Team solutions case study: How Horizontal helped a bank upgrade tech infrastructure and achieve digital transformation
Case study
Article by Horizontal Team
Mar 20, 2025
In a constantly evolving financial sector, staying ahead of the competition requires constant innovation and infrastructure upgrades. This bank’s outdated development infrastructure and tech stack were limiting growth opportunities, impacting their ability to scale internally and externally. The inefficiency was severely affecting the customer experience, both for their internal teams and their clients, and they needed a solutions provider like Horizontal to help.
In addition to these infrastructure concerns, the bank was facing a critical shift from a traditional Waterfall environment to a more modern Scaled Agile/SAFe framework. This transformation was necessary for the organization to stay competitive, but it required careful planning and execution. On top of this, the bank had large amounts of sensitive customer data that needed to be securely migrated and protected during the entire transformation process.
The first step was to build out over 20 agile teams for the bank. These teams were equipped with a variety of highly specialized roles, ensuring the bank had the expertise needed for every facet of their digital transformation. Horizontal staffed over 15 full-stack engineers, skilled in React, Node, Python, AWS, Docker, Kubernetes and other critical technologies. In addition, we placed more than 5 data engineers with expertise in Python, Pyspark, Docker, Kubernetes and AWS, as well as multiple Scrum Masters, DevOps engineers and database engineers to help support the bank’s transformation efforts.
Our team also provided training development resources to ensure that the client’s internal staff was fully equipped to operate within their new agile framework. This ensured a smooth transition to Scaled Agile/SAFe and set the foundation for a more collaborative, efficient and scalable workflow across the organization.
Today, the bank is more agile and scalable, with a modern tech stack that can handle increased revenue streams, secure data migration and faster response times. The successful partnership with Horizontal has allowed them to achieve their digital transformation goals while positioning them for future success.
If you’re facing similar challenges with outdated infrastructure or are planning a large-scale digital transformation, Horizontal is here to help. Our approach, which combines technical, functional and creative expertise, is designed to ensure that your teams can scale efficiently and achieve long-term success.
The challenge: Outdated infrastructure and a need for scaled agile transformation
When the bank approached us, they were struggling with a tech stack that was no longer able to support the demands of their business. Their infrastructure was antiquated and couldn’t handle the scale required for both internal development and external client needs. This roadblock hindered potential revenue growth and resulted in slow response times, unoptimized workflows and ultimately, poor customer experience.In addition to these infrastructure concerns, the bank was facing a critical shift from a traditional Waterfall environment to a more modern Scaled Agile/SAFe framework. This transformation was necessary for the organization to stay competitive, but it required careful planning and execution. On top of this, the bank had large amounts of sensitive customer data that needed to be securely migrated and protected during the entire transformation process.
Our solution: Building agile teams and implementing a seamless transformation
Given the complexity of the challenge, the bank selected Horizontal as their vendor, trusting us to tackle every aspect of the project, from the technical and functional to the creative and digital. Our approach was comprehensive: We didn’t just focus on one aspect of the transformation but handled the entire project to ensure seamless integration.The first step was to build out over 20 agile teams for the bank. These teams were equipped with a variety of highly specialized roles, ensuring the bank had the expertise needed for every facet of their digital transformation. Horizontal staffed over 15 full-stack engineers, skilled in React, Node, Python, AWS, Docker, Kubernetes and other critical technologies. In addition, we placed more than 5 data engineers with expertise in Python, Pyspark, Docker, Kubernetes and AWS, as well as multiple Scrum Masters, DevOps engineers and database engineers to help support the bank’s transformation efforts.
Our team also provided training development resources to ensure that the client’s internal staff was fully equipped to operate within their new agile framework. This ensured a smooth transition to Scaled Agile/SAFe and set the foundation for a more collaborative, efficient and scalable workflow across the organization.
The results: A long-term, collaborative partnership
Since 2017, Horizontal has staffed more than 200 contingent workers on the bank’s teams. One of the most notable outcomes has been a significant reduction in turnover, as the agile framework has fostered a more collaborative and productive team environment. The bank has also been able to scale their infrastructure and tech stack to meet the growing demands of their business, while creating a better internal and external customer experience.Today, the bank is more agile and scalable, with a modern tech stack that can handle increased revenue streams, secure data migration and faster response times. The successful partnership with Horizontal has allowed them to achieve their digital transformation goals while positioning them for future success.
Driving innovation and transformation with Horizontal’s team solutions
Our team solutions go beyond simple staffing. By providing the right expertise and helping to build high-performing, collaborative teams, we are able to support clients through complex transformations like the one we completed with this financial services bank.If you’re facing similar challenges with outdated infrastructure or are planning a large-scale digital transformation, Horizontal is here to help. Our approach, which combines technical, functional and creative expertise, is designed to ensure that your teams can scale efficiently and achieve long-term success.