Large-Scale Platform Migration Recovery
3rd March 2026 ·
A global asset servicer was behind schedule on a complex migration of 200 clients and 2,000 funds to anew platform. Facing rising client concern and a fixed deadline, the bank turned to AB to take control of the programme, restore delivery confidence, and accelerate migration progress. The migration was highly complex, requiring the build-out of full custody capabilities, alongside enhanced data analytics to overhaul a legacy reporting model, demanding a multidisciplinary team of consultants across delivery, business, technology, data and change. AB built a specialist team of over 40 consultants, bringing the initiative back on track, on budget, and on time.
Challenge
The bank faced several critical challenges:
- A major programme behind schedule, risking delays to 200 client migrations
- Budget overruns and fragmented delivery across stakeholders
- Complex functional requirements spanning custody operations, tax, stock lending, and corporate actions
- Inefficient and excessive reporting, overwhelming clients and draining internal resources
- Poor communication with clients, who lacked visibility of timelines and upcoming changes
- Significant pressure to meet the deadline without compromising service continuity
The programme required strong leadership, specialist capability, and immediate stabilisation.
Approach
Albany Beck moved quickly, immediately deploying an SME Programme Director to conduct a full assessment of the programme. Within days, we:
- Met all key stakeholders to rebuild alignment
- Analysed the entire project plan and delivery structure
- Defined a clear recommendation on the actions required to recover timelines
- Proposed and shaped a 40-person specialist team to accelerate client migrations
Once approved, Albany Beck mobilised a fully multidisciplinary delivery team, including:
- Business Analysts & Data Analysts to accelerate account migration readiness
- Experienced Project Managers to strengthen governance, RAID management, and planning discipline
- Client Communications Specialists to rebuild the external comms strategy and restore transparency
- Domain SMEs to validate requirements and clarify technical functionality
- Technology resources (Developers, Engineering Leads, and Technical Analysts) to support migration tooling, resolve platform issues, validate system behaviour, and ensure the new platform could absorb incoming migrations at scale
This structure ensured rapid progress while giving the bank renewed control over the programme and strengthening the technical foundations required for migration success.
Solution
Through focused leadership and coordinated delivery expertise, AB executed a full programme turnaround:
- Stabilised the programme and re-established a predictable migration schedule
- Accelerated client migration speed through targeted BA, technical analyst, and data analysis support
- Rebuilt the external communications plan to ensure clients had clear, proactive updates
- Documented a full suite of custody functionality for handover to engineering and development teams
- Rationalised reporting requirements, reducing unnecessary outputs and improving client usability
This end-to-end delivery model ensured migrations proceeded smoothly while enhancing the bank’s long-term operating model and technical readiness
Outcomes
Within two months, Albany Beck successfully brought the programme back on track. Key results included:
- 100% of subsequent client migrations delivered on plan
- 43% reduction in total reports, eliminating unnecessary client reporting overhead
- Zero service interruptions on the new platform
- Improved communication between internal teams and client stakeholders
- A fully validated and documented set of functional requirements ready for delivery
This intervention saved the bank’s internal teams significant time and restored client confidence by ensuring a seamless and well-governed migration experience.