DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
32 the last two or three years ,” says Rosner . “ As a matter of fact , one of Finastra ’ s taglines is ‘ collaborate to innovate ’. However , what I ’ ve witnessed over the last four months is the recognition of how strong open partner ecosystems can be .”
Without technology like cloud making information easily and securely exchangeable , these ecosystems could not exist . Also , Rosner reports that SMBs ( small-medium businesses ) have gained recognition in the wake of the pandemic as essential to the stability of economies , therefore spurring on efforts to empower them with the ability to operate on a “ remote-hybrid ” model , giving employees flexibility in the work schedule ( i . e . remote working ).
Another aspect which must always be considered is ‘ a goal ’; before embarking on a potentially long and expensive journey , what does a company wish to achieve through its digital transformation ? An obvious aim might be cost efficiencies and indeed this is what many in the finance sector were initially drawn to . Even if this was initially true , however , Rosner doesn ’ t believe that it will continue to be so : “ Since the pandemic , everybody has been discussing the
‘ new normal ’ and how things aren ’ t going back to the way they were . As such , R & D and agility are taking precedence instead .”
Traditional and legacy companies in the finance industry , where the introduction of a new product could take up to two years , are now competing with FinTechs that can develop exponentially faster . Cost efficiencies might still be important , but without a similar level of capability and speed , non-FinTechs risk losing customers for failing to innovate .
OCTOBER 2020