What are the main drivers for tech investment in banking and financial services?
The consensus among some of today's decision makers in the industry is that legacy systems aren’t delivering on their promises due to excessive complexity and costs. Their lack of simplicity affects both customers and staff equally. Legacy systems are slow and provide low-quality data, they are not flexible enough and, ultimately, are not a good bang for the buck.
The digital revolution created a shift in the marketplace and has put the customer at the centre of technological demand, outpacing the legacy systems’ capacity to adapt in serving consumers effectively. It is not surprising that many big players are now refocusing their efforts towards digitalisation and cloud adoption, a process accelerated by post-covid changes in working and customer behaviour.
The digital revolution created a shift in the marketplace and has put the customer at the centre of technological demand, outpacing the legacy systems’ capacity to adapt in serving consumers effectively.
So what kind of technology is the industry gravitating towards?
Two main themes emerge: the new technology needs to be efficient and resource-lite, and it needs to be not only up-to-date with the current trends, but also future-proof for the demands of tomorrow. Some of the recurrent mentions on the decision makers’ wishlist appear to value a modern look-and-feel and seamless integration capabilities, as well as flexibility and simplicity. A robust and compliant core with great ROI and constant innovation capabilities.
Why invest?
Simply put: to elevate the overall experience and score high on customer satisfaction. And to achieve business objectives by meeting long-term growth strategy while taking the edge off stakeholder needs.
In an industry largely built on trust, it’s no surprise that decision makers rely on referrals from their network and expert recommendations when they want to invest in new technology. However many found the road to change held many roadblocks. A good amount of C-suite, even those with a set budget, cites costs as the main barrier to a board-approved, core substitution sign-off.
To help them succeed, decision makers highlight dedicated support from solutions providers as a must-have. Many say they would want to rely on a 24/7 helpline with knowledgeable customer service as well as free system upgrades. Surprisingly, ROI is seen less about financial return and more about reducing friction on the legacy systems’ operational pain points, with no updates disruption and fewer clicks for an overall better productivity experience.