The Dynatrace APM is being put to work across the bank's entire IT stack, from mainframe to mobile, as the Dutch bank looks to get a more comprehensive picture of how, where, when and why customers connect with the bank.

“In this digital age, the end user dictates which channels and applications are used for transactions and interactions. For example, one day a customer might use the smartphone app to transfer funds to a friend; the next day they use a desktop browser to access their online banking; and the following day they may even visit a physical high-street location to enquire about a new financial service,” explains Hans van der Net, service owner of monitoring, IT and data at Rabobank. “The point is, we need to monitor each and every one of these interactions to ensure we are delivering the most consistent and best customer experience possible,” he added.

The move comes as the bank aims to streamline its operations and introduce a DevOps approach to product releases and upgrades.

As a banking co-operative operating at both local and regional levels, the Dutch bank runs a complex network of independent IT platforms often performing the same functions depending on local practices.

The bank recently constructed a 3D model of its own organisation and supporting IT systems to help visualise improvements that can be made as it embarks on its digital transformation programme.

As van der Net explains: “Every department of Rabobank was running its own APM solution, which meant we had quite a disjointed response to performance problems. Not only did we lack complete visibility of every user, we didn’t know which performance issues were impacting customers the most, why, and how to remediate them."

The unified APM is also expected to provide critical insights for the bank's rapidly expanding DevOps team as they upgrade and roll out new tech-led service. Says van der Net: "They’ll be able to anticipate how software updates will impact users ahead of time, or catch issues early on so they can roll back and fix these rapidly with minimal effect on customers.”