UK’s Department for International Trade.
\n“For us, this was an honour and an acknowledgement of our contribution to the industry to be part of this discussion with Deputy Mayor Agrawal, and be able to share our thoughts in representation of the FinTech community,” Ohpen’s UK CEO, Angelique Schouten said. “Brexit is a significant challenge, but it is only one of many hurdles that FinTech companies face as they attempt to revolutionise the financial services industry. Fortunately, the UK remains the leading financial centre of the world and an exciting hub for start-up activity.”
\nOffering a fully compliant cloud-based core banking engine, Ohpen gained approval in January 2017 from the FCA to carry out regulated activities in the UK. Earlier this year, it secured €15 Million Series B financing at €100 million valuation. Ohpen’s growth capital will be used to finance UK expansion and enter new markets.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T16:51:05+00:00","city":"Amsterdam/London","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/7b2c7b86-8241-43c1-966b-b0c447033d18.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"970f6787-f9fa-57da-b5a5-f5c6176172fe","slug":"ohpen-wins-innovation-award-from-the-uks-department-for-international-trade","type":"default","title":"OHPEN WINS INNOVATION AWARD FROM THE UK’S DEPARTMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE","excerpt":"Ohpen was recognized for its investment and innovation into the United Kingdom economy by the Department for International Trade (DIT). H...","body":"Ohpen was recognized for its investment and innovation into the United Kingdom economy by the Department for International Trade (DIT). His Excellency Peter Wilson, British Ambassador to the Netherlands and professor doctor Barbara Baarsma presented the award to Ohpen UK’s CEO Angelique Schouten and COO Matthijs Aler.
\nThe DIT’s Annual Investment Awards were held in Amsterdam where Ohpen’s headquarters is based. Winning in the Innovation category, Michiel Veldhuizen, Country Director Netherlands of the Department for International Trade commented on behalf of the panel:
\n“Ohpen, with its revolutionary core banking platform hosted in the cloud, is fundamentally changing the way financial services providers work. Working with a team of 25 best in London their innovation provides a solution to the serious problem facing all financial service providers. Namely that they are dependent on a patchwork of outdated core banking systems and are forced to spend ever more time, money and effort just to keep them running. Ohpen’s innovation allows its clients to focus on its core business: providing financial services to their customers.”
\nThe Ohpen team was on hand to accept the award. Understandably, they were thrilled, with Schouten stating:
\n“We are about innovation, not stagnation which is not always easy in such a conservative industry. Our philosophy is legacy out, agility in. The team works hard to offer a compelling core banking solution to retail banks, asset managers, insurers, building societies and other financial services companies, with peace of mind and up to an 80% IT cost-saving. To be recognised by the Department for International Trade is an honour and on behalf of the entire Ohpen UK team – thank you!”
\nABOUT THE DIT INVESTMENT AWARDS
The awards look to recognise those Dutch businesses that have successfully invested in the UK during the last 12 months. The DIT Investment Awards are now in their seventh year and nominations are submitted across five categories: sustainable investment, innovation, new entrant, fastest growing investment and acquisition. The innovation category is about an investment project or company that either brings something new to the market or approaches a sector in an original manner.
Ohpen was recognized for its investment and innovation into the United Kingdom economy by the Department for International Trade (DIT). His Excellency Peter Wilson, British Ambassador to the Netherlands and professor doctor Barbara Baarsma presented the award to Ohpen UK’s CEO Angelique Schouten and COO Matthijs Aler.
\nThe DIT’s Annual Investment Awards were held in Amsterdam where Ohpen’s headquarters is based. Winning in the Innovation category, Michiel Veldhuizen, Country Director Netherlands of the Department for International Trade commented on behalf of the panel:
\n“Ohpen, with its revolutionary core banking platform hosted in the cloud, is fundamentally changing the way financial services providers work. Working with a team of 25 best in London their innovation provides a solution to the serious problem facing all financial service providers. Namely that they are dependent on a patchwork of outdated core banking systems and are forced to spend ever more time, money and effort just to keep them running. Ohpen’s innovation allows its clients to focus on its core business: providing financial services to their customers.”
\nThe Ohpen team was on hand to accept the award. Understandably, they were thrilled, with Schouten stating:
\n“We are about innovation, not stagnation which is not always easy in such a conservative industry. Our philosophy is legacy out, agility in. The team works hard to offer a compelling core banking solution to retail banks, asset managers, insurers, building societies and other financial services companies, with peace of mind and up to an 80% IT cost-saving. To be recognised by the Department for International Trade is an honour and on behalf of the entire Ohpen UK team – thank you!”
\nABOUT THE DIT INVESTMENT AWARDS
The awards look to recognise those Dutch businesses that have successfully invested in the UK during the last 12 months. The DIT Investment Awards are now in their seventh year and nominations are submitted across five categories: sustainable investment, innovation, new entrant, fastest growing investment and acquisition. The innovation category is about an investment project or company that either brings something new to the market or approaches a sector in an original manner.
Ohpen will be sharing its sourcing expertise at #SOSUEU 2017
\nRecently praised for being one of the Netherland’s top companies for its efficient application process and for attracting “top” achievers, Ohpen is bringing its expertise to the Sourcing Summit Europe 2017, one of Europe’s main sourcing events of the year.
\n“This is THE sourcing event in the region. The biggest people in the recruitment field are present sharing their knowledge, so you can interact with them. It’s definitely THE place to be,” comments Ohpen’s Head of Recruitment, Tommy Thomassen, who will join forces with Chief People Officer, Eveliese Luiting at the event.
\nBoth will share the stage at #SOSUEU during their session, “Crowd-sourcing – Building a modern sourcing capability”. The session will highlight how Ohpen has positioned itself at the forefront of talent-sourcing by hacking the company’s culture and creating a successful recruitment machine.
\nTommy and Eveliese will guide you on how to involve the whole company in recruiting new people. Some of the highlights of their session will include:
\nEveliese Luiting, Chief People Officer at Ohpen comments: “At Ohpen we believe that every employee is a talent magnet. We truly believe in harnessing the power of involving our whole company in recruiting new talent.”
\nABOUT EVELIESE
\nThink creative, offer solutions, make things work, get things done and have fun!
\nGrowing people and organisations is what makes my heart tick. I am an HR addict with an extensive recruitment background who is sensitive for energy, passion and positivity. I read to get inspired. I watch series to relax and try to discover the world by traveling and learning about history. In 2016 I joined Ohpen where I can use my entrepreneurial skills and do what I love: create, build and sustain. I am specialised in international HR, recruitment and employer branding. I am not a big fan of hierarchical leadership. I believe in surrounding yourself with brilliant brains and letting them shine. Some people tell me that I have a talent for cooking and fashion as well. Hopefully they are right.
Life taught me to enjoy the ride, to live in the moment and to push it to the limit.
ABOUT TOMMY
\nAs a strong proponent of hacking as a methodology for finding talent, I like to see myself as a new breed of sourcers: immersed in new technology and embracing change. I started off as the very first sourcer at Tempo-Team (part of Randstad Group). After a successful period at one of Holland’s biggest e-commerce companies, Coolblue, I’m currently involved in the international growth of Ohpen. I have a proven track record in attracting talent, am enthusiastic about the world of recruitment and I’m truly in love with the technical developments in the industry.
As I’m incapable of entertaining myself, you’ll always see me surrounded by people. And yes, all these times I’m either eating, drinking, partying or a combination of these.
Want to know more?
\nTo learn more about the Sourcing Summit Europe, or to sign up for the event, click here. The event will be held on October 10-12 at The Meervaart Conference Centre in Amsterdam.
","desktop_body":"Ohpen will be sharing its sourcing expertise at #SOSUEU 2017
\nRecently praised for being one of the Netherland’s top companies for its efficient application process and for attracting “top” achievers, Ohpen is bringing its expertise to the Sourcing Summit Europe 2017, one of Europe’s main sourcing events of the year.
\n“This is THE sourcing event in the region. The biggest people in the recruitment field are present sharing their knowledge, so you can interact with them. It’s definitely THE place to be,” comments Ohpen’s Head of Recruitment, Tommy Thomassen, who will join forces with Chief People Officer, Eveliese Luiting at the event.
\nBoth will share the stage at #SOSUEU during their session, “Crowd-sourcing – Building a modern sourcing capability”. The session will highlight how Ohpen has positioned itself at the forefront of talent-sourcing by hacking the company’s culture and creating a successful recruitment machine.
\nTommy and Eveliese will guide you on how to involve the whole company in recruiting new people. Some of the highlights of their session will include:
\nEveliese Luiting, Chief People Officer at Ohpen comments: “At Ohpen we believe that every employee is a talent magnet. We truly believe in harnessing the power of involving our whole company in recruiting new talent.”
\nABOUT EVELIESE
\nThink creative, offer solutions, make things work, get things done and have fun!
\nGrowing people and organisations is what makes my heart tick. I am an HR addict with an extensive recruitment background who is sensitive for energy, passion and positivity. I read to get inspired. I watch series to relax and try to discover the world by traveling and learning about history. In 2016 I joined Ohpen where I can use my entrepreneurial skills and do what I love: create, build and sustain. I am specialised in international HR, recruitment and employer branding. I am not a big fan of hierarchical leadership. I believe in surrounding yourself with brilliant brains and letting them shine. Some people tell me that I have a talent for cooking and fashion as well. Hopefully they are right.
Life taught me to enjoy the ride, to live in the moment and to push it to the limit.
ABOUT TOMMY
\nAs a strong proponent of hacking as a methodology for finding talent, I like to see myself as a new breed of sourcers: immersed in new technology and embracing change. I started off as the very first sourcer at Tempo-Team (part of Randstad Group). After a successful period at one of Holland’s biggest e-commerce companies, Coolblue, I’m currently involved in the international growth of Ohpen. I have a proven track record in attracting talent, am enthusiastic about the world of recruitment and I’m truly in love with the technical developments in the industry.
As I’m incapable of entertaining myself, you’ll always see me surrounded by people. And yes, all these times I’m either eating, drinking, partying or a combination of these.
Want to know more?
\nTo learn more about the Sourcing Summit Europe, or to sign up for the event, click here. The event will be held on October 10-12 at The Meervaart Conference Centre in Amsterdam.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T16:52:17+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/aea76811-34ad-4454-ac82-baa1b373e63b.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"9b86d75a-fbfe-5aec-951c-b1e3b059e0e9","slug":"ohpen-praised-for-its-application-processes-by-indeed","type":"default","title":"OHPEN PRAISED FOR ITS APPLICATION PROCESSES BY INDEED","excerpt":"Ohpen has been named as one of the top companies for an efficient application process and attracting “top achievers” in The Netherlands, ...","body":"Ohpen has been named as one of the top companies for an efficient application process and attracting “top achievers” in The Netherlands, by job site Indeed.
\nIndeed’s research first focuses on what constitutes a top achiever, discovering that these candidates tend to have five key attributes in common:
\nImpact
Indeed’s research also confirms that the potential impact of top achievers on a company’s fortunes is enormous. Whilst Apple stated that high performers are 25x more productive than average performers, Google’s data indicates that its best technologists are 300x more productive than average performers.
Indeed discovered that top achievers place a high priority on fast application processes that are straightforward and easy to use. If transformational applicants – the top achievers – find it difficult to apply for jobs, they simply won’t bother. For every minute added to the application process, up to 4% of candidates will drop out.
\nStraight through procedure
Ohpen scored highly in two key categories for the most efficient application procedures. With the average time taken for an application set at 2 minutes, Ohpen’s was quicker at 1 minute (just behind Connexys and ABN AMRO at 30 seconds each). Ohpen also had the fewest number of questions required for a job application, with just four in total; the average in The Netherlands is 15. As a result, Ohpen has positioned itself strongly to attract transformational candidates.
Indeed’s research was conducted online and the respondent group consisted of 3,176 recognised top achievers and 824 unemployed job seekers, and took place via the Decipher Research Platform of FocusVision.
\nEveliese Luiting, Chief People Officer at Ohpen comments: “To be competitive in The Netherlands, companies clearly need a super quick recruitment process. At Ohpen we are all about exceeding expectations and attracting top achievers is vital; they enable better results via a streamlined, highly driven team. We will continue to innovate our candidate journey in The Netherlands, the UK and Spain in order to attract the best talent.”
\nUK Graduate Scheme
Ohpen has also recently launched a FinTech Graduate Scheme in its London office. With its first UK client on-board and ready to launch later in the year, Ohpen is inviting talented and ambitious young people to apply for its 24 month programme. Applications are open until 30th September; discover more by clicking here.
Ohpen has been named as one of the top companies for an efficient application process and attracting “top achievers” in The Netherlands, by job site Indeed.
\nIndeed’s research first focuses on what constitutes a top achiever, discovering that these candidates tend to have five key attributes in common:
\nImpact
Indeed’s research also confirms that the potential impact of top achievers on a company’s fortunes is enormous. Whilst Apple stated that high performers are 25x more productive than average performers, Google’s data indicates that its best technologists are 300x more productive than average performers.
Indeed discovered that top achievers place a high priority on fast application processes that are straightforward and easy to use. If transformational applicants – the top achievers – find it difficult to apply for jobs, they simply won’t bother. For every minute added to the application process, up to 4% of candidates will drop out.
\nStraight through procedure
Ohpen scored highly in two key categories for the most efficient application procedures. With the average time taken for an application set at 2 minutes, Ohpen’s was quicker at 1 minute (just behind Connexys and ABN AMRO at 30 seconds each). Ohpen also had the fewest number of questions required for a job application, with just four in total; the average in The Netherlands is 15. As a result, Ohpen has positioned itself strongly to attract transformational candidates.
Indeed’s research was conducted online and the respondent group consisted of 3,176 recognised top achievers and 824 unemployed job seekers, and took place via the Decipher Research Platform of FocusVision.
\nEveliese Luiting, Chief People Officer at Ohpen comments: “To be competitive in The Netherlands, companies clearly need a super quick recruitment process. At Ohpen we are all about exceeding expectations and attracting top achievers is vital; they enable better results via a streamlined, highly driven team. We will continue to innovate our candidate journey in The Netherlands, the UK and Spain in order to attract the best talent.”
\nUK Graduate Scheme
Ohpen has also recently launched a FinTech Graduate Scheme in its London office. With its first UK client on-board and ready to launch later in the year, Ohpen is inviting talented and ambitious young people to apply for its 24 month programme. Applications are open until 30th September; discover more by clicking here.
Core banking provider Ohpen has announced its acquisition of FYNN Advice, an implementation consulting company that advises financial institutions on the implementation of core banking systems. Their consultants will now be part of Ohpen’s implementation department, a move that will strengthen Ohpen’s international growth capacity.
\nPieter Aartsen and Rogier van Arkel, Managing Partners at FYNN Advice, will remain at Ohpen after the acquisition. Pieter Aartsen will join the Ohpen board. He will be responsible for activities in the Dutch market. Rogier van Arkel will become Chief Delivery Officer.
\nOhpen founder and CEO, Chris Zadeh: “We are very enthusiastic about this acquisition. We know the team at FYNN Advice very well, and have the same DNA. This has been the basis of our collaboration. Both our teams want to exceed customer expectations. Our people define our business, having the same core values was an essential driver for this acquisition.”
\nPieter Aartsen: “Bringing our team’s expertise to Ohpen is a great step. We have extensive knowledge of the financial services industry and the core banking systems in use. Couple this knowledge with Ohpen’s unique platform and you get a very special collaboration. I am thrilled to be part of it.”
\nOhpen in prominent Dutch Business Newspaper
\nRead More about the acquisition of FYNN Advice in The Netherlands’s primary business newspaper: “Het Financieele Dagblad” (paywall) or download the English translation:”Dutch banking company acquires industry peer“.
","desktop_body":"Core banking provider Ohpen has announced its acquisition of FYNN Advice, an implementation consulting company that advises financial institutions on the implementation of core banking systems. Their consultants will now be part of Ohpen’s implementation department, a move that will strengthen Ohpen’s international growth capacity.
\nPieter Aartsen and Rogier van Arkel, Managing Partners at FYNN Advice, will remain at Ohpen after the acquisition. Pieter Aartsen will join the Ohpen board. He will be responsible for activities in the Dutch market. Rogier van Arkel will become Chief Delivery Officer.
\nOhpen founder and CEO, Chris Zadeh: “We are very enthusiastic about this acquisition. We know the team at FYNN Advice very well, and have the same DNA. This has been the basis of our collaboration. Both our teams want to exceed customer expectations. Our people define our business, having the same core values was an essential driver for this acquisition.”
\nPieter Aartsen: “Bringing our team’s expertise to Ohpen is a great step. We have extensive knowledge of the financial services industry and the core banking systems in use. Couple this knowledge with Ohpen’s unique platform and you get a very special collaboration. I am thrilled to be part of it.”
\nOhpen in prominent Dutch Business Newspaper
\nRead More about the acquisition of FYNN Advice in The Netherlands’s primary business newspaper: “Het Financieele Dagblad” (paywall) or download the English translation:”Dutch banking company acquires industry peer“.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T16:53:26+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/77134a17-833c-414e-9708-31285dd6db23.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"cfc5ea56-443e-588d-b9e2-c9d3f7305b20","slug":"dutch-banking-company-acquires-industry-peer","type":"default","title":"DUTCH BANKING COMPANY ACQUIRES INDUSTRY PEER","excerpt":"Chris Zadeh: “People with domain knowledge are very difficult to find. We need experts who really understand banking processes.”Ohpen, th...","body":"Chris Zadeh: “People with domain knowledge are very difficult to find. We need experts who really understand banking processes.”
\nOhpen, the fast-growing FinTech company that handles accounts administration for Robeco, Volksbank and Aegon, has acquired Fynn Advice.
\nFynn Advice implements critical systems for banks and provides consulting services in areas such as investment, savings, payments, monitoring, risk analysis and IT.
\nOhpen provides an online platform that allows financial services companies to manage their savings and account administration. The company sells this system to banks, asset managers and insurers. Recently, Aegon Bank and its subsidiary Knab chose Ohpen as their core banking platform.
\nIn the battle for talent, a solid team is as valuable as a good product. This talent-based acquisition or “acqui-hire” is a proven way to recruit new staff. It will allow Ohpen to avoid long-term recruitment processes by acquiring another company without necessarily acquiring its running business. Acqui-hires are common in technology centres like Silicon Valley. Ohpen will pay for the acquisition in shares.
\n“We are growing fast,” Ohpen founder Chris Zadeh explains. “People with domain knowledge are very difficult to find. We need experts who really understand banking processes and can translate them for our programmers. In this market, every FinTech company competes for the same skills.”
\nOhpen grew to become a 120-person team in a very short amount of time. Zadeh: ‘We already employ four recruiters, that’s a lot for a company our size.”
\nEight of Fynn Advice’s nine employees will make the transition to Ohphen. Fynn Advice’s founder, Pieter Aartsen, will take over Chris Zadeh’s role as Netherlands CEO. Aartsen was previously part of BinckBank’s Board of Directors and worked as manager at Deutsche Bank and KAS Bank. Zadeh will focus on the technology behind Ohpen’s platform and the company’s expansion to new markets, including Germany and the United States.
\nOhpen has offices in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Spain. The company recently received €15 million in growth funding. The investment round was led by Amerborgh – a venture capital firm led by Alex Mulder, founder of the recruitment agency Unique. According to Zadeh, the company is working to close a new funding round to continue driving its growth.
\nWritten by Rutger Betlem, originally published in Dutch, on the FD Website.
","desktop_body":"Chris Zadeh: “People with domain knowledge are very difficult to find. We need experts who really understand banking processes.”
\nOhpen, the fast-growing FinTech company that handles accounts administration for Robeco, Volksbank and Aegon, has acquired Fynn Advice.
\nFynn Advice implements critical systems for banks and provides consulting services in areas such as investment, savings, payments, monitoring, risk analysis and IT.
\nOhpen provides an online platform that allows financial services companies to manage their savings and account administration. The company sells this system to banks, asset managers and insurers. Recently, Aegon Bank and its subsidiary Knab chose Ohpen as their core banking platform.
\nIn the battle for talent, a solid team is as valuable as a good product. This talent-based acquisition or “acqui-hire” is a proven way to recruit new staff. It will allow Ohpen to avoid long-term recruitment processes by acquiring another company without necessarily acquiring its running business. Acqui-hires are common in technology centres like Silicon Valley. Ohpen will pay for the acquisition in shares.
\n“We are growing fast,” Ohpen founder Chris Zadeh explains. “People with domain knowledge are very difficult to find. We need experts who really understand banking processes and can translate them for our programmers. In this market, every FinTech company competes for the same skills.”
\nOhpen grew to become a 120-person team in a very short amount of time. Zadeh: ‘We already employ four recruiters, that’s a lot for a company our size.”
\nEight of Fynn Advice’s nine employees will make the transition to Ohphen. Fynn Advice’s founder, Pieter Aartsen, will take over Chris Zadeh’s role as Netherlands CEO. Aartsen was previously part of BinckBank’s Board of Directors and worked as manager at Deutsche Bank and KAS Bank. Zadeh will focus on the technology behind Ohpen’s platform and the company’s expansion to new markets, including Germany and the United States.
\nOhpen has offices in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Spain. The company recently received €15 million in growth funding. The investment round was led by Amerborgh – a venture capital firm led by Alex Mulder, founder of the recruitment agency Unique. According to Zadeh, the company is working to close a new funding round to continue driving its growth.
\nWritten by Rutger Betlem, originally published in Dutch, on the FD Website.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T16:54:05+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/acae4bb0-24a8-4cb8-af1f-70a7e804fbd1.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"5a571c51-e2e9-50e8-b74f-9a1b4da16835","slug":"ohpen-nominated-for-innovation-award-by-uk-department-for-international-trade","type":"default","title":"OHPEN NOMINATED FOR INNOVATION AWARD BY UK DEPARTMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE","excerpt":"Annual investment awards recognize the importance of overseas investment into the UK.The DIT is the department responsible for promoting ...","body":"Annual investment awards recognize the importance of overseas investment into the UK.
\nThe DIT is the department responsible for promoting investment into the UK from foreign companies. Its Annual Investment Awards recognise the importance of overseas investment into the UK, encouraging nominations from organisations who are providing a tangible benefit for the UK economy. The Innovation category focuses on “an investment that either brings something new to the market or approaches a sector in an original manner.”
\nOhpen gained approval in January 2017 from the FCA to carry out regulated activities in the United Kingdom. Ohpen UK CEO Angelique Schouten: “This nomination is the reward for all our efforts lately. In a little over 12 months, we have obtained our FCA licence, signed one of the largest financial services companies in the UK as our first client, and gone from a team of zero to over 30 (and growing) creative, dedicated professionals based at Old Street’s Silicon Roundabout. Oh, and we’re moving to brand new offices very soon.”
\nSchouten is confident that the UK’s banks, pension providers and insurers are overdue a digital revolution. “Despite being a huge financial centre, the UK market is dominated by outdated technology that is holding back its organisations,” Schouten said. “Financial services companies have outgrown their legacy systems and need modern, digital infrastructure to cope with the pace of change. Ohpen, and companies like us, are in a strong position to provide a cloud-based alternative that saves our clients significant time and money. Our core banking engine is built from the ground-up, and we’re excited to introduce this to the UK.”
\nThe DIT’s Annual Investment Awards will be held on the 12th of October in Amsterdam, with 2017 being the seventh annual ceremony.
","desktop_body":"Annual investment awards recognize the importance of overseas investment into the UK.
\nThe DIT is the department responsible for promoting investment into the UK from foreign companies. Its Annual Investment Awards recognise the importance of overseas investment into the UK, encouraging nominations from organisations who are providing a tangible benefit for the UK economy. The Innovation category focuses on “an investment that either brings something new to the market or approaches a sector in an original manner.”
\nOhpen gained approval in January 2017 from the FCA to carry out regulated activities in the United Kingdom. Ohpen UK CEO Angelique Schouten: “This nomination is the reward for all our efforts lately. In a little over 12 months, we have obtained our FCA licence, signed one of the largest financial services companies in the UK as our first client, and gone from a team of zero to over 30 (and growing) creative, dedicated professionals based at Old Street’s Silicon Roundabout. Oh, and we’re moving to brand new offices very soon.”
\nSchouten is confident that the UK’s banks, pension providers and insurers are overdue a digital revolution. “Despite being a huge financial centre, the UK market is dominated by outdated technology that is holding back its organisations,” Schouten said. “Financial services companies have outgrown their legacy systems and need modern, digital infrastructure to cope with the pace of change. Ohpen, and companies like us, are in a strong position to provide a cloud-based alternative that saves our clients significant time and money. Our core banking engine is built from the ground-up, and we’re excited to introduce this to the UK.”
\nThe DIT’s Annual Investment Awards will be held on the 12th of October in Amsterdam, with 2017 being the seventh annual ceremony.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T16:54:41+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/e6566494-2ac9-41ee-816a-c4e93dcd1c4d.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"7299f2af-7a79-5561-aadd-213375152f78","slug":"ohpens-angelique-schouten-featured-in-game-changer-a-must-see-documentary-about-fintech","type":"default","title":"OHPEN’S ANGELIQUE SCHOUTEN FEATURED IN GAME CHANGER, A MUST-SEE DOCUMENTARY ABOUT FINTECH","excerpt":"Find out on how fintech start-ups are disrupting the world of finance in this film featuring Ohpen’s UK CEO.We are thrilled to announce t...","body":"Find out on how fintech start-ups are disrupting the world of finance in this film featuring Ohpen’s UK CEO.
\nWe are thrilled to announce that Angelique Schouten, CEO at Ohpen UK, has been featured in Game Changer, a documentary that explores how FinTech is disrupting the finance industry. The film discusses the effect that new technologies and customer-centric design have had in the financial services space. The search for talent and the challenges faced by traditional banking are also addressed in the film.
\nIn Angelique’s own words: “Today’s consumers have different standards and expectations of financial institutions because of their experiences with other industries. The norms are changing.
Traditional banks and insurance companies have to keep up with this transformation and innovative companies like Ohpen are facilitating this change.”
Ohpen is proud to be among the pioneering companies redefining the financial services industry. Being in both Amsterdam and London, we are at the epicentre of this change. Our company was founded at the peak of the financial crisis by a visionary team that sought to liberate banks from legacy systems and processes. Today, we are proud to say that we are the first core banking provider that runs entirely in the cloud, saving our customers up to 80% in IT costs.
\nTo learn more about our industry and how we bring agility to finance, watch the documentary on FinTech Game Changer.
","desktop_body":"Find out on how fintech start-ups are disrupting the world of finance in this film featuring Ohpen’s UK CEO.
\nWe are thrilled to announce that Angelique Schouten, CEO at Ohpen UK, has been featured in Game Changer, a documentary that explores how FinTech is disrupting the finance industry. The film discusses the effect that new technologies and customer-centric design have had in the financial services space. The search for talent and the challenges faced by traditional banking are also addressed in the film.
\nIn Angelique’s own words: “Today’s consumers have different standards and expectations of financial institutions because of their experiences with other industries. The norms are changing.
Traditional banks and insurance companies have to keep up with this transformation and innovative companies like Ohpen are facilitating this change.”
Ohpen is proud to be among the pioneering companies redefining the financial services industry. Being in both Amsterdam and London, we are at the epicentre of this change. Our company was founded at the peak of the financial crisis by a visionary team that sought to liberate banks from legacy systems and processes. Today, we are proud to say that we are the first core banking provider that runs entirely in the cloud, saving our customers up to 80% in IT costs.
\nTo learn more about our industry and how we bring agility to finance, watch the documentary on FinTech Game Changer.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T16:55:41+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/f2e7cfc9-8991-4c1f-bac8-65a22da45c57.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"fd1b7e1a-90fc-5a2d-808b-ff1e7b265e57","slug":"ohpen-secures-euro-15-million-series-b-financing-at-euro100-million-valuation","type":"default","title":"OHPEN SECURES € 15 MILLION SERIES B FINANCING AT €100 MILLION VALUATION","excerpt":"Ohpen has secured a € 15 Million Series B investment round led by private equity firm amerborgh to accelerate international growth.Ohpen,...","body":"Ohpen has secured a € 15 Million Series B investment round led by private equity firm amerborgh to accelerate international growth.
\nOhpen, founded in 2009, is a cloud-based core-banking engine, built for the efficient administration of retail investment and savings accounts.
\nSince Ohpen signed and implemented its first Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) client in 2012, Ohpen has become market leader in The Netherlands. Enterprise clients like Aegon, Nationale Nederlanden and De Volksbank have signed long term outsourcing contracts for the administration and servicing of retail investment and savings accounts.
\nOhpen opened an office in London last year and signed its first client in the United Kingdom which is being implemented this year.
\nThe UK Platform market currently undergoes radical changes caused by new regulations and issues related to legacy systems and providers. Ohpen is well positioned to assist financial institutions in coping with these challenges and seizing opportunities.
\nThe current investment round of € 15 million values Ohpen at € 100 million. The growth capital will be used to finance UK expansion and enter new markets.
\n“The first step, back in 2009, was to actually develop a whole new core banking engine and offering it as SaaS using cloud technology”, says founder and CEO Chris Zadeh. “The second step was to get a client and create a strong home base. After becoming the number one player in our home market, we knew it was time to enter new markets and truly scale up the company.”
","desktop_body":"Ohpen has secured a € 15 Million Series B investment round led by private equity firm amerborgh to accelerate international growth.
\nOhpen, founded in 2009, is a cloud-based core-banking engine, built for the efficient administration of retail investment and savings accounts.
\nSince Ohpen signed and implemented its first Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) client in 2012, Ohpen has become market leader in The Netherlands. Enterprise clients like Aegon, Nationale Nederlanden and De Volksbank have signed long term outsourcing contracts for the administration and servicing of retail investment and savings accounts.
\nOhpen opened an office in London last year and signed its first client in the United Kingdom which is being implemented this year.
\nThe UK Platform market currently undergoes radical changes caused by new regulations and issues related to legacy systems and providers. Ohpen is well positioned to assist financial institutions in coping with these challenges and seizing opportunities.
\nThe current investment round of € 15 million values Ohpen at € 100 million. The growth capital will be used to finance UK expansion and enter new markets.
\n“The first step, back in 2009, was to actually develop a whole new core banking engine and offering it as SaaS using cloud technology”, says founder and CEO Chris Zadeh. “The second step was to get a client and create a strong home base. After becoming the number one player in our home market, we knew it was time to enter new markets and truly scale up the company.”
","created_on":"2020-11-24T16:56:51+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/b56ff547-450d-449d-9cd1-3476f4ba920b.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"24fa614c-0344-516d-a80b-c3514199fc35","slug":"ohpen-cio-bas-wouwenaar-speaker-at-amazon-web-services-transformation-day","type":"default","title":"OHPEN CIO, BAS WOUWENAAR, SPEAKER AT AMAZON WEB SERVICES TRANSFORMATION DAY","excerpt":"Ohpen and Amazon have been pioneering the field of cloud banking together since 2010Theme of the day is: “Discover the True Power of the ...","body":"Ohpen and Amazon have been pioneering the field of cloud banking together since 2010
\nTheme of the day is: “Discover the True Power of the Cloud”
\nBas Wouwenaar, CIO at Ohpen, has been asked to share how Ohpen created a security and compliance framework for its cloud based core banking engine. Ohpen guarantees that its engine is always compliant to industry and data privacy regulations, including GDPR.
\nRisk and Compliance Stream
\nBas’ presentation is part of the Risk and Compliance stream that also features: Nadia Meliti, head of legal EMEA Amazon, and Miranda Chilvers, Supervisor Operational Risk at “De Nederlandsche Bank”.
Topics covered in the Risk and Compliance stream are: Cloud and the Enterprise Risk Profile, Enabling Compliance with EU Privacy Laws and Microsoft Licensing Compliance.
Ohpen and Amazon have been pioneering the field of cloud banking together since 2010 when the Dutch Central Bank approved the use of the public cloud for banking purposes. Ohpen was the first core banking engine with all production data in the cloud.
\nAbout Bas
\nBas is an industry veteran with almost 20 years of leadership roles in IT and banking. After leading the technical teams at one of the biggest financial shared service centers in the Netherlands, Bas joined Ohpen in 2009 to help develop the best core banking engine in the world.
\nWant to know more?
\nTo learn more about the Amazon Web Services Transformation Day, or to sign up for the event, click here. The Amazon Web Services Transformation Day will be held on May 23, 2017 at the NBC Congrescentrum in Nieuwegein.
","desktop_body":"Ohpen and Amazon have been pioneering the field of cloud banking together since 2010
\nTheme of the day is: “Discover the True Power of the Cloud”
\nBas Wouwenaar, CIO at Ohpen, has been asked to share how Ohpen created a security and compliance framework for its cloud based core banking engine. Ohpen guarantees that its engine is always compliant to industry and data privacy regulations, including GDPR.
\nRisk and Compliance Stream
\nBas’ presentation is part of the Risk and Compliance stream that also features: Nadia Meliti, head of legal EMEA Amazon, and Miranda Chilvers, Supervisor Operational Risk at “De Nederlandsche Bank”.
Topics covered in the Risk and Compliance stream are: Cloud and the Enterprise Risk Profile, Enabling Compliance with EU Privacy Laws and Microsoft Licensing Compliance.
Ohpen and Amazon have been pioneering the field of cloud banking together since 2010 when the Dutch Central Bank approved the use of the public cloud for banking purposes. Ohpen was the first core banking engine with all production data in the cloud.
\nAbout Bas
\nBas is an industry veteran with almost 20 years of leadership roles in IT and banking. After leading the technical teams at one of the biggest financial shared service centers in the Netherlands, Bas joined Ohpen in 2009 to help develop the best core banking engine in the world.
\nWant to know more?
\nTo learn more about the Amazon Web Services Transformation Day, or to sign up for the event, click here. The Amazon Web Services Transformation Day will be held on May 23, 2017 at the NBC Congrescentrum in Nieuwegein.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T16:57:25+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/41cadc31-de15-4e0f-9ce4-7e17e3c0535f.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"175187d0-72fb-5307-95ad-5e58c2f5bf50","slug":"aegon-brings-consumer-banking-to-fintech","type":"default","title":"AEGON BRINGS CONSUMER BANKING TO FINTECH","excerpt":"“Aegon will be able to connect with the Amsterdam-based company’s system, without having to worry about internal silos.”Aegon Bank will w...","body":"“Aegon will be able to connect with the Amsterdam-based company’s system, without having to worry about internal silos.”
\nAegon Bank will work with an innovative newcomer to cope with the rapid changes affecting the financial industry. Ohpen, a technology company, will be responsible for administering Aegon’s savings, investment and pension products.
\nThis is the second FinTech company Aegon cooperates with. Earlier, they worked with Utrecht-based Five Degrees for workflow management purposes. Ohpen is specialized in core banking applications, which are centralized cloud-based environments that penetrate the core of the bank. The startup offers these apps for consumer banks, focusing on the products mentioned above.
\nAegon’s insurance, loan and mortgage products fall outside of the announced system mutation. The business bank of Aegon’s insurance branch is also not part of the project. According to Aegon, more and more parts of Aegon N.V. work together to bring new propositions to market. “We see this development increasingly in the savings market,” says a spokesperson. “With Ohpen, we can unlock shared data for our customers more easily.”
\nA Dutch touch
\n“Our focus on retail banks and our knowledge of the Dutch market were decisive factors for Aegon’s decision to grant us this assignment,” says Matthijs Aler, Commercial Director at Ohpen. The FinTech company engaged with Aegon for more than a year before the project was launched. “We know everything about Dutch banking – from savings products to tax rules, box 3 savings, life-cycle arrangements, and regulations. International competitors like Temenos and Oracle are less knowledgeable about this.”
\nThe implementation is already under way. Aegon Bank and its subsidiary Knab, are the first to adopt Ohpen’s products. The entire system will be migrated to the new software solution by the end of the year.
\nProject duration
\nOhpen has already built and delivered similar systems for clients like the Dutch National Bank and Robeco. Volksbank, formerly SNS, will also start using Ohpen’s solution by the end of this year.
\n“Ohpen allows us to manage our savings and investment products in a single platform. The system gives us more flexibility and ensures that there is synergy between Aegon’s different banks and entities, says Aegon’s spokesperson.
\nLess silos
\nThe new vendor will have access to the relationship administration and accounting administration, but will not process basic administration. Only products that are purchased by the client will be processed by Ohpen. Address details and other personal data will not be handled by Ohpen.
\nAegon: “We are going to integrate data and functionality in a new platform.” An API will ensure communication between the two. Using this open software standard, Aegon will be able to connect with the Amsterdam-based company’s system, without having to worry about internal silos.
\nAegon is free to develop new products with other parties and integrate them into Ohpen’s systems. “By running the application in three data centres simultaneously, we minimize the risk of malfunctions or downtime, says Ohpen’s Matthijs Aler.
\nVan Lanschot
\nAegon is not the only one adopting FinTech products. Van Lanschot, the asset bank, recently announced that it will migrate its entire payment system to Fidor, a German provider of digital banking services. In so doing, this wealth management bank will not only save costs, it will also be able to catch up with competitors.
\nWritten by Rutger Betlem, originally published in Dutch, on the FD Website.
","desktop_body":"“Aegon will be able to connect with the Amsterdam-based company’s system, without having to worry about internal silos.”
\nAegon Bank will work with an innovative newcomer to cope with the rapid changes affecting the financial industry. Ohpen, a technology company, will be responsible for administering Aegon’s savings, investment and pension products.
\nThis is the second FinTech company Aegon cooperates with. Earlier, they worked with Utrecht-based Five Degrees for workflow management purposes. Ohpen is specialized in core banking applications, which are centralized cloud-based environments that penetrate the core of the bank. The startup offers these apps for consumer banks, focusing on the products mentioned above.
\nAegon’s insurance, loan and mortgage products fall outside of the announced system mutation. The business bank of Aegon’s insurance branch is also not part of the project. According to Aegon, more and more parts of Aegon N.V. work together to bring new propositions to market. “We see this development increasingly in the savings market,” says a spokesperson. “With Ohpen, we can unlock shared data for our customers more easily.”
\nA Dutch touch
\n“Our focus on retail banks and our knowledge of the Dutch market were decisive factors for Aegon’s decision to grant us this assignment,” says Matthijs Aler, Commercial Director at Ohpen. The FinTech company engaged with Aegon for more than a year before the project was launched. “We know everything about Dutch banking – from savings products to tax rules, box 3 savings, life-cycle arrangements, and regulations. International competitors like Temenos and Oracle are less knowledgeable about this.”
\nThe implementation is already under way. Aegon Bank and its subsidiary Knab, are the first to adopt Ohpen’s products. The entire system will be migrated to the new software solution by the end of the year.
\nProject duration
\nOhpen has already built and delivered similar systems for clients like the Dutch National Bank and Robeco. Volksbank, formerly SNS, will also start using Ohpen’s solution by the end of this year.
\n“Ohpen allows us to manage our savings and investment products in a single platform. The system gives us more flexibility and ensures that there is synergy between Aegon’s different banks and entities, says Aegon’s spokesperson.
\nLess silos
\nThe new vendor will have access to the relationship administration and accounting administration, but will not process basic administration. Only products that are purchased by the client will be processed by Ohpen. Address details and other personal data will not be handled by Ohpen.
\nAegon: “We are going to integrate data and functionality in a new platform.” An API will ensure communication between the two. Using this open software standard, Aegon will be able to connect with the Amsterdam-based company’s system, without having to worry about internal silos.
\nAegon is free to develop new products with other parties and integrate them into Ohpen’s systems. “By running the application in three data centres simultaneously, we minimize the risk of malfunctions or downtime, says Ohpen’s Matthijs Aler.
\nVan Lanschot
\nAegon is not the only one adopting FinTech products. Van Lanschot, the asset bank, recently announced that it will migrate its entire payment system to Fidor, a German provider of digital banking services. In so doing, this wealth management bank will not only save costs, it will also be able to catch up with competitors.
\nWritten by Rutger Betlem, originally published in Dutch, on the FD Website.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T16:59:33+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/77840db1-d5e4-497f-a60d-c908bba2761d.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"16b1d45c-86e3-54ab-bfd4-e79176368b0d","slug":"ohpen-wins-third-place-popular-vote-fintech-impact-awards","type":"default","title":"OHPEN WINS THIRD PLACE POPULAR VOTE FINTECH IMPACT AWARDS","excerpt":"Fintech impact awards recognise game changing entrepreneurs and institutions in the financial industryOhpen won the third place in the po...","body":"Fintech impact awards recognise game changing entrepreneurs and institutions in the financial industry
\nOhpen won the third place in the popular vote at the NRC Live conference ‘De Fintech-realiteit‘ today. The Fintech Impact Awards recognise game changing entrepreneurs and institutions in the financial industry.
\nABN-AMRO venture Torch and consumer bank Bunq finished second and first.
\nINNOVATION
\nThe Fintech Impact Award is an initiative of NRC Live to accelerate innovation in finance and challenge innovators. The awards focus on industry and consumer impact. Forty game changing Fintech companies were selected to participate in the Fintech Impact Awards. Eight made it to the finals.
\nOhpen’s CCO Matthijs Aler: “For a business to business provider winning a third place in these awards confirms that we are gaining traction. People are getting to know us, even outside our target audience.”
\nNRC Live conferences are a spin-off of The Netherlands’ largest quality newspaper NRC Handelsblad. Being a finalist in the Fintech live Awards was not a first time recognition for Ohpen. Earlier Ohpen received a Golden Bull (“The Oscars of Finance”) and an Accenture Innovation Award.
\n(Overview Image Courtesy of Joost Weddepohl) (Visit the NRC Live Impact Awards site to read the online Awards magazine in Dutch).
","desktop_body":"Fintech impact awards recognise game changing entrepreneurs and institutions in the financial industry
\nOhpen won the third place in the popular vote at the NRC Live conference ‘De Fintech-realiteit‘ today. The Fintech Impact Awards recognise game changing entrepreneurs and institutions in the financial industry.
\nABN-AMRO venture Torch and consumer bank Bunq finished second and first.
\nINNOVATION
\nThe Fintech Impact Award is an initiative of NRC Live to accelerate innovation in finance and challenge innovators. The awards focus on industry and consumer impact. Forty game changing Fintech companies were selected to participate in the Fintech Impact Awards. Eight made it to the finals.
\nOhpen’s CCO Matthijs Aler: “For a business to business provider winning a third place in these awards confirms that we are gaining traction. People are getting to know us, even outside our target audience.”
\nNRC Live conferences are a spin-off of The Netherlands’ largest quality newspaper NRC Handelsblad. Being a finalist in the Fintech live Awards was not a first time recognition for Ohpen. Earlier Ohpen received a Golden Bull (“The Oscars of Finance”) and an Accenture Innovation Award.
\n(Overview Image Courtesy of Joost Weddepohl) (Visit the NRC Live Impact Awards site to read the online Awards magazine in Dutch).
","created_on":"2020-11-24T16:58:39+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/3eb59f6e-7329-434f-91d6-cb0bde4b505a.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"53db118b-509b-54d0-b012-8b048ac28551","slug":"aegon-chooses-ohpen-platform-to-modernise-savings-and-investment-administration","type":"video","title":"AEGON CHOOSES OHPEN PLATFORM TO MODERNISE SAVINGS AND INVESTMENT ADMINISTRATION","excerpt":"Aegon is to partner with core banking engine provider Ohpen to develop a new platform for use throughout the full scope of Aegon’s servic...","body":"Aegon and Ohpen have the ambition – by merging their domain knowledge within pensions and technology – to build the infrastructure and architecture of the future. Replacing multiple administration systems and software, Aegon will plug into Ohpen’s singular platform via a fully flexible, 100% API based interface. The infrastructure will enable millions of Aegon customers to optimise their wealth management across the different pillars of Aegon’s pension system.
The implementation of the platform shall be executed in different phases, with the first phase being completed by the end of 2017. After the completion of this migration, all accounts of clients with investment and (fiscal) savings products of Aegon Bank N.V. shall be administered by Ohpen.
“It is not only Ohpen’s technology, but Ohpen’s approach that is innovative”, said Aegon CEO Eric Rutten. “This leads to a better service for clients which is the ultimate objective. In the end, it’s all about consumers making conscious decisions about their financial future.”
“For all the talk of innovation in financial services, Aegon is one of the few companies with the resolve to drive actual change”, said Ohpen CEO Chris Zadeh. “Like it or not, this is where banking is going. You’re either a leader or a follower. We’re proud to partner with a true leader”.
Ohpen uses its core banking platform to deliver BPO services and SaaS solutions to financial services providers, such as banks, insurance companies and asset managers. Founded in 2009 by a team of experiences bankers and software engineers, the Ohpen platform supports the savings and investment propositions of its clients. Ohpen has offices in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Spain and employs close to 100 professionals. For more information, please refer to www.ohpen.com.
\nAegon and Ohpen have the ambition – by merging their domain knowledge within pensions and technology – to build the infrastructure and architecture of the future. Replacing multiple administration systems and software, Aegon will plug into Ohpen’s singular platform via a fully flexible, 100% API based interface. The infrastructure will enable millions of Aegon customers to optimise their wealth management across the different pillars of Aegon’s pension system.
The implementation of the platform shall be executed in different phases, with the first phase being completed by the end of 2017. After the completion of this migration, all accounts of clients with investment and (fiscal) savings products of Aegon Bank N.V. shall be administered by Ohpen.
“It is not only Ohpen’s technology, but Ohpen’s approach that is innovative”, said Aegon CEO Eric Rutten. “This leads to a better service for clients which is the ultimate objective. In the end, it’s all about consumers making conscious decisions about their financial future.”
“For all the talk of innovation in financial services, Aegon is one of the few companies with the resolve to drive actual change”, said Ohpen CEO Chris Zadeh. “Like it or not, this is where banking is going. You’re either a leader or a follower. We’re proud to partner with a true leader”.
Ohpen uses its core banking platform to deliver BPO services and SaaS solutions to financial services providers, such as banks, insurance companies and asset managers. Founded in 2009 by a team of experiences bankers and software engineers, the Ohpen platform supports the savings and investment propositions of its clients. Ohpen has offices in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Spain and employs close to 100 professionals. For more information, please refer to www.ohpen.com.
\nAegon leaves legacy behind with Ohpen’s cloud finserv platform.
\nOhpen, a banking technology company based in Amsterdam, has announced that it will partner with Aegon to develop a new platform for Aegon’s Dutch services, from banking to investments. It will also support multiple labels including Aegon’s Knab (bank spelled backwards) an entirely digital bank.
\nAegon, a global financial conglomerate whose American holdings include Pimco, will replace multiple individual systems for pensions, savings, current accounts and wealth management with a single Ohpen platform running in the cloud on Amazon Web Services (AWS). Aegon will plug into Ohpen’s platform through a flexible, 100% API-based interface.
\nAn insurance company may have one or two banks, defined contribution pensions, defined benefit pensions, current accounts and savings — all of them running on different systems that do largely the same thing, said Ohpen CEO Chris Zadeh. Ohpen uses its core banking platform to deliver BPO services and SaaS solutions to financial services providers such as banks, insurance companies and asset managers.
\n“Now if a financial services company has an insurance company and a bank or two and an asset manager, they have a data center with a core banking system, core administrative system, CRM for each — some have eight or 10 different systems doing the same thing. It’s kind of weird.”
\nMultiple companies under one corporate umbrella do many of the same things and have their own infrastructure and staff. Ohpen lets them merge all those activities onto a single cloud-based back end and then put an API on top so any application or website can get to it.
\n“If you want to be ready for the future and save an enormous amount of code, you should have one administrative system for all these different brands,” said Zadeh. “Aegon and Knab and their pensions will use the same cloud-based administrative system, and that’s ours.”
\nFinancial services companies that want to be prepared for the future need modern infrastructure; they can’t depend on multiple old legacy systems, he added. Fortunately, the expansion of companies like Salesforce and Workday have proved the value of cloud-based software.
\n“There’s a new generation moving up the ranks at financials. We see guys coming into the top management and say we aren’t going to use proprietary software in a data center when I use Office 365 and it work well.”
","desktop_body":"Aegon leaves legacy behind with Ohpen’s cloud finserv platform.
\nOhpen, a banking technology company based in Amsterdam, has announced that it will partner with Aegon to develop a new platform for Aegon’s Dutch services, from banking to investments. It will also support multiple labels including Aegon’s Knab (bank spelled backwards) an entirely digital bank.
\nAegon, a global financial conglomerate whose American holdings include Pimco, will replace multiple individual systems for pensions, savings, current accounts and wealth management with a single Ohpen platform running in the cloud on Amazon Web Services (AWS). Aegon will plug into Ohpen’s platform through a flexible, 100% API-based interface.
\nAn insurance company may have one or two banks, defined contribution pensions, defined benefit pensions, current accounts and savings — all of them running on different systems that do largely the same thing, said Ohpen CEO Chris Zadeh. Ohpen uses its core banking platform to deliver BPO services and SaaS solutions to financial services providers such as banks, insurance companies and asset managers.
\n“Now if a financial services company has an insurance company and a bank or two and an asset manager, they have a data center with a core banking system, core administrative system, CRM for each — some have eight or 10 different systems doing the same thing. It’s kind of weird.”
\nMultiple companies under one corporate umbrella do many of the same things and have their own infrastructure and staff. Ohpen lets them merge all those activities onto a single cloud-based back end and then put an API on top so any application or website can get to it.
\n“If you want to be ready for the future and save an enormous amount of code, you should have one administrative system for all these different brands,” said Zadeh. “Aegon and Knab and their pensions will use the same cloud-based administrative system, and that’s ours.”
\nFinancial services companies that want to be prepared for the future need modern infrastructure; they can’t depend on multiple old legacy systems, he added. Fortunately, the expansion of companies like Salesforce and Workday have proved the value of cloud-based software.
\n“There’s a new generation moving up the ranks at financials. We see guys coming into the top management and say we aren’t going to use proprietary software in a data center when I use Office 365 and it work well.”
","created_on":"2020-11-24T17:00:32+00:00","city":"Article by Tom Groenfeldt, USA","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/42d8f294-d443-4019-8884-19aabc520aa8.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"97982098-c193-537f-a9f7-c5dac7de0741","slug":"angelique-schouten-appointed-cco-and-board-member-with-fintech-scale-up-ohpen","type":"default","title":"ANGELIQUE SCHOUTEN APPOINTED CCO AND BOARD MEMBER WITH FINTECH SCALE-UP OHPEN","excerpt":"Founder and CEO Chris Zadeh: “Angelique is the personification of our core values”. Leading core banking SaaS solution provider Ohpen has...","body":"Founder and CEO Chris Zadeh: “Angelique is the personification of our core values”. Leading core banking SaaS solution provider Ohpen has appointed Angelique Schouten (40) as Chief Commercial Officer. Schouten was the former CEO UK of Ohpen and becomes global Board Member of the organisation, focusing on building the commercial organisation emphasising on marketing, sales and PR.
\nAngelique Schouten established Ohpen’s London office, building it from the ground up. She was responsible for obtaining its authorisation from regulatory and government bodies, bringing in Ohpen’s first UK clients and building the team. Women comprise 50 per cent of Ohpen UK’s workforce, an anomaly in the typically male dominated financial services and technology sectors.
\n50% women
“I’m very proud on what we have achieved in the UK. Two years ago, I flew to England with only a laptop and a credit card, and now we have a banking license from the local regular, a number of amazing customers and a diverse workforce consisting of 30 employees all hired based on our core values,” says Schouten.
Schouten is succeeded in the UK by the new CEO UK Lydia van de Voort (33) and COO UK Ian Hutchinson (43). Their focus will be on ensuring a smooth go-live for Ohpen’s UK customers.
\nExpansion
Over the last eight-month Ohpen raised sizable capital investments mounting up to 40 million Euros for further international expansion and company growth. Schouten’s new role will include setting up the commercial organization of the company focusing on marketing, sales, pr and all the offices worldwide. The company expects to take on one hundred new employees in 2018. “Angelique is the personification of our core values,” says Chris Zadeh, Founder and CEO of Ohpen.
Founder and CEO Chris Zadeh: “Angelique is the personification of our core values”. Leading core banking SaaS solution provider Ohpen has appointed Angelique Schouten (40) as Chief Commercial Officer. Schouten was the former CEO UK of Ohpen and becomes global Board Member of the organisation, focusing on building the commercial organisation emphasising on marketing, sales and PR.
\nAngelique Schouten established Ohpen’s London office, building it from the ground up. She was responsible for obtaining its authorisation from regulatory and government bodies, bringing in Ohpen’s first UK clients and building the team. Women comprise 50 per cent of Ohpen UK’s workforce, an anomaly in the typically male dominated financial services and technology sectors.
\n50% women
“I’m very proud on what we have achieved in the UK. Two years ago, I flew to England with only a laptop and a credit card, and now we have a banking license from the local regular, a number of amazing customers and a diverse workforce consisting of 30 employees all hired based on our core values,” says Schouten.
Schouten is succeeded in the UK by the new CEO UK Lydia van de Voort (33) and COO UK Ian Hutchinson (43). Their focus will be on ensuring a smooth go-live for Ohpen’s UK customers.
\nExpansion
Over the last eight-month Ohpen raised sizable capital investments mounting up to 40 million Euros for further international expansion and company growth. Schouten’s new role will include setting up the commercial organization of the company focusing on marketing, sales, pr and all the offices worldwide. The company expects to take on one hundred new employees in 2018. “Angelique is the personification of our core values,” says Chris Zadeh, Founder and CEO of Ohpen.
“Our biggest competitive edge is our culture and mentality”
\nFinancial IT: How would you describe Ohpen?
\nAngelique Schouten: Ohpen provides both incumbent financial services companies and new market entrants with a “bank-out-of-the-box” solution to fully outsource their investment & savings account operations.
\nWe deliver IT services and technology to outsource the back- and front-office operations of banks, asset managers, and insurance companies. Founded in Amsterdam in 2009 by former bankers, the offering combines fully cloud-based SaaS technology with BPO services that enables financial services companies to launch propositions, digitalize their services quickly and easily, and benefit from lower costs of a unique all-in-one pricing model. Ohpen administrates hundreds of thousands of retail accounts and billions of euros in assets with a team of more than 80 domain experts across their offices in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Spain.
\nFinancial IT: What do you see as being your competitive edge?
\nAngelique Schouten: Our biggest competitive edge is our culture and mentality. Yes, our solution is new, we have one code base, and we embody customization by configuration and it always works. But we are truly different as we always strive to challenge market practices and keep investing in the best solution for the end customer. This means also that we challenge existing processes of our clients.
\nFinancial IT: Tell us about your clients and the problems that you solve for them. Please give us the real-life case example.
\nAngelique Schouten: Most of our clients have existing clients and products running on old on-premises legacy solutions. They are faced with old software that leads to high hardware costs and low performance. They manage a spaghetti of applications and have file cabinets for record keeping. Their customer service is old fashioned and mainly supporting paper-based processes and they have insufficient audit trail and basic analytics. To top this off they are usually confronted with vendors that do not understand their business as they have never sat at the other side of the table.
\nWe help our clients by delivering a solution based on new processes, technology and business principles. By migrating to Ohpen, they achieve high levels of STP and are able to lower costs significantly whilst increasing customer satisfaction.
\nFinancial IT: What are the key benefits of cloud banking for banks and end users?
\nAngelique Schouten: Cloud banking is nothing more than virtualisation of computing power. Instead of banks having to invest millions in hardware and allocate hundreds of IT staff to maintain the infrastructure, they now have access to unlimited outsourced computing power to support their processes enabling to better support their end users/ customers with modern processes and services. Both banks and end users will experience a service that is always available and upholds the highest security standards available in the market. In other words “it just works and it is more adaptable, reliable and compliant”.
\nFinancial IT: Many banks face challenges while moving their core services into cloud mainly because of security concerns. How do you solve this problem?
\nAngelique Schouten: The security concerns are mostly based on the lack of knowledge and experience when talking about cloud. We make sure to explain what the cloud really is such as the fact that a virtual private cloud is being used (and not a public cloud), data at rest and in transit is encrypted and the same accreditations and certificates are obtained (e.g. ISAE3402 Type I and II and ISO27001). People often forget that when a bank moves their core services to the cloud, the same rules & regulations apply. A good example is the physical protection: you have a better chance in trying to locate and access the data centre of your bank than trying to find and locate a datacentre of a large cloud provider like Amazon Web Services. These cloud providers take every single security measure they can. Why do you think even the likes of Nasa use cloud computing services? Banks usually quickly realise that using cloud technology often increases security compared to their existing solution.
\nFinancial IT: What trends are you witnessing nowadays in the cloud banking industry? What are your predictions for 2017?
\nAngelique Schouten: The past few years a large number of banks, insurance companies and asset managers have tried using the cloud for testing environments or hosting websites. Besides seeing the benefits of cloud, they are starting to realise that their existing architecture is not digitalised to the extent that they can realise the tangible business results they need. Having a high degree of straight-through-processing, accessible data and an audit trail are the foundation of a solid digital architecture. An audit trail will result in valuable data and tangible business results when combining this with technology. My prediction is that financial services providers will focus more on tackling their entire digital architecture by replacing their core on-premises applications with cloud based solutions to create a digital backbone of the organisation that can support a modern digitalised proposition.
\nInterview originally published on Financial IT.
","desktop_body":"“Our biggest competitive edge is our culture and mentality”
\nFinancial IT: How would you describe Ohpen?
\nAngelique Schouten: Ohpen provides both incumbent financial services companies and new market entrants with a “bank-out-of-the-box” solution to fully outsource their investment & savings account operations.
\nWe deliver IT services and technology to outsource the back- and front-office operations of banks, asset managers, and insurance companies. Founded in Amsterdam in 2009 by former bankers, the offering combines fully cloud-based SaaS technology with BPO services that enables financial services companies to launch propositions, digitalize their services quickly and easily, and benefit from lower costs of a unique all-in-one pricing model. Ohpen administrates hundreds of thousands of retail accounts and billions of euros in assets with a team of more than 80 domain experts across their offices in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Spain.
\nFinancial IT: What do you see as being your competitive edge?
\nAngelique Schouten: Our biggest competitive edge is our culture and mentality. Yes, our solution is new, we have one code base, and we embody customization by configuration and it always works. But we are truly different as we always strive to challenge market practices and keep investing in the best solution for the end customer. This means also that we challenge existing processes of our clients.
\nFinancial IT: Tell us about your clients and the problems that you solve for them. Please give us the real-life case example.
\nAngelique Schouten: Most of our clients have existing clients and products running on old on-premises legacy solutions. They are faced with old software that leads to high hardware costs and low performance. They manage a spaghetti of applications and have file cabinets for record keeping. Their customer service is old fashioned and mainly supporting paper-based processes and they have insufficient audit trail and basic analytics. To top this off they are usually confronted with vendors that do not understand their business as they have never sat at the other side of the table.
\nWe help our clients by delivering a solution based on new processes, technology and business principles. By migrating to Ohpen, they achieve high levels of STP and are able to lower costs significantly whilst increasing customer satisfaction.
\nFinancial IT: What are the key benefits of cloud banking for banks and end users?
\nAngelique Schouten: Cloud banking is nothing more than virtualisation of computing power. Instead of banks having to invest millions in hardware and allocate hundreds of IT staff to maintain the infrastructure, they now have access to unlimited outsourced computing power to support their processes enabling to better support their end users/ customers with modern processes and services. Both banks and end users will experience a service that is always available and upholds the highest security standards available in the market. In other words “it just works and it is more adaptable, reliable and compliant”.
\nFinancial IT: Many banks face challenges while moving their core services into cloud mainly because of security concerns. How do you solve this problem?
\nAngelique Schouten: The security concerns are mostly based on the lack of knowledge and experience when talking about cloud. We make sure to explain what the cloud really is such as the fact that a virtual private cloud is being used (and not a public cloud), data at rest and in transit is encrypted and the same accreditations and certificates are obtained (e.g. ISAE3402 Type I and II and ISO27001). People often forget that when a bank moves their core services to the cloud, the same rules & regulations apply. A good example is the physical protection: you have a better chance in trying to locate and access the data centre of your bank than trying to find and locate a datacentre of a large cloud provider like Amazon Web Services. These cloud providers take every single security measure they can. Why do you think even the likes of Nasa use cloud computing services? Banks usually quickly realise that using cloud technology often increases security compared to their existing solution.
\nFinancial IT: What trends are you witnessing nowadays in the cloud banking industry? What are your predictions for 2017?
\nAngelique Schouten: The past few years a large number of banks, insurance companies and asset managers have tried using the cloud for testing environments or hosting websites. Besides seeing the benefits of cloud, they are starting to realise that their existing architecture is not digitalised to the extent that they can realise the tangible business results they need. Having a high degree of straight-through-processing, accessible data and an audit trail are the foundation of a solid digital architecture. An audit trail will result in valuable data and tangible business results when combining this with technology. My prediction is that financial services providers will focus more on tackling their entire digital architecture by replacing their core on-premises applications with cloud based solutions to create a digital backbone of the organisation that can support a modern digitalised proposition.
\nInterview originally published on Financial IT.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T17:02:01+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/20185226-2484-4ab1-98b5-979ded064afc.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"7a50ff96-8dd9-5491-b3ef-ad9178a9af21","slug":"dutch-fintech-ohpen-granted-full-fca-authorisation-to-operate-in-the-uk","type":"default","title":"DUTCH FINTECH OHPEN GRANTED FULL FCA AUTHORISATION TO OPERATE IN THE UK","excerpt":"Dutch Fintech and outsourcing provider to enter UK market, aiming to challenge incumbents.Ohpen announced today that it has gained approv...","body":"Dutch Fintech and outsourcing provider to enter UK market, aiming to challenge incumbents.
\nOhpen announced today that it has gained approval from the regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), to carry out its regulated activities. The approval enables Ohpen to provide its software and outsourcing services to asset managers, banks and insurance companies in the United Kingdom (UK) under its new British company, Ohpen Operations UK Ltd.
\n“The FCA authorization allows us to deliver an alternative for financial services companies to digitalize and outsource their entire investments and savings accounts operations,” says Angelique Schouten, Ohpen UK’s CEO.
\nINTERNATIONAL EXPANSION OHPEN’S \"BANK-OUT-OF-THE-BOX\" SOLUTION
\nOhpen provides both incumbent financial services companies and new market entrants with a “bank-out-of-the-box” solution to fully outsource their operations. Founded in Amsterdam in 2009, Ohpen currently services five of the largest financial services companies in the Netherlands, administrating billions of assets under administration. The move to the UK marks the company’s first overseas operation as part of its international expansion strategy.
\n“We made it our focus to innovate in the core banking space to enable asset managers, banks and insurance companies to outsource their entire IT-infrastructure, software, back office operations and customer contact center,” explains Schouten.
\nDrawing on their expertise as former retail bankers, the founding team redesigned all processes and built the service from scratch resulting in a “bank-out-of-the-box” solution that is digital- and API-first.
\nUK: HARDLY ANY ONLINE FULLY DIGITALISED CAPABILITIES
\nOhpen aims to present a fully-digital alternative to the market that is dominated by just a few providers traditionally designed around a paper-based customer experience.
\n“We are very excited that the FCA has granted Ohpen its full authorization. I think it says a lot about Ohpen as a business, having gained its FCA authorization within little over half a year of applying for it. We are poised to challenge the mostly inert core FinTech & outsourcing market with a fresh, innovative, bold and colorful alternative,” concludes Schouten.
\nOhpen established their UK office close to the Silicon Roundabout in 2016, with plans to significantly expand the local team over the next two years.
","desktop_body":"Dutch Fintech and outsourcing provider to enter UK market, aiming to challenge incumbents.
\nOhpen announced today that it has gained approval from the regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), to carry out its regulated activities. The approval enables Ohpen to provide its software and outsourcing services to asset managers, banks and insurance companies in the United Kingdom (UK) under its new British company, Ohpen Operations UK Ltd.
\n“The FCA authorization allows us to deliver an alternative for financial services companies to digitalize and outsource their entire investments and savings accounts operations,” says Angelique Schouten, Ohpen UK’s CEO.
\nINTERNATIONAL EXPANSION OHPEN’S "BANK-OUT-OF-THE-BOX" SOLUTION
\nOhpen provides both incumbent financial services companies and new market entrants with a “bank-out-of-the-box” solution to fully outsource their operations. Founded in Amsterdam in 2009, Ohpen currently services five of the largest financial services companies in the Netherlands, administrating billions of assets under administration. The move to the UK marks the company’s first overseas operation as part of its international expansion strategy.
\n“We made it our focus to innovate in the core banking space to enable asset managers, banks and insurance companies to outsource their entire IT-infrastructure, software, back office operations and customer contact center,” explains Schouten.
\nDrawing on their expertise as former retail bankers, the founding team redesigned all processes and built the service from scratch resulting in a “bank-out-of-the-box” solution that is digital- and API-first.
\nUK: HARDLY ANY ONLINE FULLY DIGITALISED CAPABILITIES
\nOhpen aims to present a fully-digital alternative to the market that is dominated by just a few providers traditionally designed around a paper-based customer experience.
\n“We are very excited that the FCA has granted Ohpen its full authorization. I think it says a lot about Ohpen as a business, having gained its FCA authorization within little over half a year of applying for it. We are poised to challenge the mostly inert core FinTech & outsourcing market with a fresh, innovative, bold and colorful alternative,” concludes Schouten.
\nOhpen established their UK office close to the Silicon Roundabout in 2016, with plans to significantly expand the local team over the next two years.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T17:02:44+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/774c1c05-a54f-4467-9e98-8f70285e1aeb.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"f038d8e9-68e4-53c8-b354-eff61116bb93","slug":"angelique-schouten-appointed-as-uk-ceo-of-dutch-founded-fintech","type":"default","title":"ANGELIQUE SCHOUTEN APPOINTED AS UK CEO OF DUTCH-FOUNDED FINTECH","excerpt":"Ohpen expands into the international market, driving growth of cloud banking services in the UK.Dutch fintech and outsourcing company Ohp...","body":"Ohpen expands into the international market, driving growth of cloud banking services in the UK.
\nDutch fintech and outsourcing company Ohpen expanded into the international market with their first overseas business in London. Angelique Schouten (38) takes the helm as UK CEO.
\n“The UK is still one of the biggest financial ecosystems in Europe, but it’s also one of the laggards in terms of digitalization,” says Schouten, describing the opportunity to accelerate fintech innovation in the UK market.
\nAppointing Schouten as UK CEO underscores Ohpen’s ambition to drive digital transformation for British financial companies. She and Ohpen’s founding team were once bankers themselves, which Ohpen Founder and CEO Chris Zadeh cites as the company’s competitive advantage. “We were in fintech before ‘fintech’ was even a word,” he explains.
\nThe founding team started at BinckBank where they built the second largest broker in Europe. Schouten worked at Aon and NN Group/ING, and then went on to manage one of the first robo-advisers in the Netherlands. Schouten’s appointment follows the company’s expansion in its home market servicing asset managers, banks and insurance companies who offer savings and/or investment accounts to retail customers. She will hold overall responsibility for Ohpen’s activities in the UK building the business and local team.
\nABOUT OHPEN
\nOhpen delivers premium BPO services and SaaS solutions to financial services providers through their core banking application. Founded in 2009 by a team of highly experienced professionals, Ohpen’s solutions support the savings and investment propositions of their clients.
Drawing on their expertise as former retail bankers, the founding team redesigned all processes and built the service from scratch resulting in a “bank-out-of-the-box” solution that is digital- and API-first.
ABOUT ANGELIQUE SCHOUTEN
\nAngelique Schouten (aschouten@ohpen.com | @SchoutenA) has over a decade of experience in retail banking, insurance, asset management, and fintech at companies such as Aon and ING / NN Group. She was responsible for running the first direct-to-consumer robo-advisor in the Netherlands at Ohpen before switching to the software division of the company. There, Angelique successfully led business development, sales, and marketing activities, most recently as Chief Marketing Officer. In 2016, she established Ohpen’s operations in the UK and was appointed to CEO of Ohpen UK. Angelique is a member of the Ohpen Board in the UK. She holds a Master’s Degree in Business from Nyenrode University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Marketing Management from Fontys University.
","desktop_body":"Ohpen expands into the international market, driving growth of cloud banking services in the UK.
\nDutch fintech and outsourcing company Ohpen expanded into the international market with their first overseas business in London. Angelique Schouten (38) takes the helm as UK CEO.
\n“The UK is still one of the biggest financial ecosystems in Europe, but it’s also one of the laggards in terms of digitalization,” says Schouten, describing the opportunity to accelerate fintech innovation in the UK market.
\nAppointing Schouten as UK CEO underscores Ohpen’s ambition to drive digital transformation for British financial companies. She and Ohpen’s founding team were once bankers themselves, which Ohpen Founder and CEO Chris Zadeh cites as the company’s competitive advantage. “We were in fintech before ‘fintech’ was even a word,” he explains.
\nThe founding team started at BinckBank where they built the second largest broker in Europe. Schouten worked at Aon and NN Group/ING, and then went on to manage one of the first robo-advisers in the Netherlands. Schouten’s appointment follows the company’s expansion in its home market servicing asset managers, banks and insurance companies who offer savings and/or investment accounts to retail customers. She will hold overall responsibility for Ohpen’s activities in the UK building the business and local team.
\nABOUT OHPEN
\nOhpen delivers premium BPO services and SaaS solutions to financial services providers through their core banking application. Founded in 2009 by a team of highly experienced professionals, Ohpen’s solutions support the savings and investment propositions of their clients.
Drawing on their expertise as former retail bankers, the founding team redesigned all processes and built the service from scratch resulting in a “bank-out-of-the-box” solution that is digital- and API-first.
ABOUT ANGELIQUE SCHOUTEN
\nAngelique Schouten (aschouten@ohpen.com | @SchoutenA) has over a decade of experience in retail banking, insurance, asset management, and fintech at companies such as Aon and ING / NN Group. She was responsible for running the first direct-to-consumer robo-advisor in the Netherlands at Ohpen before switching to the software division of the company. There, Angelique successfully led business development, sales, and marketing activities, most recently as Chief Marketing Officer. In 2016, she established Ohpen’s operations in the UK and was appointed to CEO of Ohpen UK. Angelique is a member of the Ohpen Board in the UK. She holds a Master’s Degree in Business from Nyenrode University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Marketing Management from Fontys University.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T17:04:32+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/6e3db58e-616e-4e4a-886f-4920fdd77043.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"24ac3423-489f-5192-b61e-ff4a576e0ff7","slug":"sns-bank-selects-ohpen-for-bpo-services","type":"default","title":"SNS BANK SELECTS OHPEN FOR BPO SERVICES","excerpt":"Ohpen will deliver BPO solution to support SNS Bank’s investment offeringOhpen (www.ohpen.com) has signed a long-term outsourcing agreeme...","body":"Ohpen will deliver BPO solution to support SNS Bank’s investment offering
\nOhpen (www.ohpen.com) has signed a long-term outsourcing agreement with SNS Bank N.V. Ohpen will deliver their BPO solutions to support the investment propositions of ASN Bank, BLG Wonen, RegioBank, and SNS. After the implementation phase, the services will start by the end of 2017. Ohpen will replace their current service provider.
\n“Signing the agreement with SNS Bank marks a milestone for our company,” said Ohpen CCO Matthijs Aler. “We are proud to be recognized as a quality solutions provider to support the investment solutions of SNS Bank.”
\nABOUT OHPEN
\nOhpen delivers premium BPO services and SaaS solutions to financial services providers through their core banking application. Founded in 2009 by a team of highly experienced professionals, Ohpen’s solutions support the savings and investment propositions of their clients.
","desktop_body":"Ohpen will deliver BPO solution to support SNS Bank’s investment offering
\nOhpen (www.ohpen.com) has signed a long-term outsourcing agreement with SNS Bank N.V. Ohpen will deliver their BPO solutions to support the investment propositions of ASN Bank, BLG Wonen, RegioBank, and SNS. After the implementation phase, the services will start by the end of 2017. Ohpen will replace their current service provider.
\n“Signing the agreement with SNS Bank marks a milestone for our company,” said Ohpen CCO Matthijs Aler. “We are proud to be recognized as a quality solutions provider to support the investment solutions of SNS Bank.”
\nABOUT OHPEN
\nOhpen delivers premium BPO services and SaaS solutions to financial services providers through their core banking application. Founded in 2009 by a team of highly experienced professionals, Ohpen’s solutions support the savings and investment propositions of their clients.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T17:05:06+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/917bea8e-a0cf-4e50-b694-ca640ea8979f.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"7bb78870-2bc6-5f7b-a448-2a595a134eda","slug":"asset-managers-go-head-to-head-with-distributors","type":"default","title":"ASSET MANAGERS GO HEAD TO HEAD WITH DISTRIBUTORS","excerpt":"Angelique Schouten, CEO Ohpen UK: “Firms should not fear having a multi-channel distribution approach.” Asset managers are increasingly w...","body":"Angelique Schouten, CEO Ohpen UK: “Firms should not fear having a multi-channel distribution approach.” Asset managers are increasingly willing to enter the direct-to-consumer sales market, ignoring the risk of upsetting distributors that also vie for investor attention.
\nTraditionally asset managers have steered clear of direct distribution efforts so as not to alienate their distribution partners, such as banks or independent financial advisers.
However, experts say this is changing as the relationship between distributors and asset managers comes under increasing strain.
Amin Rajan, chief executive officer of consultancy Create-Research, says distributors now wield “enormous power” over manufacturers and are increasingly asking for a larger slice of fund fees. Asset managers “feel they are not getting their fair share” and are therefore more open to the idea of expanding into the D2C market, says Mr Rajan.
\nIn addition, as some banks and adviser firms are now selling their own-branded funds, asset managers are questioning “how they are going to maintain their share of the value chain”, says Jeremy Fawcett, head of direct at Platforum.
\n“If you’re an asset manager and you’re completely beholden to your distributor, if it starts pushing its products instead of yours, it means there’s another layer of competition,” says Mr Fawcett. “This pushes asset managers further in the direction of direct distribution.”
Several asset managers have started building out their direct businesses by improving their digital capabilities, encouraged by changing investor habits.
Columbia Threadneedle is preparing to soft-launch a mobile app selling its own funds. Aberdeen Asset Management is also developing a mobile application that would allow users to buy its funds directly, Ignites Europe has learnt.
\nMeanwhile M&G is planning to launch an online service for “new and existing” clients who invest directly in its individual savings account products.
\nMonique van Wensem, head of retail marketing and sales at Robeco, which operates an online D2C business in the Netherlands, says fund houses venturing into this area for the first time are understandably more fearful than existing D2C players about cannibalising their existing distribution.
\nBut Robeco’s experience has shown that having a D2C business can support an asset manager’s wholesale business, she says.
\n“We think both segments can leverage on each other,” says Ms van Wensem. For example Robeco’s brand-building efforts in the D2C space help to boost its profile among fund selectors and retail distributors.
\nMulti-Channel
\nAngelique Schouten, CEO of platform technology provider Ohpen UK says firms should not fear having a multi-channel distribution approach.
\n“If you look at distributors or independent financial advisers, they are servicing a specific group of investors who want help or advice,” she says.
\n“But there are also clients who don’t want advice.”
\nMr Fawcett adds: “If you’re going to run a campaign overtly poaching your distributors’ customers, that’s clearly going to get you in trouble with your intermediated distribution. “But if you identify a specific client base for direct distribution and then address it in a way that is specific to that segment, it’s much more defensible.”
\nMs Schouten notes that it is “striking” that asset managers have not embraced multiple distribution channels when virtually “every other industry in the world” operates in this way.
\nOther experts say distributors have little to fear from asset managers going direct as this client segment is likely to remain a marginal part of their business.
\nMauro Baratta, joint CEO of research firm MackayWilliams, says: “The D2C market will have a limited appeal to the mass market in the short and medium term. “Distributors can still sleep easily.”
\nMr Baratta adds that he does not believe there will be a “rush of fund managers launching their own fund sale apps”.
\nOnly the large asset managers or ones with the support of a parent bank will be prepared to venture into an area that is expensive to finance but may not yield very much immediate business, he says.
\nAccording to Mr Baratta, for these firms the rationale for developing in the online D2C space is that it may bear fruit over the long term. Mr Baratta says: “Asset managers are always telling the end investor you’ve got to think long term. “Now they themselves have to think long term – by developing their digital distribution capabilities they may have an advantage over companies that join late.” Mr Rajan agrees that the D2C market may be a long-term rather than a short-term opportunity for asset managers.
\n“The potential is huge on a 10-year view – the early trailblazers will soon be joined by others,” says Mr Rajan.
\nArticle written by Siobhan Reading for Ignites Europe
\nCopyright 2017, Money-Media Inc. All rights reserved. Redistributed with permission. Unauthorized copying or redistribution prohibited by law.
","desktop_body":"Angelique Schouten, CEO Ohpen UK: “Firms should not fear having a multi-channel distribution approach.” Asset managers are increasingly willing to enter the direct-to-consumer sales market, ignoring the risk of upsetting distributors that also vie for investor attention.
\nTraditionally asset managers have steered clear of direct distribution efforts so as not to alienate their distribution partners, such as banks or independent financial advisers.
However, experts say this is changing as the relationship between distributors and asset managers comes under increasing strain.
Amin Rajan, chief executive officer of consultancy Create-Research, says distributors now wield “enormous power” over manufacturers and are increasingly asking for a larger slice of fund fees. Asset managers “feel they are not getting their fair share” and are therefore more open to the idea of expanding into the D2C market, says Mr Rajan.
\nIn addition, as some banks and adviser firms are now selling their own-branded funds, asset managers are questioning “how they are going to maintain their share of the value chain”, says Jeremy Fawcett, head of direct at Platforum.
\n“If you’re an asset manager and you’re completely beholden to your distributor, if it starts pushing its products instead of yours, it means there’s another layer of competition,” says Mr Fawcett. “This pushes asset managers further in the direction of direct distribution.”
Several asset managers have started building out their direct businesses by improving their digital capabilities, encouraged by changing investor habits.
Columbia Threadneedle is preparing to soft-launch a mobile app selling its own funds. Aberdeen Asset Management is also developing a mobile application that would allow users to buy its funds directly, Ignites Europe has learnt.
\nMeanwhile M&G is planning to launch an online service for “new and existing” clients who invest directly in its individual savings account products.
\nMonique van Wensem, head of retail marketing and sales at Robeco, which operates an online D2C business in the Netherlands, says fund houses venturing into this area for the first time are understandably more fearful than existing D2C players about cannibalising their existing distribution.
\nBut Robeco’s experience has shown that having a D2C business can support an asset manager’s wholesale business, she says.
\n“We think both segments can leverage on each other,” says Ms van Wensem. For example Robeco’s brand-building efforts in the D2C space help to boost its profile among fund selectors and retail distributors.
\nMulti-Channel
\nAngelique Schouten, CEO of platform technology provider Ohpen UK says firms should not fear having a multi-channel distribution approach.
\n“If you look at distributors or independent financial advisers, they are servicing a specific group of investors who want help or advice,” she says.
\n“But there are also clients who don’t want advice.”
\nMr Fawcett adds: “If you’re going to run a campaign overtly poaching your distributors’ customers, that’s clearly going to get you in trouble with your intermediated distribution. “But if you identify a specific client base for direct distribution and then address it in a way that is specific to that segment, it’s much more defensible.”
\nMs Schouten notes that it is “striking” that asset managers have not embraced multiple distribution channels when virtually “every other industry in the world” operates in this way.
\nOther experts say distributors have little to fear from asset managers going direct as this client segment is likely to remain a marginal part of their business.
\nMauro Baratta, joint CEO of research firm MackayWilliams, says: “The D2C market will have a limited appeal to the mass market in the short and medium term. “Distributors can still sleep easily.”
\nMr Baratta adds that he does not believe there will be a “rush of fund managers launching their own fund sale apps”.
\nOnly the large asset managers or ones with the support of a parent bank will be prepared to venture into an area that is expensive to finance but may not yield very much immediate business, he says.
\nAccording to Mr Baratta, for these firms the rationale for developing in the online D2C space is that it may bear fruit over the long term. Mr Baratta says: “Asset managers are always telling the end investor you’ve got to think long term. “Now they themselves have to think long term – by developing their digital distribution capabilities they may have an advantage over companies that join late.” Mr Rajan agrees that the D2C market may be a long-term rather than a short-term opportunity for asset managers.
\n“The potential is huge on a 10-year view – the early trailblazers will soon be joined by others,” says Mr Rajan.
\nArticle written by Siobhan Reading for Ignites Europe
\nCopyright 2017, Money-Media Inc. All rights reserved. Redistributed with permission. Unauthorized copying or redistribution prohibited by law.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T17:05:42+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/ddcb081d-4421-4ada-a7dc-52f87e3b3e8a.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"45fbaf55-8078-51d9-8d84-e967e55b3fe1","slug":"forbes-ohpen-an-all-cloud-banking-platform-is-growing","type":"default","title":"FORBES: OHPEN - AN ALL-CLOUD BANKING PLATFORM IS GROWING","excerpt":"“Change is coming to banking.”When Chris Zadeh started developing the Ohpen financial services platform in 2008, he opened an account wit...","body":"“Change is coming to banking.”
\nWhen Chris Zadeh started developing the Ohpen financial services platform in 2008, he opened an account with Amazon Web Services and said the company would never buy a computer for its platform. Banks were interested in the cloud concept, said Zadeh, but cautious as bankers are, they told him to come back when he had two customers.
\n“Then we got Robeco, a large international asset manager based in Rotterdam which invited proposals and got them from Temenos, Oracle, Misys and hosting companies like HP and IBM. We offered our Ohpen as Saas (Software as a Service), they chose us and we migrated 220,000 clients. It was the first bank in a cloud in the world.”
\nNext on board was Robein, a Dutch insurance company which is using using the Ohpen Platform as a master, giving it access to all modules such as the savings accounts, investments accounts, CRM, CMS, Payment, workflow manager and anti-money laundering (AML). With Ohpen, Robein introduced online investment and pension programs. It reduced its total costs by 80 percent and has added 2,000 new customers and 100 million euros in assets under management.
\nOhpen has recently signed an international client to roll out the platform across 10 countries, Zadeh added, and it has another bank operating with its platform.
\nUnlike traditional systems where the bank has to go back to the vendor for any modifications, the Ohpen system operates as one big API, he said.
\n“Any data you want to get out or put in — risk compliance, legal — you can do it yourself. All the information a user wants to have they can just plug into the API. That’s different from other systems where you always need your supplier to get something done.”
\nOhpen charges a fixed fee per account, so FIs know what their costs will be, and it guarantees 100 percent up-time and a maximum one second response time.
\n“The downside is we are less flexible than other companies,” said Zadeh. “We ask the banks to change their processes to our technology.” That way it runs a single instance of its software, minimizing support costs and complexity, avoiding the infamous spaghetti code that so many legacy systems have developed.
\nThe back end works the same for all the Ohpen clients, whether it’s a general ledger or performance measures or net interest calculations.
\n“We are saying you will not make a difference by buying back office, you make the difference on the front end. The good thing is that we have a system in the cloud, so you as a bank don’t have to worry; we will guarantee these back office processes work.”
\nOhpen connects to four AWS data centers, three in Ireland and one in Germany, and does real-time syncing between all four.
Bank software will move to the cloud, just as other business like Salesforce, Workday, and SuccessFactors have, Zadeh thinks.
“The only world where it hasn’t happened is retail finance.” Banking software companies say they are doing cloud, but they need to sell systems to make their numbers, so they limit their cloud sales to small clients.
\n“They have to sell on-premises licenses. If companies like us don’t grow bigger, they might continue to exist. Otherwise they will be the next Blockbuster or Kodak.” Companies that transition to the cloud usually take a hit to revenue for the first year or two and then recover as regular license renewals kick in.
\nOhpen writes its software in Microsoft .Net and uses MySQL as a database, all on AWS, of course.
\n“We are a Windows company,” said Zadeh. “All our servers are Windows.” He thinks that in five years banks won’t bother with Web sites; customers just want to know how much they have in their account and the performance of their investments.
\nWith AWS, those calculations are fast. One client took eight hours to calculate a portfolio, Ohpen cut it to 8 minutes and can now do it in .02 seconds by using AWS.
\n“That’s what unlimited computing power can do in banking.”
\nChange is coming to banking, although he admits to being puzzled that banking customers are so loyal to their existing bank.
\n“If you are a hotel and you have negative Trip Advisor review, your bookings could go down by 30 percent. But for some strange reason people are still very loyal to their bank But the moment that stops…”
\nArticle written by Tom Groenfeldt for Forbes.
","desktop_body":"“Change is coming to banking.”
\nWhen Chris Zadeh started developing the Ohpen financial services platform in 2008, he opened an account with Amazon Web Services and said the company would never buy a computer for its platform. Banks were interested in the cloud concept, said Zadeh, but cautious as bankers are, they told him to come back when he had two customers.
\n“Then we got Robeco, a large international asset manager based in Rotterdam which invited proposals and got them from Temenos, Oracle, Misys and hosting companies like HP and IBM. We offered our Ohpen as Saas (Software as a Service), they chose us and we migrated 220,000 clients. It was the first bank in a cloud in the world.”
\nNext on board was Robein, a Dutch insurance company which is using using the Ohpen Platform as a master, giving it access to all modules such as the savings accounts, investments accounts, CRM, CMS, Payment, workflow manager and anti-money laundering (AML). With Ohpen, Robein introduced online investment and pension programs. It reduced its total costs by 80 percent and has added 2,000 new customers and 100 million euros in assets under management.
\nOhpen has recently signed an international client to roll out the platform across 10 countries, Zadeh added, and it has another bank operating with its platform.
\nUnlike traditional systems where the bank has to go back to the vendor for any modifications, the Ohpen system operates as one big API, he said.
\n“Any data you want to get out or put in — risk compliance, legal — you can do it yourself. All the information a user wants to have they can just plug into the API. That’s different from other systems where you always need your supplier to get something done.”
\nOhpen charges a fixed fee per account, so FIs know what their costs will be, and it guarantees 100 percent up-time and a maximum one second response time.
\n“The downside is we are less flexible than other companies,” said Zadeh. “We ask the banks to change their processes to our technology.” That way it runs a single instance of its software, minimizing support costs and complexity, avoiding the infamous spaghetti code that so many legacy systems have developed.
\nThe back end works the same for all the Ohpen clients, whether it’s a general ledger or performance measures or net interest calculations.
\n“We are saying you will not make a difference by buying back office, you make the difference on the front end. The good thing is that we have a system in the cloud, so you as a bank don’t have to worry; we will guarantee these back office processes work.”
\nOhpen connects to four AWS data centers, three in Ireland and one in Germany, and does real-time syncing between all four.
Bank software will move to the cloud, just as other business like Salesforce, Workday, and SuccessFactors have, Zadeh thinks.
“The only world where it hasn’t happened is retail finance.” Banking software companies say they are doing cloud, but they need to sell systems to make their numbers, so they limit their cloud sales to small clients.
\n“They have to sell on-premises licenses. If companies like us don’t grow bigger, they might continue to exist. Otherwise they will be the next Blockbuster or Kodak.” Companies that transition to the cloud usually take a hit to revenue for the first year or two and then recover as regular license renewals kick in.
\nOhpen writes its software in Microsoft .Net and uses MySQL as a database, all on AWS, of course.
\n“We are a Windows company,” said Zadeh. “All our servers are Windows.” He thinks that in five years banks won’t bother with Web sites; customers just want to know how much they have in their account and the performance of their investments.
\nWith AWS, those calculations are fast. One client took eight hours to calculate a portfolio, Ohpen cut it to 8 minutes and can now do it in .02 seconds by using AWS.
\n“That’s what unlimited computing power can do in banking.”
\nChange is coming to banking, although he admits to being puzzled that banking customers are so loyal to their existing bank.
\n“If you are a hotel and you have negative Trip Advisor review, your bookings could go down by 30 percent. But for some strange reason people are still very loyal to their bank But the moment that stops…”
\nArticle written by Tom Groenfeldt for Forbes.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T17:07:33+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/4b3672cd-40d5-4ab4-9e04-81f2a7dfc9a8.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"376e81a3-ee67-59cd-957f-66fe252cdf71","slug":"dutch-technology-magazine-emerce-interviews-angelique-schouten-at-websummit-2015","type":"default","title":"DUTCH TECHNOLOGY MAGAZINE, EMERCE, INTERVIEWS ANGELIQUE SCHOUTEN AT WEBSUMMIT 2015","excerpt":"Cloud for financial services companiesWe’re here at the Dutch Embassy in Dublin for the Web Summit in 2015. I’m here with Angelique from ...","body":"Cloud for financial services companies
\nWe’re here at the Dutch Embassy in Dublin for the Web Summit in 2015. I’m here with Angelique from Ohpen. What is Ohpen?
Ohpen is the first software platform in the world that enables banking in the cloud. So, all of the banks and insurance companies that offer mutual fund- and savings accounts are able to fully operate in the cloud, and they can do that with us.
So that basically means that a bank will dismiss all existing COBOL, legacy systems within their company, and migrate towards an entire new system, right?
Yes, that’s correct. Basically they’re saying goodbye to, not only the old software they have been running, but also to the hardware that often costed millions of euros. And they are able to update and match their processes towards this century, making their company future-proof.
But that would mean a major project for those banks.
Yes, it’s huge. It’s basically like performing an open-heart surgery, because you’re aiming to transition all accounts, clients and data to an entire new system. So it’s not something you’re going to do every year.
I can imagine that banks are very hesitant to take a huge step like that.
The most important thing is that you decide which data you want to migrate, and that you run elaborate test runs in advance, making it absolutely certain that the transition will perfectly succeed.
Are there any Dutch banks, you don’t have to mention any names, which are now already running your software?
Yes, there are various Dutch financial institutions that currently are operating on our software.
We as consumers, we don’t notice this at all?
The only thing you’ll notice is that probably these applications will less likely endure failure malfunctions, therefore maintaining a very high uptime rate and basically always stay accessible. And no technical failures. So the only things you will notice are its benefits.
And what are we talking about in terms of cost savings, when you are completely transitioning towards a SaaS solution or a cloud solution in comparison to traditional systems?
When a financial institution chooses a SaaS solution, they are able to experience up to 80 to 90% of cost reductions. This reduction is not only achieved with the reduction of personnel but also hardware costs.
And looking at one of the big four major banks, what can you tell us about their annual IT-based spendings?
That’s a very good question. Looking at a large bank, you are talking about investments, solely based on hardware, with costs that are easily able to run up to 60 to 80 million euro.
And that’s only looking at hardware, and what about personnel costs?
Personnel costs? I once read a study indicating that 20% of financial institutions consists of IT personnel. Basically, you will not need them anymore, or you will only need a few, with an entirely different position and responsibilities.
You are a Dutch company that was founded in 2009, if I’m correct. Looking at your growth rate, what can you tell me in terms of percentages?
You can see that the length of a sale cycle length for a company like ours is pretty long: it takes approximately two years from making first contact to signing the contract. That’s why we are focusing on gaining one, or two new financial institutions per year, and we eventually want to double this amount. Plus, we want to plan an international rollout of our company. That is basically our next step.
Are you mainly doing business within the Netherlands?
Mainly in the Netherlands, and we’re currently looking towards the United Kingdom, France and Germany. Those countries are our key markets.
Are you also encountering other Europeans, or Americans?
No, fairly little. What we’re seeing is that most banking software providers are aiming at optimising their current platform, but not looking to fully operate in the cloud. So we do notice other players, but those players only offer traditional software which still demands local on-premises installation of their software.
Why not just throw in 150 million, and go all-in?
Painting the inside of a bus stop can only be done by a certain amount of people, so you want to have a strong foundation first. Our top priority is to extinguish legacy software, and prevent that we create it for ourselves, so we don’t want to make the same mistakes others made. That’s why the foundation has to be a hundred percent right. Nobody has ever created an international platform before, on which only one software version is being used worldwide. And that’s what we do.
What kind of challenges regarding growth are you facing as a company, what does your company need?
The thing we need the most is good personnel and great IT people, who really know and understand their profession. And sales people who have both a background in IT, as well as financial services, like in insurance or banking.
Everybody is talking about it, especially among the tech scene in the Netherlands: that finding good personnel, and especially developers, is hard. There are different ways to solve this. How are you solving this?
One: through a joint mission: we have one strong mission: reinventing banking software. And the best way to attract great IT personnel is by indicating a strong mission with a clear vision of where you want to go. That’s one. Secondly, we’ve made our office as comfortable as possible: we have a kickboxing ring, invite personal trainers and yoga instructors…, everything.
This sounds like a time before the bubble.
No. It’s eh, on top of.
And are you also looking for recruitment abroad? We’ve heard that there are different kind of strategies: from attracting European talent from Portugal, Spain, etcetera, to recruiting talent in countries far across the globe. What are you doing?
When talking about recruiting talent, we are now looking in the UK. It’s also depending on the location of our first international office, but we aim to keep our core developers in Amsterdam for now.
Cloud for financial services companies
\nWe’re here at the Dutch Embassy in Dublin for the Web Summit in 2015. I’m here with Angelique from Ohpen. What is Ohpen?
Ohpen is the first software platform in the world that enables banking in the cloud. So, all of the banks and insurance companies that offer mutual fund- and savings accounts are able to fully operate in the cloud, and they can do that with us.
So that basically means that a bank will dismiss all existing COBOL, legacy systems within their company, and migrate towards an entire new system, right?
Yes, that’s correct. Basically they’re saying goodbye to, not only the old software they have been running, but also to the hardware that often costed millions of euros. And they are able to update and match their processes towards this century, making their company future-proof.
But that would mean a major project for those banks.
Yes, it’s huge. It’s basically like performing an open-heart surgery, because you’re aiming to transition all accounts, clients and data to an entire new system. So it’s not something you’re going to do every year.
I can imagine that banks are very hesitant to take a huge step like that.
The most important thing is that you decide which data you want to migrate, and that you run elaborate test runs in advance, making it absolutely certain that the transition will perfectly succeed.
Are there any Dutch banks, you don’t have to mention any names, which are now already running your software?
Yes, there are various Dutch financial institutions that currently are operating on our software.
We as consumers, we don’t notice this at all?
The only thing you’ll notice is that probably these applications will less likely endure failure malfunctions, therefore maintaining a very high uptime rate and basically always stay accessible. And no technical failures. So the only things you will notice are its benefits.
And what are we talking about in terms of cost savings, when you are completely transitioning towards a SaaS solution or a cloud solution in comparison to traditional systems?
When a financial institution chooses a SaaS solution, they are able to experience up to 80 to 90% of cost reductions. This reduction is not only achieved with the reduction of personnel but also hardware costs.
And looking at one of the big four major banks, what can you tell us about their annual IT-based spendings?
That’s a very good question. Looking at a large bank, you are talking about investments, solely based on hardware, with costs that are easily able to run up to 60 to 80 million euro.
And that’s only looking at hardware, and what about personnel costs?
Personnel costs? I once read a study indicating that 20% of financial institutions consists of IT personnel. Basically, you will not need them anymore, or you will only need a few, with an entirely different position and responsibilities.
You are a Dutch company that was founded in 2009, if I’m correct. Looking at your growth rate, what can you tell me in terms of percentages?
You can see that the length of a sale cycle length for a company like ours is pretty long: it takes approximately two years from making first contact to signing the contract. That’s why we are focusing on gaining one, or two new financial institutions per year, and we eventually want to double this amount. Plus, we want to plan an international rollout of our company. That is basically our next step.
Are you mainly doing business within the Netherlands?
Mainly in the Netherlands, and we’re currently looking towards the United Kingdom, France and Germany. Those countries are our key markets.
Are you also encountering other Europeans, or Americans?
No, fairly little. What we’re seeing is that most banking software providers are aiming at optimising their current platform, but not looking to fully operate in the cloud. So we do notice other players, but those players only offer traditional software which still demands local on-premises installation of their software.
Why not just throw in 150 million, and go all-in?
Painting the inside of a bus stop can only be done by a certain amount of people, so you want to have a strong foundation first. Our top priority is to extinguish legacy software, and prevent that we create it for ourselves, so we don’t want to make the same mistakes others made. That’s why the foundation has to be a hundred percent right. Nobody has ever created an international platform before, on which only one software version is being used worldwide. And that’s what we do.
What kind of challenges regarding growth are you facing as a company, what does your company need?
The thing we need the most is good personnel and great IT people, who really know and understand their profession. And sales people who have both a background in IT, as well as financial services, like in insurance or banking.
Everybody is talking about it, especially among the tech scene in the Netherlands: that finding good personnel, and especially developers, is hard. There are different ways to solve this. How are you solving this?
One: through a joint mission: we have one strong mission: reinventing banking software. And the best way to attract great IT personnel is by indicating a strong mission with a clear vision of where you want to go. That’s one. Secondly, we’ve made our office as comfortable as possible: we have a kickboxing ring, invite personal trainers and yoga instructors…, everything.
This sounds like a time before the bubble.
No. It’s eh, on top of.
And are you also looking for recruitment abroad? We’ve heard that there are different kind of strategies: from attracting European talent from Portugal, Spain, etcetera, to recruiting talent in countries far across the globe. What are you doing?
When talking about recruiting talent, we are now looking in the UK. It’s also depending on the location of our first international office, but we aim to keep our core developers in Amsterdam for now.
Ohpen is organizing an event about “the need for speed: adapting your business for scalable growth in the financial services industry”
\nWhy you should attend
\nWho should attend
Business and Technical Leaders: Project Managers, Business Unit leaders, IT managers, IT Project Managers, Innovation Managers, Operations Managers.
Agenda
\nFeatured Speakers
\nKamini Aisloa, Regional Manager, Benelux, Amazon Web Services
\nChris Zadeh, CEO, Ohpen
\nKen van Ierlant, Senior Director Strategy & Digital Transformation, PWC
\nEvert Koning, Supervision of Operational Risk and Data Quality, Dutch Central Bank
\nOhpen to host financial services event in the Netherlands
\nAmsterdam, May 26, 2015 – Software Company Ohpen will organize an event focussed on the Financial Services Industry (FSI) in the Netherlands on the 9th of June 2015. The event will focus on, “the need for speed” within the FSI and will feature speakers from Amazon Web Services (AWS) speaking on how companies can adapt and change faster by using AWS cloud technologies, PwC discussing digital banking and lowering cost income ratio’s and the Dutch Central Bank talking about their regulatory perspective on cloud computing. Unique about the event is that the entire ecosystem in which a financial institution acts will be represented.
\nAngelique Schouten (Chief Marketing Officer Ohpen): “We experience a fast growing demand for cloud knowledge as Ohpen is responsible for launching the first financial services company in the cloud in Europe with all production data in the cloud. By organizing this event we offer a cross section of the experience of an entire FSI-ecosystem which is involved in the shift towards a digital cloud based financial industry.”
\nThis event took place at Woerden Castle in the heart of the Netherlands from 13.30 till 17.45 o’clock on June 9th 2015.
","desktop_body":"Ohpen is organizing an event about “the need for speed: adapting your business for scalable growth in the financial services industry”
\nWhy you should attend
\nWho should attend
Business and Technical Leaders: Project Managers, Business Unit leaders, IT managers, IT Project Managers, Innovation Managers, Operations Managers.
Agenda
\nFeatured Speakers
\nKamini Aisloa, Regional Manager, Benelux, Amazon Web Services
\nChris Zadeh, CEO, Ohpen
\nKen van Ierlant, Senior Director Strategy & Digital Transformation, PWC
\nEvert Koning, Supervision of Operational Risk and Data Quality, Dutch Central Bank
\nOhpen to host financial services event in the Netherlands
\nAmsterdam, May 26, 2015 – Software Company Ohpen will organize an event focussed on the Financial Services Industry (FSI) in the Netherlands on the 9th of June 2015. The event will focus on, “the need for speed” within the FSI and will feature speakers from Amazon Web Services (AWS) speaking on how companies can adapt and change faster by using AWS cloud technologies, PwC discussing digital banking and lowering cost income ratio’s and the Dutch Central Bank talking about their regulatory perspective on cloud computing. Unique about the event is that the entire ecosystem in which a financial institution acts will be represented.
\nAngelique Schouten (Chief Marketing Officer Ohpen): “We experience a fast growing demand for cloud knowledge as Ohpen is responsible for launching the first financial services company in the cloud in Europe with all production data in the cloud. By organizing this event we offer a cross section of the experience of an entire FSI-ecosystem which is involved in the shift towards a digital cloud based financial industry.”
\nThis event took place at Woerden Castle in the heart of the Netherlands from 13.30 till 17.45 o’clock on June 9th 2015.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T17:09:00+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/17f951ad-0539-492c-b766-ea5bc26b581c.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"0216ccfe-45d1-5ae5-a331-7788937da807","slug":"cloud-computing-and-regulation-in-banking-unclear-guidance-from-regulators-inhibits-adoption","type":"default","title":"CLOUD COMPUTING AND REGULATION IN BANKING: UNCLEAR GUIDANCE FROM REGULATORS INHIBITS ADOPTION","excerpt":"“The migration of many of banks’ data and processes to public and private cloud is set to transform the industry in a few years.”Abstract...","body":"“The migration of many of banks’ data and processes to public and private cloud is set to transform the industry in a few years.”
\nAbstract
\nThis IDC Financial Insights Perspective believes the outlook for cloud computing in the banking industry is positive, and the migration of many of banks’ data and processes to public and private clouds is set to transform the industry in a few years. As a relatively new phenomenon, there is still plenty of low-hanging fruit for banks to move to the cloud in terms of non-core activities.
\nHowever, an uncertain regulatory picture still looks likely to hinder the uptake of cloud for banks’ most critical lines of business (LOBs). The relevant section of MiFID, which is included in national rulebooks such as the U.K. regulators’ Senior Management Arrangements, Systems and Controls (SYSC) handbook, has the following to say about “critical or important” operational functions:
\n“… the investment firm, its auditors and the relevant competent authorities must have effective access to data related to the outsourced activities, as well as to the business premises of the service provider; and the competent authorities must be able to exercise those rights of access.”
\nIt felt that this directive, which was written before 2004 and came into force in 2007, required interpretation because a literal reading would necessitate that data be stored in a particular place, undermining the existence of a cloud.
\nIn a traditional outsourcing environment, there could well be a physical cage around the servers of a particular company, with those servers also labeled. This means that the customer in question and the regulators could carry out a physical audit. The issue is not as clear-cut in a cloud environment.
\nAn alternative interpretation of MiFID is that digital, rather than physical access to data, would be sufficient, meaning that the financial institution would not need to be able to specify where exactly the data was being held at any given moment. However, the position of regulators across Europe so far is that access to data must be physical.
\nThe regulator that has been the most responsive to the subject of cloud computing is De Nederlandsche Bank (the Dutch Central Bank), partly in response to the fact that new supplier Ohpen came to market a few years ago with a cloud-based core banking solution hosted by Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Ireland. This meant that Ohpen was able to guarantee the location of the data, the data would not leave the EU, and more importantly the Dutch Central Bank would have the right and ability to audit. When Ohpen proposed its solution to a new client, a large asset manager, the different parties — the Dutch Central Bank, the client, Ohpen, and AWS — started negotiations to see how the regulators could be satisfied. It is understood that these negotiations were initiated by Ohpen.
\nThe Central Bank was determined it needed access to all parties in the chain and the right to audit and examine data with no limitations. In practice, this meant the right to visit the datacenter. In this case, AWS had its own security concerns and required that the Central Bank could only send certified individuals and give a certain number of hours of warning before a visit. This would allow the cloud provider to prepare resources for the visit in advance. Once this was agreed, AWS announced that it had been cleared by use as a cloud provider by the Dutch Central Bank in 2013. The Dutch Central Bank in turn made announcements to the same effect for other cloud providers including Microsoft and Salesforce.com.
\nThe understanding is that for other Dutch banks moving to Amazon’s cloud in Ireland, the negotiations will not have to happen again as long as a risk assessment is executed and the contracts contain the clauses that ensure the regulator’s rights of access and auditability. Since the agreement in 2013, the regulator is not thought to have actually visited Amazon’s datacenter in Ireland. Ohpen has since signed a second customer for its cloud-based core offering, which will go live soon.
\nThis paper was written by Lawrence Freeborn for IDC. Please click here for the complete paper and article.
\nAbout IDC
\nInternational Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications and consumer technology markets. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community make fact-based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy. More than 1,100 IDC analysts provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries worldwide. For 50 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help our clients achieve their key business objectives. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world’s leading technology media, research, and events company.
\nAbout the Author
\nLawrence Freeborn is senior research analyst at IDC Financial Insights, where he covers the technological landscape of the European banking industry with a particular focus on technology and its impact, as well as emerging trends and technologies in the financial services sector. Freeborn is an experienced journalist in all areas of banking technology with specialization in core banking replacement and renovation, payment systems, branch automation, and channel strategies.
","desktop_body":"“The migration of many of banks’ data and processes to public and private cloud is set to transform the industry in a few years.”
\nAbstract
\nThis IDC Financial Insights Perspective believes the outlook for cloud computing in the banking industry is positive, and the migration of many of banks’ data and processes to public and private clouds is set to transform the industry in a few years. As a relatively new phenomenon, there is still plenty of low-hanging fruit for banks to move to the cloud in terms of non-core activities.
\nHowever, an uncertain regulatory picture still looks likely to hinder the uptake of cloud for banks’ most critical lines of business (LOBs). The relevant section of MiFID, which is included in national rulebooks such as the U.K. regulators’ Senior Management Arrangements, Systems and Controls (SYSC) handbook, has the following to say about “critical or important” operational functions:
\n“… the investment firm, its auditors and the relevant competent authorities must have effective access to data related to the outsourced activities, as well as to the business premises of the service provider; and the competent authorities must be able to exercise those rights of access.”
\nIt felt that this directive, which was written before 2004 and came into force in 2007, required interpretation because a literal reading would necessitate that data be stored in a particular place, undermining the existence of a cloud.
\nIn a traditional outsourcing environment, there could well be a physical cage around the servers of a particular company, with those servers also labeled. This means that the customer in question and the regulators could carry out a physical audit. The issue is not as clear-cut in a cloud environment.
\nAn alternative interpretation of MiFID is that digital, rather than physical access to data, would be sufficient, meaning that the financial institution would not need to be able to specify where exactly the data was being held at any given moment. However, the position of regulators across Europe so far is that access to data must be physical.
\nThe regulator that has been the most responsive to the subject of cloud computing is De Nederlandsche Bank (the Dutch Central Bank), partly in response to the fact that new supplier Ohpen came to market a few years ago with a cloud-based core banking solution hosted by Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Ireland. This meant that Ohpen was able to guarantee the location of the data, the data would not leave the EU, and more importantly the Dutch Central Bank would have the right and ability to audit. When Ohpen proposed its solution to a new client, a large asset manager, the different parties — the Dutch Central Bank, the client, Ohpen, and AWS — started negotiations to see how the regulators could be satisfied. It is understood that these negotiations were initiated by Ohpen.
\nThe Central Bank was determined it needed access to all parties in the chain and the right to audit and examine data with no limitations. In practice, this meant the right to visit the datacenter. In this case, AWS had its own security concerns and required that the Central Bank could only send certified individuals and give a certain number of hours of warning before a visit. This would allow the cloud provider to prepare resources for the visit in advance. Once this was agreed, AWS announced that it had been cleared by use as a cloud provider by the Dutch Central Bank in 2013. The Dutch Central Bank in turn made announcements to the same effect for other cloud providers including Microsoft and Salesforce.com.
\nThe understanding is that for other Dutch banks moving to Amazon’s cloud in Ireland, the negotiations will not have to happen again as long as a risk assessment is executed and the contracts contain the clauses that ensure the regulator’s rights of access and auditability. Since the agreement in 2013, the regulator is not thought to have actually visited Amazon’s datacenter in Ireland. Ohpen has since signed a second customer for its cloud-based core offering, which will go live soon.
\nThis paper was written by Lawrence Freeborn for IDC. Please click here for the complete paper and article.
\nAbout IDC
\nInternational Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications and consumer technology markets. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community make fact-based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy. More than 1,100 IDC analysts provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries worldwide. For 50 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help our clients achieve their key business objectives. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world’s leading technology media, research, and events company.
\nAbout the Author
\nLawrence Freeborn is senior research analyst at IDC Financial Insights, where he covers the technological landscape of the European banking industry with a particular focus on technology and its impact, as well as emerging trends and technologies in the financial services sector. Freeborn is an experienced journalist in all areas of banking technology with specialization in core banking replacement and renovation, payment systems, branch automation, and channel strategies.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T17:09:32+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/a3f0a8f1-046f-4be2-930f-b725013dec71.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"60aeddd2-c22f-5013-b1bb-917a0b8ab010","slug":"some-banks-are-heading-to-the-cloud-more-are-planning-to","type":"default","title":"SOME BANKS ARE HEADING TO THE CLOUD – MORE ARE PLANNING TO","excerpt":"“Adopting a cloud model provides bank with a secure and scalable platform while offering greater flexibility and performance.”The differe...","body":"“Adopting a cloud model provides bank with a secure and scalable platform while offering greater flexibility and performance.”
\nThe different demands enable banks to choose from several types of cloud applications such as private clouds, for the more sensitive data, and public clouds to store other information. More frequently, banks are going with a hybrid model that combines the two, Aité Group analyst David Albertazzi said.
\n“I think the new solutions are much better in terms of technology … and therefore they are being viewed as less risky,” he said.
\nThe Aité Group found that 50 percent of those surveyed responded that they were likely or highly likely to use private clouds in the next 24 months.
\nCloud certainly has risen to top of mind. In July 2013, PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP reported that 71 percent of financial services respondents said they would invest more in cloud-based technologies this year compared with only 18 percent the year before.
\nIn the U.S., cloud computing for banking tends to lag, unless you count service bureaus like FIS, Fiserv FISV -0,36% and Jack Henry as cloud providers. While they do provide remote processing they don’t offer the dynamic reconfiguration of cloud service providers which can allocate computer resources by the hour for applications, testing and development.
\nEuropean cloud banking got a boost last summer when De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) the Netherlands’ national banking regulator, cleared Amazon Web Services for a range of banking services including websites, mobile applications, retail banking platforms, high performance computing and credit risk analysis. Amazon Web Services (AWS) has scooped up significant business from financial services firms which have been early adopters of cloud.
\nRobeco Direct N.V., a Dutch bank offering saving products, investment funds, mortgages and other services currently manages over €8 billion in assets. It recently moved its entire retail banking platform to the cloud. To reduce complexity and costs while improving agility, the bank selected a banking platform from Ohpen, a banking technology provider based in Amsterdam.
\nThe sixth largest bank in Spain, Bankinter, uses the Amazon cloud to run credit risk simulations in 20 minutes, down from 23 hours before. A major American investment firm uses AWS to run credit risk simulations for its long-term debt and equity-backed securities in its London branch. By using AWS it can scale up vast amounts of technology infrastructure on demand and pay only for what it uses. Having such vast compute capacity available on demand is extremely important in the capital markets industry where milliseconds can mean millions of difference in profit, the company has said.
\nAn English wealth management group decided to build all of its new systems on AWS. New functionality included data warehousing and an electronic business processing system to replace a paper-based application system. It has now started to move legacy systems to the cloud which can accommodate its fast growth — nearly 50 percent year on year.
\nAustralia has also been a strong market for AWS. Suncorp Bank Australia placed an emphasis on innovation and launched a working virtual private cloud and virtual data center in under three months with plans to move 2,000 applications to the AWS Cloud along with large parts of their core banking. Commonwealth Bank of Australia said moving storage to the cloud cut costs in half while it achieved similar savings in app testing and development. Expanding technology has also become easier and cheaper; while before it took the bank eight weeks and several thousand dollars to stand up a new server, now it takes eight minutes and 25 cents to do the same thing in the cloud, making the bank much more responsive to changing customer demands.
\nIn Africa, Zitouna Bank in Tunisia has selected IBM’s cloud capabilities to host its Temenos banking platform. IBM said the project will support Zitouna Bank’s objectives to open up to 18 new branches per year and roll out of new mobile and Internet banking services.
\n“Benefits are expected to be reduced waiting times for customers, a greater choice of banking channels and services, and extending services to the nation’s unbanked and underbanked citizens.”
\nAdopting a cloud model will provide the bank with a platform that is secure, scalable and can handle mission-critical workloads while offering greater flexibility and performance, the company said.
\nWritten by Tom Groenfeldt and previously published on Forbes.com
","desktop_body":"“Adopting a cloud model provides bank with a secure and scalable platform while offering greater flexibility and performance.”
\nThe different demands enable banks to choose from several types of cloud applications such as private clouds, for the more sensitive data, and public clouds to store other information. More frequently, banks are going with a hybrid model that combines the two, Aité Group analyst David Albertazzi said.
\n“I think the new solutions are much better in terms of technology … and therefore they are being viewed as less risky,” he said.
\nThe Aité Group found that 50 percent of those surveyed responded that they were likely or highly likely to use private clouds in the next 24 months.
\nCloud certainly has risen to top of mind. In July 2013, PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP reported that 71 percent of financial services respondents said they would invest more in cloud-based technologies this year compared with only 18 percent the year before.
\nIn the U.S., cloud computing for banking tends to lag, unless you count service bureaus like FIS, Fiserv FISV -0,36% and Jack Henry as cloud providers. While they do provide remote processing they don’t offer the dynamic reconfiguration of cloud service providers which can allocate computer resources by the hour for applications, testing and development.
\nEuropean cloud banking got a boost last summer when De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) the Netherlands’ national banking regulator, cleared Amazon Web Services for a range of banking services including websites, mobile applications, retail banking platforms, high performance computing and credit risk analysis. Amazon Web Services (AWS) has scooped up significant business from financial services firms which have been early adopters of cloud.
\nRobeco Direct N.V., a Dutch bank offering saving products, investment funds, mortgages and other services currently manages over €8 billion in assets. It recently moved its entire retail banking platform to the cloud. To reduce complexity and costs while improving agility, the bank selected a banking platform from Ohpen, a banking technology provider based in Amsterdam.
\nThe sixth largest bank in Spain, Bankinter, uses the Amazon cloud to run credit risk simulations in 20 minutes, down from 23 hours before. A major American investment firm uses AWS to run credit risk simulations for its long-term debt and equity-backed securities in its London branch. By using AWS it can scale up vast amounts of technology infrastructure on demand and pay only for what it uses. Having such vast compute capacity available on demand is extremely important in the capital markets industry where milliseconds can mean millions of difference in profit, the company has said.
\nAn English wealth management group decided to build all of its new systems on AWS. New functionality included data warehousing and an electronic business processing system to replace a paper-based application system. It has now started to move legacy systems to the cloud which can accommodate its fast growth — nearly 50 percent year on year.
\nAustralia has also been a strong market for AWS. Suncorp Bank Australia placed an emphasis on innovation and launched a working virtual private cloud and virtual data center in under three months with plans to move 2,000 applications to the AWS Cloud along with large parts of their core banking. Commonwealth Bank of Australia said moving storage to the cloud cut costs in half while it achieved similar savings in app testing and development. Expanding technology has also become easier and cheaper; while before it took the bank eight weeks and several thousand dollars to stand up a new server, now it takes eight minutes and 25 cents to do the same thing in the cloud, making the bank much more responsive to changing customer demands.
\nIn Africa, Zitouna Bank in Tunisia has selected IBM’s cloud capabilities to host its Temenos banking platform. IBM said the project will support Zitouna Bank’s objectives to open up to 18 new branches per year and roll out of new mobile and Internet banking services.
\n“Benefits are expected to be reduced waiting times for customers, a greater choice of banking channels and services, and extending services to the nation’s unbanked and underbanked citizens.”
\nAdopting a cloud model will provide the bank with a platform that is secure, scalable and can handle mission-critical workloads while offering greater flexibility and performance, the company said.
\nWritten by Tom Groenfeldt and previously published on Forbes.com
","created_on":"2020-11-24T17:10:08+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/7503ca7a-f978-44c3-a44f-6fcfee8a56ce.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"d4c1caef-6de6-5223-a6ba-5bce76b303ee","slug":"ohpen-sets-sight-on-uk","type":"default","title":"OHPEN SETS SIGHT ON UK","excerpt":"“Ohpen looking to move into the UK Asset Management market.”Dutch banking software vendor, Ohpen, is looking to move into the UK asset ma...","body":"“Ohpen looking to move into the UK Asset Management market.”
\nDutch banking software vendor, Ohpen, is looking to move into the UK asset management market, building off the back of the first live site for its new core banking system. This was Rotterdam-based Robeco, an international asset manager with around €198 billion in assets under management (IBS, October 2013, Case study Robeco).
\nAccording to Angelique Schouten, director of business development at Ohpen, the vendor intends to take its core solution to the UK because ‘at the moment there isn’t a core banking platform in that sector that offers high standards of straight-through processing (STP) and online services to end customers.’
\nOhpen is now preparing its business processes and the system for the UK market place, ahead of the launch anticipated for the end of this year. The Microsoft.Net-based solution, also called Ohpen, is supplied on a Software-as-a-Service basis and spans savings and investment accounts for mutual funds.
\nThe main adjustments required to the system include adding individual savings account capabilities, as well as specific customer onboarding and re-registration functionality, as the UK has different legislation to the Netherlands, she says. ‘This means we have to make the Ohpen platform modular so that it is applicable to all countries and we will only have to fine-tune the different criteria for each region.’
\nSchouten describes the asset management industry in the UK as ‘low hanging fruit’ because asset managers ‘tend to have the biggest problems but are a long way behind compared to banks’. She says: ‘If a customer wants to place an investment order, they have to fill in a form, sign it and either fax it across or send it via post. Asset managers do not have automated processes, but rather carry everything out by hand.’
\nThe vendor claims to be talking to ‘quite a few’ potential customers in the UK. Schouten believes other promising markets for Ohpen include France, Germany and the Netherlands.
\nThe company was founded in 2009 and it set about building a new core system from scratch with entirely new code, modern technology and principles. Ohpen now has 60+ staff, the bulk of which originate from BinckBank, the independent Dutch online broker.
\nArticle written by IBS Intelligence.
","desktop_body":"“Ohpen looking to move into the UK Asset Management market.”
\nDutch banking software vendor, Ohpen, is looking to move into the UK asset management market, building off the back of the first live site for its new core banking system. This was Rotterdam-based Robeco, an international asset manager with around €198 billion in assets under management (IBS, October 2013, Case study Robeco).
\nAccording to Angelique Schouten, director of business development at Ohpen, the vendor intends to take its core solution to the UK because ‘at the moment there isn’t a core banking platform in that sector that offers high standards of straight-through processing (STP) and online services to end customers.’
\nOhpen is now preparing its business processes and the system for the UK market place, ahead of the launch anticipated for the end of this year. The Microsoft.Net-based solution, also called Ohpen, is supplied on a Software-as-a-Service basis and spans savings and investment accounts for mutual funds.
\nThe main adjustments required to the system include adding individual savings account capabilities, as well as specific customer onboarding and re-registration functionality, as the UK has different legislation to the Netherlands, she says. ‘This means we have to make the Ohpen platform modular so that it is applicable to all countries and we will only have to fine-tune the different criteria for each region.’
\nSchouten describes the asset management industry in the UK as ‘low hanging fruit’ because asset managers ‘tend to have the biggest problems but are a long way behind compared to banks’. She says: ‘If a customer wants to place an investment order, they have to fill in a form, sign it and either fax it across or send it via post. Asset managers do not have automated processes, but rather carry everything out by hand.’
\nThe vendor claims to be talking to ‘quite a few’ potential customers in the UK. Schouten believes other promising markets for Ohpen include France, Germany and the Netherlands.
\nThe company was founded in 2009 and it set about building a new core system from scratch with entirely new code, modern technology and principles. Ohpen now has 60+ staff, the bulk of which originate from BinckBank, the independent Dutch online broker.
\nArticle written by IBS Intelligence.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T17:11:01+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/70a7f779-c039-47a6-92f8-9725d2259f9f.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"a2d891cd-c499-517a-a18c-55cfb7473e44","slug":"ohpens-international-breakthrough","type":"default","title":"OHPEN'S INTERNATIONAL BREAKTHROUGH","excerpt":"“Ohpen functions on a state of the art cloud system. From the front – the website – till the back.”In 2012 Chris Zadeh and Michel Vrolijk...","body":"“Ohpen functions on a state of the art cloud system. From the front – the website – till the back.”
\nIn 2012 Chris Zadeh and Michel Vrolijk stormed the Sprout Challenger 50 with Ohpen, tearing the asset management market wide open with a smart, lean and customer friendly online alternative. After three years Michel Vrolijk took a step back, leaving Chris Zadeh in charge of the daily management of the company.
\nOhpen is not a corporation yet, but a true start-up in heart and soul. The basement of Ohpen’s monumental building smells of sweat, there is a kick-boxing ring that’s being used on a daily basis, the office lights stay regularly on at night and its 35-strong team consists mainly of technicians. Indeed, challenger Ohpen has beaten a small gap in the asset management market, with currently managing 90 million euros and holding 2.500 accounts in 9 investment funds. Everything at Ohpen is being done transparently: Ohpen offers clients options of 9 straight-forward index funds that follow various indexes.
\nOhpen remains a price fighter. Their already sharp standard-fee of one percent of assets under management is reduced to a half percent, including a half percent when clients want to switch between funds. Existing clients are continuing to deposit money, resulting in the steady growth of Ohpen. The company collected even more knowledge and insight of insurance and pensions, through the acquisition of insurance company Robein. Bringing over 800 million in assets under management and a 25.000 customer base.
\nConservative industry
\nSo far a good story. But the company of Zadeh and his team really becomes sexy at its back-end. Ohpen functions on a state of the art cloud system. From the front – the website – till the back, all transactions processing, customer information processing and all data associated with banking processing; Ohpen developed everything themselves through their so-called core-banking platform. And that’s exactly the product responsible for the breakthrough of the challenger.
\n“We went to the market to prove that our system works. The banking world is a conservative world. As it should, due to its regulatory risks and rules. Therefore, it would never just enter a new platform. But since 2008, we have built everything with the sole purpose to offer it as a cloud service to third parties” says Aler. Ohpen focuses its cloud banking platform primarily on fund managers and investors, who wish to outsource the back-end of their transactions. The pension market also has plenty of opportunities to provide newcomers of the plug-and-play system, offering new services and products. That’s the strategic purpose of the Robein acquisition: moving into the market and gaining experience and recognition to acquire more customers for the platform.
\nLong standing multi-million deals
\nThe Ohpen platform seems successful and really takes off regarding to Ohpen’s B2B-site of Ohpen.com. Since 2012 Robeco has become a client. The investment engineers of Rotterdam are quite large, but took little convincing towards the benefits of the Ohpen Platform.
\nWhen a small software development company acquires partners of these sizes, it attracts attention. But since spring, Ohpen is ready to attract more clients to their platform. Considering the fact that banking is all about trust and discretion, Ohpen will not share any names of Dutch and British parties with whom contracts are almost signed. “But assume that these are aren’t small-sized firms, and that this will concern thousands of customers who will invest through our system.” Schouten: “This way we want to connect two major parties from the banking- and insurance world, also in other European countries. This will concern managing the administration for hundreds-and-thousands of customers and multi-million deals of long standing.
\nSweet spot in the market
\nUnderstandably, the acquiring new customers for its own shop does not have the top priority. “You won’t see us every time on television, like some of our competitors.” Aler smiles. “With our platform we have marked a sweet spot in the market: American and British fund managers such as Fidelity, but also European banks such as ING and Deutsche Bank, wish to offer their investment funds through their banks, but also directly to their customers. Because of this development in the market, our focus is aimed at cloud banking.”
\nWith the breakthrough as cloud banker, Ohpen attracts attention on a global level. Amazon, the king of Cloud Computing, partnered up with Ohpen with great enthusiasm. That’s not because Amazon’s CTO Werner Vogels just happen to speak the language of the people of Amsterdam. After the banking world started to hand their IT-outsourcing contracts to the likes of IBM, HP’s and other firms of their nature, the time has come where bankers are ready for the cloud. Schouten: “This is the story we are actually to tell just now. I just received a request from Technology Industry Analyst Gartner if Ohpen may be included into their reports.”
\nThe final breakthrough that supports Chris Zadeh and their team in their journey was announced in July by the Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). Amazon’s Cloud Web Service has been approved for usage in Dutch banks, approving storage and management of all levels of data on the AWS cloud. Schouten: “Of course our name isn’t mentioned, but it’s still a great accomplishment that we, together with Amazon, have achieved.”
\nArticle written by Philip Bueters, originally published in Dutch, for Sprout.
","desktop_body":"“Ohpen functions on a state of the art cloud system. From the front – the website – till the back.”
\nIn 2012 Chris Zadeh and Michel Vrolijk stormed the Sprout Challenger 50 with Ohpen, tearing the asset management market wide open with a smart, lean and customer friendly online alternative. After three years Michel Vrolijk took a step back, leaving Chris Zadeh in charge of the daily management of the company.
\nOhpen is not a corporation yet, but a true start-up in heart and soul. The basement of Ohpen’s monumental building smells of sweat, there is a kick-boxing ring that’s being used on a daily basis, the office lights stay regularly on at night and its 35-strong team consists mainly of technicians. Indeed, challenger Ohpen has beaten a small gap in the asset management market, with currently managing 90 million euros and holding 2.500 accounts in 9 investment funds. Everything at Ohpen is being done transparently: Ohpen offers clients options of 9 straight-forward index funds that follow various indexes.
\nOhpen remains a price fighter. Their already sharp standard-fee of one percent of assets under management is reduced to a half percent, including a half percent when clients want to switch between funds. Existing clients are continuing to deposit money, resulting in the steady growth of Ohpen. The company collected even more knowledge and insight of insurance and pensions, through the acquisition of insurance company Robein. Bringing over 800 million in assets under management and a 25.000 customer base.
\nConservative industry
\nSo far a good story. But the company of Zadeh and his team really becomes sexy at its back-end. Ohpen functions on a state of the art cloud system. From the front – the website – till the back, all transactions processing, customer information processing and all data associated with banking processing; Ohpen developed everything themselves through their so-called core-banking platform. And that’s exactly the product responsible for the breakthrough of the challenger.
\n“We went to the market to prove that our system works. The banking world is a conservative world. As it should, due to its regulatory risks and rules. Therefore, it would never just enter a new platform. But since 2008, we have built everything with the sole purpose to offer it as a cloud service to third parties” says Aler. Ohpen focuses its cloud banking platform primarily on fund managers and investors, who wish to outsource the back-end of their transactions. The pension market also has plenty of opportunities to provide newcomers of the plug-and-play system, offering new services and products. That’s the strategic purpose of the Robein acquisition: moving into the market and gaining experience and recognition to acquire more customers for the platform.
\nLong standing multi-million deals
\nThe Ohpen platform seems successful and really takes off regarding to Ohpen’s B2B-site of Ohpen.com. Since 2012 Robeco has become a client. The investment engineers of Rotterdam are quite large, but took little convincing towards the benefits of the Ohpen Platform.
\nWhen a small software development company acquires partners of these sizes, it attracts attention. But since spring, Ohpen is ready to attract more clients to their platform. Considering the fact that banking is all about trust and discretion, Ohpen will not share any names of Dutch and British parties with whom contracts are almost signed. “But assume that these are aren’t small-sized firms, and that this will concern thousands of customers who will invest through our system.” Schouten: “This way we want to connect two major parties from the banking- and insurance world, also in other European countries. This will concern managing the administration for hundreds-and-thousands of customers and multi-million deals of long standing.
\nSweet spot in the market
\nUnderstandably, the acquiring new customers for its own shop does not have the top priority. “You won’t see us every time on television, like some of our competitors.” Aler smiles. “With our platform we have marked a sweet spot in the market: American and British fund managers such as Fidelity, but also European banks such as ING and Deutsche Bank, wish to offer their investment funds through their banks, but also directly to their customers. Because of this development in the market, our focus is aimed at cloud banking.”
\nWith the breakthrough as cloud banker, Ohpen attracts attention on a global level. Amazon, the king of Cloud Computing, partnered up with Ohpen with great enthusiasm. That’s not because Amazon’s CTO Werner Vogels just happen to speak the language of the people of Amsterdam. After the banking world started to hand their IT-outsourcing contracts to the likes of IBM, HP’s and other firms of their nature, the time has come where bankers are ready for the cloud. Schouten: “This is the story we are actually to tell just now. I just received a request from Technology Industry Analyst Gartner if Ohpen may be included into their reports.”
\nThe final breakthrough that supports Chris Zadeh and their team in their journey was announced in July by the Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). Amazon’s Cloud Web Service has been approved for usage in Dutch banks, approving storage and management of all levels of data on the AWS cloud. Schouten: “Of course our name isn’t mentioned, but it’s still a great accomplishment that we, together with Amazon, have achieved.”
\nArticle written by Philip Bueters, originally published in Dutch, for Sprout.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T17:11:49+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/329404c9-8f1f-433b-af66-2f8fe435a146.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"4c301741-ecec-5752-8236-1501e86c9adf","slug":"dutch-banking-regulator-approves-use-of-aws-public-cloud-in-the-financial-sector","type":"default","title":"DUTCH BANKING REGULATOR APPROVES USE OF AWS PUBLIC CLOUD IN THE FINANCIAL SECTOR","excerpt":"Large Dutch banks are now moving their entire retail banking platforms to the cloud using Ohpen’s core banking technology on top of AWS.”...","body":"Large Dutch banks are now moving their entire retail banking platforms to the cloud using Ohpen’s core banking technology on top of AWS.”
\nThe Netherlands banking regulator, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), approved the use of Amazon Web Services (AWS) in “all facets of Dutch financial operations” after firms sought the clearance of the country’s banking regulator to take advantage of all the benefits of cloud computing. The approval also includes the storage and management of all levels of data on the AWS cloud, as well as the use of third-party technologies that run on top of it. Every Dutch financial institute is required to follow guidelines outlined by its central bank when choosing banking technology platforms.
\nOne of the guidelines requires that the DNB can oversee and confirm that the IT infrastructures used by financial firms are compliant with its regulations. The banking watchdog confirmed that use of Amazon’s IaaS cloud meets this requirement. But it has said that the financial institutions must still meet other requirements, such as carrying out standard risk analysis for their use of IaaS cloud services.
\n“Choosing AWS public cloud services gives banks an IT infrastructure that has better performance than they have had in the past and, because this initiative has the approval of the DNB, they can take advantage of the security and reliability of AWS while ensuring they comply with all outsourcing legislation,” said Chris Zadeh, chief executive of Dutch banking technology firm Ohpen.
\nAs a Dutch company specialising in core banking technology for the financial sector, Ohpen has adopted the AWS cloud to run its software as a service (SaaS) platform, bank-out-of-the-box.
\n“Large Dutch banks are now moving their entire retail banking platforms to the cloud using Ohpen’s core banking technology running on top of AWS,” he said.
\nAccording to Amazon, the approval allows Dutch financial institutions to join other financial organisations, such as Bankinter in Spain, Unicredit in Italy and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, to benefit from the flexibility and cost savings of public cloud services.
\n“This announcement comes at a time when cloud computing is starting to transform the financial services sector,” said Steve Midgley, head of Europe for AWS. “This adds to other initiatives, such as the Nasdaq FinQloud, that are specifically designed to help financial services businesses to innovate, with faster time to market and reduced capital expenditure on technology resources.
\n“Due to the DNB’s efforts, Dutch financial organisations can now enjoy the benefits of cloud computing, thus creating efficiency in the sector,” added Midgley.
\nArticle written by Archana Venkatraman for Computer Weekly.
","desktop_body":"Large Dutch banks are now moving their entire retail banking platforms to the cloud using Ohpen’s core banking technology on top of AWS.”
\nThe Netherlands banking regulator, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), approved the use of Amazon Web Services (AWS) in “all facets of Dutch financial operations” after firms sought the clearance of the country’s banking regulator to take advantage of all the benefits of cloud computing. The approval also includes the storage and management of all levels of data on the AWS cloud, as well as the use of third-party technologies that run on top of it. Every Dutch financial institute is required to follow guidelines outlined by its central bank when choosing banking technology platforms.
\nOne of the guidelines requires that the DNB can oversee and confirm that the IT infrastructures used by financial firms are compliant with its regulations. The banking watchdog confirmed that use of Amazon’s IaaS cloud meets this requirement. But it has said that the financial institutions must still meet other requirements, such as carrying out standard risk analysis for their use of IaaS cloud services.
\n“Choosing AWS public cloud services gives banks an IT infrastructure that has better performance than they have had in the past and, because this initiative has the approval of the DNB, they can take advantage of the security and reliability of AWS while ensuring they comply with all outsourcing legislation,” said Chris Zadeh, chief executive of Dutch banking technology firm Ohpen.
\nAs a Dutch company specialising in core banking technology for the financial sector, Ohpen has adopted the AWS cloud to run its software as a service (SaaS) platform, bank-out-of-the-box.
\n“Large Dutch banks are now moving their entire retail banking platforms to the cloud using Ohpen’s core banking technology running on top of AWS,” he said.
\nAccording to Amazon, the approval allows Dutch financial institutions to join other financial organisations, such as Bankinter in Spain, Unicredit in Italy and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, to benefit from the flexibility and cost savings of public cloud services.
\n“This announcement comes at a time when cloud computing is starting to transform the financial services sector,” said Steve Midgley, head of Europe for AWS. “This adds to other initiatives, such as the Nasdaq FinQloud, that are specifically designed to help financial services businesses to innovate, with faster time to market and reduced capital expenditure on technology resources.
\n“Due to the DNB’s efforts, Dutch financial organisations can now enjoy the benefits of cloud computing, thus creating efficiency in the sector,” added Midgley.
\nArticle written by Archana Venkatraman for Computer Weekly.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T17:12:42+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/88c114cd-a405-4d58-964c-22424b9d1428.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"a5bdfc3f-8b9d-54f2-91f8-c64fdc6e6855","slug":"global-entrepreneurship-week-maastricht","type":"default","title":"GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP WEEK MAASTRICHT","excerpt":"Interview with Ohpen’s Matthjis Aler – at the Global Entrepreneurship Week Maastricht 2012 edition.Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) is ...","body":"Interview with Ohpen’s Matthjis Aler – at the Global Entrepreneurship Week Maastricht 2012 edition.
\nGlobal Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) is the world’s largest celebration of the innovators and job creators who launch startups that bring ideas to life, drive economic growth and expand human welfare. In the Netherlands the GEW is organised by the Dutch Centers for Entrepreneurship (DutchCE). The local edition in Maastricht is organised by Maastricht Centre for Entrepreneurship and consists of a program of four days.
\nThe organisation committee of GEW Maastricht had an interview with Matthijs Aler, co-founder of Ohpen and keynote speaker at the event. Below a slightly edited version of the interview.
\nThank you very much for taking some time for this interview. Could you please give a short introduction of yourself for the readers that do not know you?
After graduating Erasmus University I joined BinckBank in 2001. I’ve worked at BinckBank for 11 years, of which three years setting up BinckBank in France. That was my first engagement in entrepreneurship, although in service of ‘a boss’. In 2011 I was asked to join my previous Binck-partners at the venture Ohpen. At Ohpen I reinvented myself and relived the energy and joy of building something from scratch.
How did you end up as an entrepreneur? How does this compare to what you wanted to be when you were younger?
It actually took quite some time (10 years) to gather the conviction to take this important step. As quite a risk averse type, I needed to feel that I have what it takes to be in charge of a company and to be sole responsible for the difference between failure and success.
In your opinion, what are the biggest payoffs and downsides of working for yourself?
The biggest payoff is that satisfaction – when realising your goals – feels differently than doing it for someone else. You have yourself (and the team of course) to thank or blame. One of the most important pitfalls or challenges is that you need to be challenged in your ideas and convictions by a partner. To have a wingman that brings balance is a privilege and necessity.
Would you recommend entrepreneurship to anyone, or just people with certain traits or in certain positions?
I think that entrepreneurship is not ‘suitable’ for anyone. You need to be prepared to make some sacrifices every once in a while. Also I believe that, independent of the sector you’re in, you must be convinced of your product or service and transfer your energy and conviction to others. Therefore entrepreneurs cannot be (too) insecure of phlegmatic. Last, but certainly not least, passion is the most important ingredient. Lacking that, fat chance of succeeding….
What would in your opinion be the best place to start for an aspiring entrepreneur?
There’s no such thing as the best place. It’s what you make of it. But speaking from my own experience, I think a good and broad skillset is a good basis. Having that, you will be able to deal with all the different aspects of doing business. Unlike others, who believe that a college education sets you back, I feel that learning to ‘think’ can help you on your way.
Looking at current society, how does entrepreneurship fit in? Some people see it as the salvation of the economy whereas others see it is a rotten capitalist system. What is your view on this?
I believe that Small and Medium Sized enterprises are the real engine behind the economy and the labour market. The financial part of starting a business is important, but certainly not all and not a rotten capitalist feature.
Are there any specific remarks you would like to share with the readers?
Maybe a cliché, but do what you do best, don’t give up and give it all. At Ohpen, we have 7 virtues that we encourage the whole team to embrace. This is one of them.
The original version of this interview was published on the Global Entrepreneurship Week Maastricht website.
","desktop_body":"Interview with Ohpen’s Matthjis Aler – at the Global Entrepreneurship Week Maastricht 2012 edition.
\nGlobal Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) is the world’s largest celebration of the innovators and job creators who launch startups that bring ideas to life, drive economic growth and expand human welfare. In the Netherlands the GEW is organised by the Dutch Centers for Entrepreneurship (DutchCE). The local edition in Maastricht is organised by Maastricht Centre for Entrepreneurship and consists of a program of four days.
\nThe organisation committee of GEW Maastricht had an interview with Matthijs Aler, co-founder of Ohpen and keynote speaker at the event. Below a slightly edited version of the interview.
\nThank you very much for taking some time for this interview. Could you please give a short introduction of yourself for the readers that do not know you?
After graduating Erasmus University I joined BinckBank in 2001. I’ve worked at BinckBank for 11 years, of which three years setting up BinckBank in France. That was my first engagement in entrepreneurship, although in service of ‘a boss’. In 2011 I was asked to join my previous Binck-partners at the venture Ohpen. At Ohpen I reinvented myself and relived the energy and joy of building something from scratch.
How did you end up as an entrepreneur? How does this compare to what you wanted to be when you were younger?
It actually took quite some time (10 years) to gather the conviction to take this important step. As quite a risk averse type, I needed to feel that I have what it takes to be in charge of a company and to be sole responsible for the difference between failure and success.
In your opinion, what are the biggest payoffs and downsides of working for yourself?
The biggest payoff is that satisfaction – when realising your goals – feels differently than doing it for someone else. You have yourself (and the team of course) to thank or blame. One of the most important pitfalls or challenges is that you need to be challenged in your ideas and convictions by a partner. To have a wingman that brings balance is a privilege and necessity.
Would you recommend entrepreneurship to anyone, or just people with certain traits or in certain positions?
I think that entrepreneurship is not ‘suitable’ for anyone. You need to be prepared to make some sacrifices every once in a while. Also I believe that, independent of the sector you’re in, you must be convinced of your product or service and transfer your energy and conviction to others. Therefore entrepreneurs cannot be (too) insecure of phlegmatic. Last, but certainly not least, passion is the most important ingredient. Lacking that, fat chance of succeeding….
What would in your opinion be the best place to start for an aspiring entrepreneur?
There’s no such thing as the best place. It’s what you make of it. But speaking from my own experience, I think a good and broad skillset is a good basis. Having that, you will be able to deal with all the different aspects of doing business. Unlike others, who believe that a college education sets you back, I feel that learning to ‘think’ can help you on your way.
Looking at current society, how does entrepreneurship fit in? Some people see it as the salvation of the economy whereas others see it is a rotten capitalist system. What is your view on this?
I believe that Small and Medium Sized enterprises are the real engine behind the economy and the labour market. The financial part of starting a business is important, but certainly not all and not a rotten capitalist feature.
Are there any specific remarks you would like to share with the readers?
Maybe a cliché, but do what you do best, don’t give up and give it all. At Ohpen, we have 7 virtues that we encourage the whole team to embrace. This is one of them.
The original version of this interview was published on the Global Entrepreneurship Week Maastricht website.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T17:13:53+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/52c3d5ff-250c-454e-91d6-b77edbe907b4.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"ee55c89b-e27f-5044-ab97-62dcbc6f2386","slug":"ohpen-introduces-cloud-banking-platform-at-finovate-fall-2012-conference","type":"default","title":"OHPEN INTRODUCES CLOUD BANKING PLATFORM AT FINOVATE FALL 2012 CONFERENCE","excerpt":"Ohpen introduces cloud banking platformFinovate is the only conference series focused exclusively on showcasing the best and most innovat...","body":"Ohpen introduces cloud banking platform
\nFinovate is the only conference series focused exclusively on showcasing the best and most innovative new financial and banking technologies. Finovate conferences consistently attract large, high-impact audiences of senior financial and banking executives, venture capitalists, press, industry analysts, bloggers, regulators, and entrepreneurs. Finovate’s annual events include FinovateFall (New York), FinovateSpring (San Jose), and FinovateEurope (London).
\nAt FinovateFall 2012 Ohpen CEO Chris Zadeh presented the Ohpen cloud banking platform to an audience of journalists, banking professionals and industry analysts. Below copy, courtesy of Finovate.
\n“Ohpen developed a fully automated and integrated multilingual cloud banking platform for the operation, administration, reporting and distribution of mutual funds investing and savings accounts. The website as well as the mid and back office and CRM are integrated in one application. The idea behind the platform is that it should be possible to offer unlimited scalability, availability, security and flexibility of services. In addition, profound automation of processes and services is key.
\nThe platform is being hosted in the cloud and therefore is not installed locally at the bank (as all old-fashioned financial institutions do). The choice for this hosting solution will result in a 90% cost reduction.
\nUse of the platform will limit the number of employees needed to run day-to-day operations and decrease investment in hardware and software.”
\nOriginally published on the Finovate website. Written by Julie Schicktanz.
","desktop_body":"Ohpen introduces cloud banking platform
\nFinovate is the only conference series focused exclusively on showcasing the best and most innovative new financial and banking technologies. Finovate conferences consistently attract large, high-impact audiences of senior financial and banking executives, venture capitalists, press, industry analysts, bloggers, regulators, and entrepreneurs. Finovate’s annual events include FinovateFall (New York), FinovateSpring (San Jose), and FinovateEurope (London).
\nAt FinovateFall 2012 Ohpen CEO Chris Zadeh presented the Ohpen cloud banking platform to an audience of journalists, banking professionals and industry analysts. Below copy, courtesy of Finovate.
\n“Ohpen developed a fully automated and integrated multilingual cloud banking platform for the operation, administration, reporting and distribution of mutual funds investing and savings accounts. The website as well as the mid and back office and CRM are integrated in one application. The idea behind the platform is that it should be possible to offer unlimited scalability, availability, security and flexibility of services. In addition, profound automation of processes and services is key.
\nThe platform is being hosted in the cloud and therefore is not installed locally at the bank (as all old-fashioned financial institutions do). The choice for this hosting solution will result in a 90% cost reduction.
\nUse of the platform will limit the number of employees needed to run day-to-day operations and decrease investment in hardware and software.”
\nOriginally published on the Finovate website. Written by Julie Schicktanz.
","created_on":"2020-11-24T17:14:28+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/5962f893-bc7e-4757-b74d-e888d0094950.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}},{"node":{"id":"7fce4b8c-7cd9-572b-97c2-2ff4a00cd25f","slug":"ohpen-provides-robeco-ict-platform","type":"default","title":"OHPEN PROVIDES ROBECO ICT PLATFORM","excerpt":"After through and extensive research Robeco has chosen OhpenAfter thorough and extensive research Robeco has chosen for Ohpen’s fully int...","body":"After through and extensive research Robeco has chosen Ohpen
\nAfter thorough and extensive research Robeco has chosen for Ohpen’s fully integrated and automated platform, choosing for renewal and innovation. Ohpen will take care of the accounts and savings administration and the execution of orders for mutual funds of Robeco. The implementation is expected to be realised in the beginning of 2013. Chris Zadeh, CEO Ohpen: “Both our brands, Ohpen and Robein, were already using our self-developed platform. We are very proud that a renowned company like Robeco has chosen to use our platform in order to realise its strategy.”
","desktop_body":"After through and extensive research Robeco has chosen Ohpen
\nAfter thorough and extensive research Robeco has chosen for Ohpen’s fully integrated and automated platform, choosing for renewal and innovation. Ohpen will take care of the accounts and savings administration and the execution of orders for mutual funds of Robeco. The implementation is expected to be realised in the beginning of 2013. Chris Zadeh, CEO Ohpen: “Both our brands, Ohpen and Robein, were already using our self-developed platform. We are very proud that a renowned company like Robeco has chosen to use our platform in order to realise its strategy.”
","created_on":"2020-11-24T17:14:55+00:00","city":"Amsterdam","thumbnail":{"data":{"url":"https://ohpen-cms.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/1916928e-b3b3-4449-8be3-769b502b6239.jpeg"}},"desktop_images":[]}}]}},"pageContext":{"language":"en","i18n":{"language":"en","languages":["en"],"defaultLanguage":"en","routed":false,"resources":{"en":{"translation":{"global.please-do-not-change":"Copy 30","global.quickmenu_platform":"OUR PLATFORM","global.quickmenu_dna":"OUR DNA","global.cursor_next_button_cta":"NEXT","global.menu_platform":"OUR PLATFORM","global.menu_platform_subtext":"Experience limitless freedom","global.menu_dna":"OUR DNA","global.menu_dna_subtext":"Our mission, mentality, people","global.menu_contact":"CONTACT US","global.menu_contact_subtext":"Talk to us live or book a meeting","global.menu_sub_careers":"CAREERS","global.menu_sub_news":"NEWS","global.menu_sub_privacy":"PRIVACY POLICY","global.contact_super":"Contact us","global.contact_title":"IT’S TIME FOR A CHANGE","global.contact_body":"Get in touch. We’re always ready to talk, and happy to help you achieve your goals.","global.contact_cta":"OR BOOK A MEETING DIRECTLY","global.contact_quote_body":"“Feel free to visit any of our offices in Amsterdam, Barcelona, London, Antwerp, Bratislava or Žilina.”","global.contact_quote_title":"Claire de Rouville - Facility & Office Manager","global.contact_email_title":"EMAIL US","global.contact_email_body":"info@ohpen.com","global.contact_callus_title":"CALL US","global.contact_callus_body":"+ 31 (0) 207221000 ","global.contact_press_title":"PRESS & COMMUNICATIONS","global.contact_press_body":"communications@ohpen.com","global.contact_linkedin_title":"LINKEDIN","global.contact_linkedin_body":"linkedin.com/company/ohpen","home.please-do-not-change":"Copy","home.home_header":"FREEDOM TO CREATE","home.home_body":"Experience limitless freedom with our cloud-native core banking platform. \nSupporting savings, investments, loans and mortgages.","home.about_super":"Switch to Ohpen","home.about_title":"IT’S BANKING DONE BETTER","home.about_body":"Plug into the future of cloud-native banking and free your bank from the constraints of on-premises legacy core banking systems. The Ohpen Platform is high-tech, reliable, adaptable and compliant. Supporting greenfield propositions and complex legacy portfolios. Since 2009.","home.about_cta":"THE BENEFITS OF OHPEN","home.about_stats1_header":"AUM","home.about_stats1_number":"$ 92 ","home.about_stats1_postfix":"BN","home.about_stats2_header":"AVERAGE API PERFORMANCE","home.about_stats2_number":"0,044 ","home.about_stats2_postfix":"SEC","home.reliable_super":"Our platform is","home.reliable_title":"100% RELIABLE","home.reliable_body":"Reliability. It might not be sexy. But it is what matters. Above all else, reliability is what we deliver. No disclaimers, no exceptions, no excuses. Because if you can’t count on us, everything else is academic. Ohpen not only uses the newest technology but has also redesigned every single process to provide you with the best digital backbone you could wish for.","home.reliable_cta":"IT’S NOT JUST RELIABLE","home.reliable_cta_right":"HOW WE DO IT","home.adaptable_super":"Our platform is","home.adaptable_title":"100% ADAPTABLE","home.adaptable_body":"Our flexible API and configuration settings allows you to fine-tune your front-end services to meet ever changing customer needs and regulatory changes. Behind your smooth retail banking services, you can keep configuring. We call this our “Customization by Configuration” principle.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t","home.adaptable_cta":"IT’S NOT JUST ADAPTABLE","home.adaptable_cta_right":"HOW WE DO IT","home.compliant_super":"Our platform is","home.compliant_title":"100% COMPLIANT","home.compliant_body":"Many financial institutions spend between 40% and 50% of their IT budget keeping their offering compliant. Implementing new regulations can be a serious drag on your business. Ohpen comes with continuous compliance (included in our pricing) so you can focus on what really matters: your customers.","home.compliant_cta":"DON’T JUST TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT","home.compliant_cta_right":"HOW WE DO IT","home.testimonials_super":"Don’t just take our word for it","home.testimonials_title":"LEGACY SOFTWARE CAN BE COMPARED TO NOT CHANGING THE OIL IN YOUR ENGINE","home.testimonials_body":"Sander Frons - Director LeasePlan Bank","home.testimonials_cta":"LET’S TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE","home.followup_super":"Plan a meeting","home.followup_title":"SAY HELLO TO FREEDOM","home.followup_body":"Let us show you what freedom looks like for your financial services company. We will happily come to you and give you an on-site demo. If an online demo is preferred, we can do that as well. It’s up to you.","home.followup_cta1":"PLAN A DEMO","home.followup_cta2":"BOOK A STAY IN AMSTERDAM","home.followup_cta_right":"OUR DNA","home.followup_meet_super":"Plan a meeting or online demo","home.followup_meet_title":"EXCITED TO MEET YOU","home.followup_meet_body":"Whatever your purpose, ambition and challenges, partnering with Ohpen can power your journey. We’d love to tell you more about how our limitless cloud-native core banking engine can benefit you and your customers. Better yet, we’d like to show you.","home.followup_meet_form_date_title":"PICK A DATE","home.followup_meet_form_date_btn":"LEAVE YOUR DETAILS","home.followup_meet_form_detail_title":"YOUR DETAILS","home.followup_meet_form_detail_placeholder_pronoun":"PRONOUN","home.followup_meet_form_detail_placeholder_firstname":"FIRST NAME","home.followup_meet_form_detail_placeholder_name":"LAST NAME","home.followup_meet_form_detail_placeholder_email":"EMAIL ADDRESS","home.followup_meet_form_detail_placeholder_countrycode":"COUNTRY CODE","home.followup_meet_form_detail_placeholder_phone":"PHONE NUMBER","home.followup_meet_form_detail_privacy":"Agree with privacy statement ","home.followup_meet_form_detail_btn":"SEND REQUEST","home.followup_meet_form_sent_title":"REQUEST SENT","home.followup_meet_form_sent_body":"We’ll get in contact as soon as possible via email","home.followup_meet_form_sent_btn":"OK, GREAT","home.followup_meet_mobile_form_cta":"Start planning","home.followup_hotel_super":"You are invited","home.followup_hotel_title":"STAY AT THE OHPEN HOTEL","home.followup_hotel_body":"Travel to our HQ in Amsterdam (the Netherlands, Europe) and stay in our very own Ohpen Hotel. Check out the city highlights and visit our office for a tour and live demo of the Ohpen Platform afterwards. Want to do something different? We can also hit our gym and jump in our boxing ring to talk about FinTech, core banking and technology. We’re looking forward to your visit.","home.followup_hotel_form_date_title":"PICK A DATE","home.followup_hotel_form_date_btn":"LEAVE YOUR DETAILS","home.followup_hotel_form_detail_title":"YOUR DETAILS","home.followup_hotel_form_detail_placeholder_pronoun":"PRONOUN","home.followup_hotel_form_detail_placeholder_firstname":"FIRST NAME","home.followup_hotel_form_detail_placeholder_name":"LAST NAME","home.followup_hotel_form_detail_placeholder_email":"EMAIL ADDRESS","home.followup_hotel_form_detail_placeholder_countrycode":"COUNTRY CODE","home.followup_hotel_form_detail_placeholder_phone":"PHONE NUMBER","home.followup_hotel_form_detail_privacy":"Privacy statement","home.followup_hotel_form_detail_btn":"SEND REQUEST","home.followup_hotel_form_sent_title":"REQUEST SENT","home.followup_hotel_form_sent_body":"We’ll get in contact as soon as possible, via email","home.followup_hotel_form_sent_btn":"OK, GREAT","home.followup_hotel_mobile_form_cta":"Plan your visit","our-platform.please-do-not-change":"Copy","our-platform.home_header":"GATEWAY TO FREEDOM","our-platform.home_body":"The Ohpen Platform liberates banks from their legacy systems and processes.","our-platform.legacy_super":"Goodbye legacy","our-platform.legacy_title":"LEGACY OUT, AGILITY IN","our-platform.legacy_body":"It is the only way forward for the financial industry and the driving principle behind Ohpen: a ruthlessly effective, cloud-native core banking platform. Built from the ground up by former bankers with one simple goal: the efficient administration of savings, investments, loans and mortgages.","our-platform.legacy_cta":"THE POWER OF ONE","our-platform.one_super":"The power of one","our-platform.one_title":"ONE SOLID SOLUTION","our-platform.one_body":"Ohpen maintains the power of one to guarantee availability, performance and correctness. All packed into one solid Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution. Your configurable core.","our-platform.one_cta":"THE OHPEN PLATFORM","our-platform.one_quote_body":"One lean and mean code base\nOne version\nOne fully redundant infrastructure\nOne action-packed API","our-platform.one_quote_title":"Ohpen’s power of one","our-platform.foundation_super":"The Ohpen Platform","our-platform.foundation_title":"FOUNDATION OF FREEDOM","our-platform.foundation_body":"The core of the Ohpen Platform consists of accounts and transactions - totally independent from product, country and currency. 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Check out all our modules, or continue to our third party integrations.","our-platform.modules_cta":"THIRD-PARTY INTEGRATIONS & PARTNERS","our-platform.modules_cta_right":"ALL MODULES","our-platform.module_super":"Module","our-platform.module_cta":"All Modules","our-platform.certifications_super":"We're in control","our-platform.certifications_title":"THE HIGHEST STANDARDS","our-platform.certifications_body":"Rest assured: Ohpen holds all the required security and integrity accreditations and assurances. We uphold the highest possible standards in everything we do.","our-platform.certifications_cta":"LET’S TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE","our-platform.followup_super":"Plan a meeting","our-platform.followup_title":"SAY HELLO TO FREEDOM","our-platform.followup_body":"Let us show you what freedom looks like for your financial services company. We will happily come to you and give you an on-site demo. If an online demo is preferred, we can do that as well. It’s up to you.","our-platform.followup_cta1":"PLAN A MEETING AT YOUR OFFICE","our-platform.followup_cta2":"BOOK A STAY IN AMSTERDAM","dna.please-do-not-change":"Copy","dna.home_header":"EXCEED EXPECTATIONS","dna.home_body":"Our relentless drive has set us on a path to create the world’s first cloud-native core banking platform.","dna.manifest_super":"Manifest","dna.manifest_title":"CHANGE THE STATUS QUO","dna.manifest_body":"Our purpose is to give financial institutions limitless freedom to exceed their customers’ expectations by creating the best cloud-native SaaS core banking platform in the world.","dna.manifest_cta":"THE FIRST CLOUD-NATIVE CORE","dna.first_super":"Born and raised in the cloud","dna.first_title":"THE FIRST CLOUD-NATIVE CORE","dna.first_body":"Ohpen was the first in the world to bring a bank fully to the cloud. We’ve been active for over 10 years and changing banking and FinTech the world over. We broke our chains of legacy, let us help break yours. ","dna.first_cta":"OUR PEOPLE","dna.ohpeneers_super":"Our people","dna.ohpeneers_title":"HERE’S TO THE CHANGE MAKERS","dna.ohpeneers_body":"Working at Ohpen takes a certain mentality. We don’t give up, and we give it our all. Every one of our ‘Ohpeneers’ comes with an innate curiosity to understand, improve and deliver - whether as part of our tight-knit team, or in each of our everyday lives. It’s a quality that comes through in all our products and services. ","dna.ohpeneers_cta":"WE ENDORSE PERSEVERANCE","dna.ohpeneers_quote_body":"“We’ll never settle for mediocre. We’re only satisfied when exceeding expectations.”","dna.ohpeneers_quote_title":"Bas van Oijen - Ohpeneer","dna.sponsor_super":"We endorse perseverance ","dna.sponsor_title":"SUPPORTER OF THE DETERMINED","dna.sponsor_body":"We endorse the dedication and resilience of remarkable individuals, willing to push the boundaries of what people think is possible. Like, for example, adventurer and world record holder Mark Slats, who challenges the oceans to generate money for charitable causes.","dna.sponsor_cta":"OUR TEAM","dna.sponsor_quote_body":"“If you can’t stop thinking about it, stop dreaming and just do it.”","dna.sponsor_quote_title":"Mark Slats - Adventurer and World record holder","dna.sponsor_detail_cta":"Mark's journey","dna.ohpeneeroverview_super":"Our team","dna.ohpeneeroverview_title":"MEET THE OHPENEERS","dna.ohpeneeroverview_body":"Our Ohpeneers define our business. Each one is part of the fabric of our offering, and everyone brings passion to their field of expertise. Experienced bankers. Fanatic software engineers. Seasoned compliance specialists.","dna.ohpeneeroverview_cta":"MAKING AN IMPACT","dna.social_super":"Social responsibility","dna.social_title":"FOR A BETTER TOMORROW","dna.social_body":"\nWe’re committed to the highest professional and ethical standards, regarding both people and planet. ","dna.social_cta":"LET’S TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE","dna.social_toggle1":"PLANET","dna.social_toggle1_title":"PLANET","dna.social_toggle1_body":"It’s greener in the cloud, with an 88% reduction in CO2 emissions. The cloud-native strategy we’ve followed since 2009, helps reduce our clients' environmental footprint. In addition, we believe ‘every small thing helps’ which is why we use 100% renewable energy, have a no-car policy and work with a strict procurement policy for all our partners.","dna.social_toggle2":"PEOPLE","dna.social_toggle2_title":"PEOPLE","dna.social_toggle2_body":"We strongly believe that compliance and ethics is an active attitude and not just a set of regulations. It is a system of moral principles. These principles are as diverse as the fabric we are made of. The Ohpen team values diversity and inclusion; gender, ethnicity, religion, nationality, age, etc. It strengthens us, as more opinions and backgrounds bring new perspectives. We do not engage with parties that are in violation of the ILO Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. ","dna.followup_super":"Plan a meeting","dna.followup_title":"SAY HELLO TO FREEDOM","dna.followup_body":"Let us show you what freedom looks like for your financial services company. We will happily come to you and give you an on-site demo. If an online demo is preferred, we can do that as well. It’s up to you.","dna.followup_cta1":"PLAN A MEETING AT YOUR OFFICE","dna.followup_cta2":"BOOK A STAY IN AMSTERDAM","dna.followup_cta_right":"OUR PLATFORM","cases.please-do-not-change":"Copy","cases.testimonials_cta":"LET’S TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE","careers.please-do-not-change":"Copy","careers.settle_title":"NEVER SETTLE","careers.settle_body":"Our strong drive for change and relentless persistence brought us where we are today. And maybe it’s that same drive that brought you here.","careers.settle_super":"Join our mission","careers.settle_cta_1":"Mind & Body","careers.tour_title":"BE PART OF OUR TEAM","careers.tour_body":"Get a taste of what it’s like to work at Ohpen.","careers.become_super":"Be a changemaker","careers.become_title":"Become an Ohpeneer","careers.become_body":"We didn’t start Ohpen to be just another company, we started Ohpen to be nothing less than amazing. This is your chance to join some of the sharpest minds in the business and help reshape the world of (cloud) banking software. ","careers.become_cta_1":"Find your mission ","careers.become_cta_2":"Life at Ohpen","careers.become_quote_body":"If you really want to make a change,this is where you’ll have the opportunity","careers.become_quote_name":"Leonid","careers.become_quote_job":"Ohpeneer","careers.health_super":"Mind & Body","careers.health_title":"HEALTH MATTERS","careers.health_body":"Life’s too short to live it badly. Your health matters - not only physical, but also mental. We offer all our Ohpeneers the opportunity to clear their minds in the office or at home. Choose from a wide variety of classes like Kickboxing, High Intensity Training, Yoga, Yoga or Meditation. At our office in Amsterdam we even have a 4.000 square foot gym at your disposal.","careers.health_cta_1":"Find your balance","careers.play_super":"Find your balance","careers.play_title":"LIVE IN BALANCE","careers.play_body":"At Ohpen we are serious about a good work life balance. We want to make sure you enjoy work as well as your personal life. Because we believe your best ideas will come from being in balance with both.","careers.play_cta_1":"Ohpen to Vegas","careers.hotel_super":"You're invited","careers.hotel_title":"come and stay","careers.hotel_body":"We're an international bunch, but Ohpen's head office is in Amsterdam. We want to make it easy for all our Ohpeneers to visit HQ, so if you ever need to be there, just stay at the Ohpen Hotel. The hotel is situated in the heart of the city and is free of charge for all invitees.","careers.hotel_cta_1":"Find your mission","careers.mission_title":"Join our mission","careers.mission_body":"We're here to develop the best core banking engine in the world. Sound exciting? Learn more about life at Ohpen and find your next mission.","clients.clients_header":"Clients & Cases","clients.clients_body":"Leading financial service providers trust their critical business processes to Ohpen's platform.","news.news_header":"Latest insights","news.news_body":"Here we share our insights, opinions and the latest company and product developments.","global.menu_sub_cases":"CLIENTS & CASES","global.menu_sub_mediakit":"MEDIA KIT","careers.filter_location":"by location","careers.filter_department":"by department","careers.filter_title":"FILTER RESULTS","careers.overview_super":"Join our mission","careers.overview_title":"All job openings","careers.overview_noresults_super":"No results (yet)","careers.overview_noresults_title":"Try adding or removing selected filters","cases.testimonials_fullstory":"See all cases","careers.filter_close":"Apply Filters","careers.filter_remove":"Remove filters","cases.freedom_super":"Don't just take our word for it","cases.freedom_title":"Freedom for our clients","cases.freedom_body":"We’re proud to support a wide variety of clients such as retail banks, asset managers, insurers, mortgage providers, pension providers and building societies.","cases.freedom_cta_1":"View client cases","global.menu_sub_team":"THE TEAM","careers.play_cta_2":"The Ohpen Hotel"}}},"originalPath":"/latest-insights/overview/","path":"/latest-insights/overview/"}}}}