J.P. Morgan Private Bank (B): Engage ... or disengage?

MAY 2022: The planning phase for the Engage project has taken way too long, in part because the technological platform was so critical to the success of the project. After months of discussions with a fintech company, a proof of concept had been delivered, showing promising results but it was still far from the fully integrated solution that had been promised. The final quote for the full project finally came in late and higher than expected. This was a big setback for Adam and Gabriele. They thought they had signed up with a development partner, but now they had the distinct impression the fintech saw its role more as a simple service provider, agreeing to client requests without bringing up the cost issues. Adam was particularly upset as he had spent countless days with the technology provider to make sure they understood the requirements and came up with a realistic budget ahead of time. The time felt wasted now, with the whole project on the brink of a complete breakdown. Without the technology-enabled platform delivering the functionalities needed, the whole transition to a new active advisory function was in trouble… There was barely enough time to negotiate again with the fintech. Was it time to reconsider doing it internally? Was it even reasonable to expect they might be able to salvage the project by going to another solution provider? Were they in any way responsible for the budget creep, thanks to the engagement of some many parties, each with its own requirements? How could they ensure Engage did not head for the trash bin of project history? They still believed, but maybe it was time to put milestones and deadlines to the dreams. Very much the definition of strategy…