DC09-370 19 November 2009
Financial services sector most innovative following economic downturn
Technology investment proves integral to post-recession recovery
The financial services sector has emerged as the UK’s most technologically innovative business sector following the economic downturn, according to research from BT Global Services. The survey of board-level executives from large companies found that, despite the sector’s suffering from the recession for the longest period when compared against five other sectors (retail, transport, logistics, fast-moving consumer goods and the public sector), 92 per cent of respondents in financial services indicated that they were investing in at least one of the listed technologies* – far more than respondents in other sectors.
Despite reports that the financial crisis has brought many IT projects and investments to a standstill, a good proportion of financial institutions did not feel that the recession had stifled their priorities towards spending on core technology requirements for their business. An impressive 52 per cent of financial institutions indicated that they were investing money in faster/more reliable network technology in order to maximise their recovery.
A recent report sponsored by BT, illustrated the case for financial institutions’ investment in infrastructure technology with total cost of ownership (TCO) savings of over 50 per cent being achieved through moving away from do-it-yourself (DIY) network infrastructures and steering towards managed extranet services.
Andy Nicholson, Vice President global banking & financial markets, BT said: “Among the financial community, CTOs and CIOs are looking for ways to create leaner, increasingly cost-efficient infrastructures without compromising their business models.
This research highlights that in order to keep pace with changing business requirements and customer expectations CIOs, now more than ever, will need proven, reliable infrastructure providers, such as BT, to help them tackle their shifting network infrastructure needs.”
The research found that 60 per cent of financial services companies were confident about their business prospects over the coming year. Alongside their bullish statements about the first signs of recovery and economic upturn financial institutions have also seen their technology investment priorities shift towards flexible working and tele/video conferencing solutions, with nearly half (46 per cent) investing in flexible working technology and more than one third (38 per cent) investing in tele/video conferencing technology.
Andy Nicholson, said: “In spite of the economic downturn, sentiment within the financial industry is actually buoyant according to our research. It is evident that the financial downturn has forced some changes, and not all of these are negative. Investing in technology to improve efficiency in their businesses will help financial institutions maximise profits when a full recovery has taken place.”
BT has over 25 years’ experience working in the financial sector, with presence in over 170 countries. From the ATM in a bank’s retail branch to the secure messaging services that allow central banks every day to settle transactions worth billions of dollars, BT addresses the communications-related requirements of the financial services sector in breadth and in depth.
One third of the world’s dealing desks use BT voice trading systems, and the multi award-winning BT Radianz shared market infrastructure links the world’s leading stock exchanges and trading venues and over 400 application service providers to over 14,000 customer locations across the financial services sector worldwide.
* Network technology, outsourcing technology, tele/video conferencing, flexible working, sustainable/green technology, automated customer contact, cloud computing/SaaS technology.
