T24 Due Diligence Checklist Expanded

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T24 Due Diligence Expanded Version - 290 Questions

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T24 Due Diligence Expanded Version - 290 Questions

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SAMMAN-LIVINGSTON IT CONSULTING (www.sam-v-it.com)
T24
EXPANDED
Due Diligence
Check
List


Summary

T24 is a full banking system for core information and products that is sold by Temenos, SA of Geneva Switzerland. The T24 system is a complete banking system when all of the product modules are added to the core component. The system can do all retail and corporate banking. It can also manage securities and investments. Can also do trade finance, FX, MM, Swaps, Derivatives, Syndications, All-in-One Accounts, and a host of other types of banking products. The list here is not exhaustive. T24 does not do trust banking however. It is also not suitable for very specialized FX trading work. However, it is a completely integrated system, and when set up and configured properly it will function almost flawlessly and is very easy to configure for functions and work processes not part of the product as it is sold.

The system however requires a considerable degree of banking knowledge to set up for an individual client, and this document will outline the pros and cons of T24 and where many clients get “into trouble” with a T24 implementation because of questions they fail to ask or to consider before they purchase the system.



QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE BUYING T24 (there are 99 questions that follow in this document)

First (10) – getting the groundwork laid – basic things to consider and to ASK--and to get CLEAR answers to from Temenos and from your own project team

1. What is your budget? A typical T24 system with minimum modules can easily cost $1 million US or more--typical installations run in price up to $20 million USD or more. This cost may be controlled however, but if you are a bank with a small budget, T24 may not be for you. Anticipate a minimum of $1 million US dollars for the core and common modules (loans, deposits, limits, etc.), and then a cost in the range of $2000 US dollars per day for skilled T24 consultants to do the setup, design, and implementation work.
2. What is you banking arrangement?--number of offices, branches, etc. ? What sort of configuration of locations (branches) do you intend to support?--do you want Internet or browser based access to the system? Do you want to have a fast system? (T24 is not always “fast” depending on how it is set up and configured/customized). Do you plan to run the system in one physical location? Do you plan to expand the number of modules in T24 in the future? Are you planning to add considerable customizations to the system? Do you plan to run T24 in the “cloud”?
3. Are you prepared to configure and set up the system with your own consultants and staff or do you intend to rely on Temenos to do the initial setup and support (configuration and parameterization)? Temenos is rarely ever able to do the full set up by themselves, or if they do then the quality of their work is quite often low.
4. What are you replacing? Which banking system? Have you prepared a full set of business requirements (and technical requirements) BEFORE you consider and evaluate T24? If you are replacing an old, legacy system you should be sure to note exactly what your system does and does NOT do before you evaluate T24. A common mistake many buyers of T24 make is that they do not know what they have or what they need to compare against T24 capabilities and functionality. They are often forced to rely on Temenos sales staff who are not necessarily interested in evaluating your needs on a “low” level.  Sell is the name of the game with Temenos. Remember that. Know what you have and what you want in a full list of requirements in a RFP before you go to Temenos. Be picky. Do not accept answers from Temenos without them giving you proof and if needed live proof with a T24 demo via a competent subject matter expert or technician. Get outside consultation if needed (not from Temenos) to do your T24 evaluation.
5. Are you trying to expand your business capabilities in any respect? If so make sure that you have a full map of what new services or products you intend to offer. There are many products that are only partially capable of being processed on T24. There are certain types of loans and syndications that you need to examine if you’re in this line of business. Also if you are very specialized you need to have the full product specifications in hand when you evaluate T24. A T24 trained and experienced product specialist consultant (again, not from Temenos) would be advisable to help you with your evaluation and due diligence process.
6. What are your sizing and speed/performance needs? How many transactions per minute/hour do you process daily/monthly/yearly, etc. (estimate this in advance before you consider purchasing T24)? Are you looking for a system that gives you speed and good all-around performance under a heavy user load? Note that the more people on T24 at one time the slower the system can be. Also, if you do not maintain the T24 system and keep file (database) sizes as small as possible, then there can be speed and performance issues. Under normal maintenance and for example a 50 user load, the T24 system is fast (meaning almost no “wait” time for a transaction to take place). However, COB times are reduced by the amount of data stored (not archived that is) in the system database. Also, customizations can slow system performance considerably. You need to set benchmark retrieval and processing times when you evaluate T24. Otherwise, you could be facing 4-8 hr COB (Close of Business processing) times or more! COB speed is a common problem with a flawed T24 set up. You need to consider this fact when you evaluate the system. Also arrange for a visit to an existing T24 client site (and one not arranged by Temenos--do this yourself) and see exactly what the performance benchmarks (timings) are and if the COB takes a short or long time period to run--also check for “crashes” and “fatal error” problems that the client has encountered, what they were, and why they happened (if they know).
7. If you are considering setting up Internet access (browser based access) to T24, remember one thing. This system has a poor track record of browser based access and performance (it’s typically slower on browser access). Again, ask for a demonstration somewhere. Also if you are planning a large installation (more than 100 concurrent users), then you have to check what the general performance is on the browser system opposed to the GUI system opposed to the Classic (character-based) system. If you are accessing T24 from any remote location to a central server and you do not have adequate bandwidth on your telecom lines, you will face major performance and “speed” problems with T24. Ask about this before you buy it!! Likewise, other versions of T24 such as the standard GUI one or the Classic one can be slow also if you are accessing via a telecomm connection to a remote central server in a foreign country (not in your own country that is). GUI and Classic are not used anymore, but there are concerns now with T24 in the “cloud” and on the internet. There have been major changes to the way T24 works and is delivered since about 2010. Get the full story on the current Java release (they call it) of T24. Also decide which database you are going to use (Oracle, DB2, SQL, etc.).
8. What sort of project are you planning to conduct? This goes back to the questions about product and design, but if you are going to have a major rebuild of your core banking system (accounting, CIF, G/L, limits, loans, deposits, F/X, trade finance, etc.), then you need to consider if you have the skills in-house to do a proper and complete T24 core design. More on this question later, but you need to understand you own legacy (current system) design and what you would have to do in order to at least “copy” it to T24. T24 is strong on core, but it is weak on the same if you do not know how to design a core set of parameter table values in order to have the products, limits, G/L, reports, and CIF all coordinated properly. It is possible to build the core of T24 in a way that is not consistent across these areas which will result in major problems with reporting and with G/L entries later on. Seek a consultant on core banking to assist you with your own needs with T24. This is the most important area to consider when buying T24. Can you do a proper core configuration and/or design? Typically Temenos cannot. This takes skill! Find someone who can. And the T24 “model bank” is not reliable. Its design is somewhat “cobbled” together and erratic (or inconsistent with low quality control in its design). Remember that the model bank as Temenos calls it may not be for you! See #10 for more on this statement.
9. Are you planning to do specialized products in securities, trade finance, treasury, derivatives, loans, deposits, or mortgages? Work out what your complexities are there before looking at T24. It has reasonably good capabilities in all of these areas except securities processing which is extremely difficult to set up if you don’t know how to design and parameterize this module on the T24 system. Securities processing is a "system in a system" (so to speak) on T24 and is not one that many except the most skilled T24 consultants can set up properly.
10. Are you being asked to buy and use "as is" the T24 “model bank”? ANSWER--don’t because it is not a good design in the model bank they offer. Banks who take the “model bank” and think they can run it successfully “out of the box” are always sadly disappointed. Ask yourself if you are prepared to configure (and design from “scratch”) the T24 system yourself. This requires skill too. Be prepared to ask yourself if you can find a good T24 core designer who is not employed by Temenos to assist you.

What are you willing to go through regarding development and implementation time??

11. T24 is not a “fast” system to set up. Temenos will say they can do it in 3 – 6 months. THAT IS NOT TRUE!! Any respectable T24 consultant (an honest one) will tell you that it takes up to 2 years to set up and properly and thoroughly test a fully configured T24 system for a LARGE (full service) bank. What are your time frames? BE realistic with yourself!
12. Are you prepared to deal with T24 consultants whose reputation is not always that of “quality?” Do you know what sort of issues you face and whether you are willing to have outsourced work done to set up your system (or consultants brought on-shore who are probably not familiar with either your country’s banking laws, banking needs, or language)? Oftentimes Temenos consultants are not "long" in experience nor are they “high” on skill. A typical Temenos junior consultant has less than three years of T24 experience. This is NOT enough for working on complex installations. It may be all right for “cut and paste” type model bank “builds,” but if you want a truly customized T24 system for your bank, then you must be prepared to hire non-Temenos consultants to help you. Are you willing to go this route or are you going to rely totally on Temenos to get you through the set up process?
13. What sort of interfaces do you require to T24, if any? This is a separate discussion, but you should know before you buy. T24 can be interfaced to almost anything, but it is not a “ready-made” process. You will require technical expertise in this area.
14. Are you doing complex regulatory, IFRS, and MIS reporting? T24 does not have a strong reporting tool in the core. Enquiries in T24 are likewise not easy to build. Are you prepared to purchase a third party reporting tool? Evaluate your reporting needs (regulatory reporting in particular and MIS) beforehand. Get a full list of all of your reports into the RFP. Present them to Temenos to see what they say. Typically T24 alone is not good for any complex reporting. You'll need add-on systems, SQL, or a database "outside" of jBase (the T24 “native” database) that is easier to work with.
15. What sort of limit (credit/risk) management do you currently have? T24 has an excellent global and “simple” limit management module (you can do either, but you should not do both together); but again it must be carefully set up and designed after a solid core (Category design as it is called in T24) is set up. Evaluate your limit and credit management needs. This takes an expert on T24 in this area to assist you by the way. Few Temenos consultants really understand the capabilities of the Limit (and Collateral) modules in T24 or how to set up these modules together to work correctly--especially for nostro limit management and limit/collateral reporting.
16. Are you looking at training your own staff to do post-live support on T24? You should. Temenos is very expensive for post-live support. Most banks have at least one (1) full-time Temenos-trained, T24 staff consultant for routine in-house business and technical needs.
17. Are you being promised functionality that will have to be developed by Temenos in the future? Again, do not accept “future release” availability for any function not already in T24. Are you prepared to wait for such development or even worse PAY for it yourself as a customization? If you have a large amount of customization, T24 is still a possibility for you, but know the potential costs you may face.
18. The greatest mistake that most T24 customers make is that they “can do it (set it up/design it) mostly by themselves. ” True and false? (Answer is False) But the point to make here is to ask this question--"Does my company believe it can actually manage a full T24 implementation successfully by itself?” Project managers for T24 are everywhere, but few are really all that competent. Note that even Temenos admits that world-wide there are only about 1000 people who know how to set up a T24 system correctly (if that many--I only know of about 50 or less whom I’d trust). And of that number even fewer really know how to manage (from a true PM point of view) a T24 project. Think what your needs are for project management. Ask this question of yourself first, not of Temenos. They will provide “project managers,” but you may not like what you get from Temenos to be honest.
19. Are you willing to evaluate at least two (2) competitor systems to T24? You should evaluate at least two others. Then make your own comparison. Many customers take T24 because Temenos promises initially a VERY LOW price for the license and for the yearly maintenance fee. Don’t be fooled. The idea is to sign you up. They do not take the configuration work seriously after you’re a T24 customer. Then you’ll see the prices you are charged escalate every time you want something "extra" done. Get the truth! Get the prices from other banking system vendors too. Then when you get their lowest price, you can multiply it by a factor of at least 3x to get your “true” estimated implementation cost. Caveat--you can put in T24 for a small sum if you know how to. Don’t think that this system is going to run you over $2-3 million at most if you know how to manage the vendor and how to manage a project. They go together.
20. Are you a bank that is located in a remote location (E. Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia, etc.)? Then you should consider that Temenos is not really able to support you adequately in all of the “more remote” locations. There are "other vendors" who say they can support you on T24 in remote locations too (these are "Temenos partners" usually) but they are only “selling” to you also. Non-Temenos vendors (that is, Temenos “partners”) have limitations too in their overall competency. Check the track record of other banks in your locale who may have purchased T24 and see what they tell you about "other vendors" and consulting firms that they may have used who say they can support your project and implementation needs in more remote locations.