Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Wireless Strategy

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Wireless Strategy

The case focuses on a new wireless banking project launch for the Canadian Imperial Bank. It gives the reader a chance to make decisions on which wireless devices to support; whether or not to partner with one or more telecommunication carriers; and what wireless services to offer. The case provides constraints due to limited resources and time. Kevin Lasitz is faced with what mix of alternatives will lead to a successful project launch and which ones will provide the company with a competitive advantage.

CIBC should focus on the existing well-known wireless devises, which the case lists as PCS Phones and Palm PDA. Wireless banking is an emerging technology and it may take many years for people to adapt to it. Therefore, only focusing on the existing technology that people are using currently will save on introduction costs and still meet the needs of most customers.

Lasitz should partner with many Internet portals to allow for maximizing traffic on the wireless portal to CIBC's wireless Web site. Also, only banking services and brokerage services should be included on the site. It would not be cost effective to add others. Most people using this technology will only use it to do a quick check on their account. Convenience and ease of use is probably more important.

Another point that Lasitz should consider is the security features of the wireless banking. The case only mentioned security once, but this is a huge concern for many users of the traditional Internet banking services. The case mentions that CIBC is confident with the security level on the Internet and on the carriers' network. Their argument is that a security chip in the customers' devises would be a barrier to adoption. The case should have reveled more about the security features, given that this is a wireless connection to someone's banking account.