zeb: leading an agile transformation in the financial services industry
In the unpredictable world of finance, customers are uncompromising when it comes to having their needs met. Consulting firm zeb understands that agile organization helps firms stay ahead of the game and retain the edge in a fiercely competitive market. Established in 1992, zeb is now Europe’s leading strategy and management consultancy for financial service providers, helping banks, insurance companies, specialists and tech companies take advantage of the opportunities offered by digital transformation.
As experts in their field, zeb knows that adopting new and emerging technologies ensures firms are best suited to address user needs and market changes. The zeb team recognized early on that a secure, flexible project management tool would be essential to achieving their ambitious goals. This is why MeisterTask is now a key part of zeb’s tech stack, as well as the go-to tool for many of their clients.
The challenge: securing remote work in fast-paced financial services markters
zeb has always based its consulting services on the latest scientific research. Its core business expertise covers the entire value chain – from strategic conception to full implementation. This means the team at zeb can deliver outstanding services that cover:
Agility and new work.
Change and organization.
Digitalization and data.
zeb recognized that an internal agile philosophy would improve their consulting services, enabling them to more readily respond to consumer needs. Therefore, it commissioned its own Agile Readiness Study to facilitate this transition.
Among the key conclusions of the study was a recognition that remote work cultures are imperative to future success. However, zeb required a solution that would make remote work sustainable and deliver the same level of security and seamless service that in-office workers enjoy. It set about finding a secure digital solution that could help fulfill that objective.
Since most of their clients are in the financial services industry, zeb’s most important need in a task management tool was the promise of unparalleled data security. This feature would keep client data safe from fraudsters and hackers, ensuring zeb could protect their clients’ reputations.
We needed a tool that met the strictest guidelines for storing and protecting customer data. This quickly narrowed the selection down to six. MeisterTask stood out thanks to its range of features, its GDPR compliance and its servers being located in Germany.
Marco Rubert
Head of ORG/IT bei zeb
The solution: secure remote work with fewer vulnerabilities, greater trust, and agile collaboration
Upon conducting a thorough competitive analysis, zeb was very impressed that MeisterTask’s servers are located in an ISO 27001-certified data center in Germany. Two-Factor-Authentication adds yet another layer of protection. As a result, zeb can shift more focus toward helping their financial industry clients transition into remote workflows without worrying about compromised data.
Beyond the security benefits, MeisterTask’s user-friendly design makes onboarding new users quick and easy. Both zeb and its clients were able to get to grips with the tool from the get-go, meaning high user acceptance. Herfurth JustusManager Digital Financial Services at zeb, explains:
Users have no problem getting to grips with the tool. It’s so intuitive, easy to use and centralizes communication on the task. Teams love the trial and error aspect, which makes getting to know your way around the software much more fun. There’s little to no user onboarding with MeisterTask. You can get productive straight away without any tutorials.
Herfurth Justus
Manager Digital Financial Services, “Tabularaza by zeb”
The outcome: sustainable change, fast results
Thorsten Ströhl, Senior Manager at zeb, says that every single project with MeisterTask has been a breeze to implement. He’s been using the tool since 2015 – privately at first, before then introducing it to his colleagues. He loves MeisterTask because it makes even the most complex tasks and projects easy to manage.
MeisterTask’s Kanban-style project boards are a godsend when it comes to managing backlogs and structuring sprints. My team uses it day-to-day to manage all our projects.
Thorsten Ströhl
Senior Manager, zeb
Ströhl shares that MeisterTask’s Kanban and Scrum frameworks have saved them valuable time and improved efficiency. The result: fewer meetings, fewer emails, and fewer delays. There’s now more time to focus on customers, and greater flexibility in implementing change.
When it comes to saving time for the financial services team, MeisterTask automations do the heavy lifting. By automating recurring workflow steps, the team has been able to increase efficiency and consistency. As such, they are able to execute their banking projects securely with the utmost speed and precision.
To manage access to sensitive data and keep communication transparent, zeb uses Roles and Permissions in MeisterTask to assign different roles and permissions to project collaborators.
“MeisterTask’s features for assigning roles and permissions and streamlining communication just make life so much easier.”
The centralized communication and collaboration that MeisterTask offers makes it easy for stakeholders to keep track of project status and stay on top of their workflows. All changes within the platform are instantly visible, ensuring all parties are kept in the loop.
Our customers are always amazed at the level of transparency that can be achieved. Most customers are new to virtual projects and Agile methods. When I’m working with teams, there’s always an Aha! moment when they realize how transparent, clear and simple communication can be when it’s kept on-task. Everyone in the team can monitor what’s going on centrally and in real time.
Pascal Uhl
Senior Manager, zeb
The only certainty is that nothing is certain. But MeisterTask helps organizations like zeb prepare for anything while providing clients the means to implement quick operational changes with greater flexibility and effectiveness. Their motto: less reactive, more proactive. If you're looking for task management software that your team simply loves to use, then look no further. Why not make MeisterTask the cornerstone of your digital transformation strategy?
