2020, the year, well, like no other. COVID-19 pushed everyone, not just those in financial services, to change at a rapid rate. In fact, it is what allowed the financial services workforce to keep operating and servicing its customers in a fresh and advanced way. The crisis made questioning how to go “all-in” to the cloud all but defunct. Digital transformation has become less about choice and more about simple necessity. The pandemic rapidly accelerated the implementation of digital across all aspects of customer engagement, from selling to servicing.
Rising competition from innovative, digitally-agile, financial technology firms—adept in establishing customers in seconds through instant, digital onboarding experiences—have meant that banks and other financial service providers are struggling to keep up. The variety of options for users and the associated ease of signing up has drastically lowered the cost of switching, forcing the industry to quickly improve the integration of digital services.
The top priorities for retail banks in 2021
These recent changes have meant retail banks are now reviewing their top priorities, and looking at them from three perspectives:
- In terms of digital customer engagement, effective processes, or strong fraud management, banks are now identifying and closing crucial gaps in resources immediately.
- Banks are making sure they have a clear-cut approach, such as cloud adoption, or how they might participate in the progressively more open ecosystem.
- Banks are keeping a lookout for issues that are not yet serious but might start to receive a lot of business attention, such as central bank digital currencies.
This reviewing of priorities has led to a new way of working, meaning that while branches and offices will not disappear, remote working will become a much more common sight, post-pandemic, and most businesses, including banks, will have to respond to questions extending far beyond just technology to establish the right attitude for the “future of work”.
What BCI deliver to our Financial Services clients
To contend with today’s competitive landscape, banks need to upgrade their older technology to become more agile and data centric. Balancing regulatory requirements that affect how information is handled, while delivering a current collaboration strategy requires understanding and preparation. Our Financial Services experience, combined with our SharePoint expertise enables our customers to deliver compliant and efficient solutions to their users.
See our financial services here: https://businesscloudintegration.co.uk/financial-services
“Business Cloud Integration led a major revamp of a SharePoint 2010 intranet for 13,000 users. Their investigation of the requirements and forward-thinking solutions ensured that the correct path was taken to allow for future development. The team are clearly passionate about helping companies get the best out of what the tools they have, and they are highly trustworthy. I actively recommend them to others, as I know I will never be disappointed.”
— Matthew Masiak, SharePoint Developer, HSBC
