Failed Core Replacement Project? Congratulations on Thinking Big. Now Let's Build Small and Win Big

How Honest Consultants Can Help You Reclaim Innovation Through a Strategic Side-Core Approach

You thought it was time.

You planned to replace your aging core banking platform. The RFPs went out, the vendor demos rolled in, and big promises were made. But somewhere along the way, the project stalled. Timelines slipped. Costs climbed. The complexity became overwhelming.

You're not alone if your core replacement project failed or was put on hold.

And actually, you're in the right place.

At Honest Consultants, we believe that ambition is a good thing. It shows that you're thinking about the future, imagining a better way to serve customers, reduce friction, and stay competitive.

Now, it's time to channel that momentum into a smarter, more achievable innovation path—one that doesn't rely on tearing out your core, one that starts small but delivers a big impact.

What Is a Side-Core Strategy?

A Side-Core is a strategic solution architecture adjacent to your core banking system. It's not a replacement. Instead, it extracts and surfaces critical data and processes from your core to create a flexible innovation layer that your team controls.

With a Side-Core, you do not ask for vendor timelines or change orders. Instead, you enable your business users, digital teams, and developers to build, launch, and iterate independently.

It’s about taking back control.

Why Build a Side-Core?

Because most banks and credit unions today are:

• Tied to slow-moving core vendors.

• Dependent on limited integration capabilities.

• Unable to keep up with digital expectations.

A Side-Core lets you:

• Quickly innovate and test new features.

• Build modern digital experiences without re-architecting your core.

• Create a unified view of the customer across fragmented systems.

• Add flexibility to respond to market and regulatory demands.

Iterative Innovation: Our Approach

At Honest Consultants, we advocate for practical, incremental progress over long, high-risk projects. Our Side-Core strategy follows a proven, iterative approach:

Step 1: Prioritize High-Impact Use Cases

• Focus on areas where your core is limiting innovation.

• Common targets: onboarding, customer 360, workflow automation, compliance reporting.

Step 2: Build a Lightweight Data Layer

• Extract and normalize core data through APIs, ETL pipelines, or flat file integrations.

• Store data in an agile, secure platform optimized for real-time use cases.

Step 3: Launch Micro-Solutions

• Use low-code platforms to build interfaces for specific teams or functions.

• Deploy quickly, collect feedback, and iterate.

Step 4: Scale Gradually

• Add more processes, domains, and channels.

• Develop reusable components and internal standards.

Over time, your Side-Core becomes a scalable innovation engine.

Use Cases Solved by a Side-Core

1. Digital Onboarding: Launch streamlined onboarding flows that interact with core data but run on modern interfaces.

2. Customer 360: Unify account, transaction, product, and service data across core and ancillary systems.

3. Workflow Automation: Automate manual service processes, queue management, and internal approvals.

4. Regulatory & Compliance: Build traceable, flexible audit and reporting tools independent of core vendor cycles.

5. Marketing Enablement: Enable intelligent segmentation, campaign automation, and personalized offers based on side-core intelligence.

6. Open Banking & Fintech Integrations: Test and deploy partnerships with fintechs or aggregators without exposing the core directly.

Why Honest Consultants?

We specialize in modern financial services architecture. Our team includes:

• Enterprise architects

• Low-code developers

• Banking domain experts

• Integration and data consultants

We’ve successfully delivered composable banking platforms across North America for banks and credit unions.

Our differentiators:

• Platform-agnostic expertise

• Deep financial services experience

• Focus on quick wins with long-term architectural vision