Andre Vorster

Background

About Andre Vorster

The role of Business Analyst for the Banking industry spans two worlds. The first a Finance world where regulations, confidentiality and tradition underpin the strength of the business brand; the second, the ever- evolving world of technology which has to support it. The world-views of the parties involved are often different, certainly in the way they express their requirements. It has been my challenge over the years to bridge this gap, and every project undertaken an exercise in completely understanding the terrain on either side of the business and IT divide. The first phase – that of understanding the business requirement from the business itself - has its own complexities. Often the strategic view of Senior Management and the needs and requests of the operational staff differ significantly. In order to depict an integrated solution, the Analyst needs many streams of information, an acute understanding of the various technologies involved and the target market of the product or service under design. Often this is like an exploration, not only of two worlds, but of virtual space as well! I am fortunate to have been involved with many cutting edge, innovative and pioneering projects during my stints at Standard Bank, First National Bank, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and the Bond Exchange of South Africa. I worked on the GIS (Geographic Information System) for First National Bank, when the technology was still in its infancy. During this time, I redesigned and created the functional specification for their second version of the GIS solution. Up until the present time where I am engaged at Standard Bank in the rollout of new platforms to 16 countries, it has been a fascinating and rewarding journey.