Supply and demand management are handled by T&S's Strategic Sourcing and Procurement group, which manages BMO's end-to-end procurement, payment and fixed-asset processes, including governance, cost efficiencies and process improvements. Their scope includes all goods and services consumed by BMO Financial Group, not just technology expenditures.

Standardize, Standardize, Standardize

The third measure that T&S has promoted throughout BMO is standardization. The company standardizes the technology it uses, standardizes its IT practices, and standardizes project management and IT applications.

"We are only doing what manufacturing companies have understood for sixty years. You can increase productivity enormously and minimize the frequency of errors by developing and implementing standard ways of doing work that represent best practices," noted Darlington.

Every IT project the bank undertakes has a charter that outlines what both the client and project manger are expected to deliver. Every project includes standard procedures, change management procedures, and risk assessment. And every project must represent a priority, and deliver bottom-line value.

"Throughout the process we constantly challenge ourselves with questions such as: can the project's benefits be increased by growing revenue or decreasing costs? Will the project add value to the business? Will the bank's customers benefit from the project?" explained Darlington. "The result is a portfolio of higher-value projects with reduced risk of failure."