Westpac served up Commonwealth Bank an extraordinary free kick at the CeBIT technology conference being held in Sydney this week.German software giant SAP is the lead sponsor of the event, and is also supplying the core banking foundation for CBA's systems overhaul. In an address at the conference yesterday afternoon Westpac's Jason Millett, general manager strategy, execution and transformation, product and operations said that SAP sold a "world leading core banking product.""Banks that don't have that sort of platform - well not SAP exactly, but that sort of platform -aren't going to compete," Millett warned. Westpac, under the stewardship of chief information officer Bob McKinnon, has chosen to remain with its Hogan banking platform, although that system, now owned by CSC, has been significantly overhauled since first installed at Westpac.Describing how Westpac was reworking its systems (and those supporting the St George, Rams and Bank SA brands) to become more customer centric, Millett said that the ambition was to "put daylight between yourself and your competition," by delighting customers to the extent they recommended the bank. In a presentation heavy on motherhood and light on technical detail Millett suggested just six things needed to be achieved to deliver on this intent.These were: establishing design requirements from the customer's perspective; developing a clear technology strategy which was aligned to the business strategy; ensuring that reliable and robust technology services are provided; streamlining customer fulfilment processes; managing performance by measureable standards; and systematically identifying, prioritising and implementing "opportunities to delight".