MARKET REPORT Finance & Banking
Vertical Horizon: Channel
in… Finance and Banking
Digital transformation has started and is having a significant impact in financial services. The need to reduce costs
and replace legacy equipment are seen as the major drivers of change, but this is very closely followed by the
need to increase customer engagement and targeting
Digital transformation is a
vitally important process
for the nancial sector as a
whole, and for individual
companies that need to keep up
with their competitors. Added
to this are the pressures of
evolving technology, new entrants
threatening to use their agility
or massive resources to enter the
market, and the introduction of
ever more regulatory changes
and the uncertain political
landscape. In all, nancial
services companies need to invest
in digital and be ready to harness
the ability this brings to navigate
complex situations.
According to a recent survey
by information management
software rm Opentext, the
current picture in the sector
is healthy, with nearly two
thirds of surveyed rms already
deploying or close to creating a
transformation programme, and
only two per cent yet to plan one
at all. Within the sector there is
no particular evidence of any one
area (such as insurance) being
further ahead or further behind,
and it appears that all industries
are travelling at the same speed.
e banking industry is
experiencing disruption at an
increasing pace. Over the past
few years, traditional nancial
institutions and non-traditional
ntech rms have begun to
understand that collaboration
may be the best path to longterm
growth.
For most ntech
organisations, the primary
advantages are an innovation
mindset, agility (speed to adjust),
consumer-centric perspective,
and an infrastructure built for
digital. ese are advantages that
most legacy nancial institutions
don’t possess.
Alternatively, most banking
institutions have scale, a stronger
brand recognition and established
trust. ey also have adequate
capital, knowledge of regulatory
compliance and an established
distribution network.
Looking at the ndings of
the Opentext survey in terms
of where in the organisation the
push for digital transformation
is coming from it’s disappointing
to see that the marketing
departments have just not got
their heads around the need or
the potential benets. I would
therefore question whether
the outcomes arrived at by the
investments might not actually be
customer focussed.
Given that one of the
key objectives for digital
transformation in this sector is
customer service excellence, this
potential in not addressing the
needs of the customers could
be disastrous and leave many
organisations that get their
transformations wrong wide open
to competitors that get it right.
In terms of what the channel
makes of this we put a number of
questions to players in the market
to get further reader feedback.
What are the IT and Comms
trends in this sector?
Carl Boraman, Director of
Strategic Alliances at Tollring,
reminds us that the nance/
banking sector is a highly
competitive global marketplace.
“It is also one of the
most heavily regulated with
organisations under constant
scrutiny to adhere to continued
governance such asPCI
compliance, Dodd-Frank
Act compliance, MIFID
II compliance, and GDPR
compliance.
Cyber Security is a top
priorityas these organisations
strive to prevent cyber-threats,
hackers and malware.If these
companies don’t protect their
customers, then they’re going
to lose their trust, and a poor
reputation can be more harmful
to a brand than any ne.
e early adopters in the
industry are constantly exploring
new technologies to increase
workforce mobility and remote
working. In contrast, more
established rms are still working
to move from legacy, locally
built communication tools to
cloud solutions for exibility and
scale. All are striving to deliver
improved customer service and
interactions that drive down
cost and improve customer
satisfaction.”
John McKindland, Head of
Solution Sales at Nimans, says
the nance and banking sector
continues to innovate and focus
on speed of adjustment.
“Being agile is key especially >
24 | Comms Business Magazine | August 2019 www.commsbusiness.co.uk
/www.commsbusiness.co.uk
