Letter from Expert - Financial Services

To the technology leaders and CIOs in the financial services industry, I want to point out that trends like next-gen technologies, automating operations, and security measures continue to make business sense. I believe that these trends, along with modern data tools, will redefine the financial services sector; companies who hold the digital reins to accelerate technology innovation will be at the forefront of competition.

Among technologies influencing the transformation of the financial services industry, the cloud indisputably tops the list at present. This will continue, and though there are challenges facing data residency with regional consolidation, regulatory bodies are growing supportive and allowing organizations to scale with agility. However, all this boils down to the smart adoption of the cloud and the implementation of native services. On the other hand, automation techniques like optical character recognition, robotic process automation, and machine learning operations are witnessing end-to-end implementation.

While data continues to remain the centerpiece of financial services companies, the advent of AI/ML is adding new dimensions to usage patterns. In the past, analytics in financial services encompassed fraud detection, customer segmentation, risk management, and other areas besides daily reporting. AI/ML, as an engine, has made predicting ‘what actions to take next’ a cinch across all the above areas.

Payments are a dynamic facet of the financial services industry. As digital transactions continue to snowball, companies must focus on establishing a payment-ready infrastructure on the cloud. Real-time payments are already a norm, continuously transformed by the cloud, APIs, and data. It is necessary to harmonize the data across backend payment & transaction, insurance, investment, and electronic banking processes. Why? To remain unphased from the digital divide and maintain resiliency in business operations.

Besides all the areas I have highlighted, one thing I want to emphasize is to future-proof the infrastructure with DevSecOps. Integrating security tools, technologies, and best practices, DevSecOps helps to reduce agitation caused by siloed operations. It boosts the speed-to-market and makes enough room to automate security in development right from the start. The financial services industry needs to align and streamline security mandates, developer requirements, and IT operations. Therefore, businesses must implement DevSecOps to build new skill sets, such as ML/AI, automation, and security analytics.

I would like to conclude by saying that a big challenge facing financial services companies is the adoption of hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructure. Along with all the best practices, tools, and technologies, the hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructure will help financial services businesses to

successfully overcome the complexity of the cloud. It will also empower businesses to achieve consistency, refine customer experience, and gain optimal performance. Most of all, the technology adoption will facilitate organizations to redefine the customer experience by understanding their financial journeys, buying spectrum, and individual preferences.