 "Top 10 Strategic IT Initiatives for BFSI in 2007")
Financial Insights, an IDC company, recently identified the Top 10 IT initiatives that will be of key strategic importance for capital markets, insurance, risk management, and banking (retail and corporate banking) organizations worldwide in 2007.
According to Financial Insights, banks across the globe continue to invest heavily and consider strategic options regarding security and fraud management tools and practices to strengthen control of non-public consumer and corporate information, primarily on the heels of such mandates as capital and operational risk management, and stronger customer authentication. Deceitful online and offline schemes target banks from the outside and the inside.
With regards to core banking, its prominence is high among developing nations and mature economies, but with two very different approaches. In the mature markets of North America and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), banks are using tactics including middleware wrappings, Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and workarounds to achieve scalability, flexibility and agility without replacing the core technology. Asia Pacific has seen significant resources expended on this strategic initiative critical within the region.
Financial Insights also mentions that the foundation of all good performance management is reliable financial information that is generated automatically, on a timely basis, and reconciles with operational transaction systems, providing clear accountabilities for profit and cost centres.
Financial Insights recommends that Integrated Financial supply chains should develop viable measurement tools that cover financial targets, customer expectations, business processes, technology, human capital and their relationship to return on capital.
“Banks recognize the potential high value of IT investment, but they also see that this high potential has not been realized. Institutions now are much more demanding in the way they allocate capital for investment and their requirement to deliver performance–one way or another, " stated Jeanne Capachin, vice president of Research, Financial Insights.