Feb 29, 2024
Building a unified future: The role of IT consolidation in transforming BFSI operations
By Natasha Rock
In the last decade, the Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) sector has been transforming at speed, accelerating innovation to meet increasing customer service expectations. Especially in India, the concept of ‘anywhere, anytime’ banking is driving major technological developments in the industry. Currently, India ranks no. 1 in the world in terms of real-time digital payment transactions. According to McKinsey, the evolving IT infrastructure will push the global BFSI industry to achieve 25-40% in structural productivity gains to create capacity for new customers as well as workforce demands.
IT consolidation can infuse agility in banking operations
A proficient IT support tool can have a huge impact on employees’ productivity as they deal with day-to-day technical issues. By leveraging IT systems and resources centralised into a cohesive framework, financial institutions can effectively reduce multi-platform complexity, data duplication, and operational inefficiencies that often plague disparate systems. It becomes easier for help desk teams to work with a unified IT tool and offer frictionless support to users. Consolidation allows for more advanced tasks like diagnosis, scripting, and translation to be performed, in addition to instant support for any mobile device or computer that users are on. It simplifies IT management, enhances responsiveness, and eliminates redundant hardware and software, thus, diverting resources to business areas that drive more customer value.
AI-driven insights to supercharge IT productivity
AI solutions like Chat GPT-powered virtual assistants can build automation workflows for routine tasks and provide instant access to information to resolve user queries and technical issues in real-time. For example, AI can prioritise and categorise support tickets based on their urgency and complexity. Or help by creating and running IT automation scripts to ensure that IT teams can focus their efforts on critical issues, rather than being overwhelmed with routine tasks. Incorporating AI-driven insights into an all-in-one IT tool not only enhances the productivity of IT teams but also ensures they can stay ahead of potential issues, make informed decisions, and deliver exceptional support to the organisation.
Integrated network security to fortify IT workflows
As technology becomes more integrated into financial services, implementing resilient security becomes paramount. IT teams frequently exchange sensitive information regarding system configurations, security patches, and incident responses. Integrated security features within IT support like banking-grade protocols, elevated access restrictions, permission-based support, and audit trails will bolster security. Such a framework will eliminate the need for separate security tools which cause unnecessary delays in servicing and increase the risk of security breaches. Moreover, as operations scale up, a consolidated IT support solution will offer flexibility for data residency and storage customisation, granting the highest degree of control over data and retention policies for financial organisations.
The future of next-gen banking services
The trajectory of banking services is being rewritten by the twin forces of technology and innovation. The horizon is dotted with possibilities: digitalisation redefining customer transactions, AI-driven hyper-personalisation, high-level security, and beyond.
The stakes are high, and inaction is not an option. The role of consolidated IT tools is nothing short of transformative for the BFSI sector. Integrated solutions can redefine the operational landscape in profound ways by centralising diverse IT functions. It can also facilitate better decision-making and response times for IT agents. These tools ensure that BFSI IT teams can adapt to the rapid changes in the financial industry, whether it’s the adoption of fintech innovations, evolving regulatory requirements, or the growing demand for remote and mobile banking services.
As technology continues to advance, IT tools will remain instrumental in the sector’s quest for agility, efficiency, and resilience. In the BFSI landscape, where precision, security, and customer satisfaction are non-negotiable, robust IT tools are the bedrock of sustainable success, propelling IT teams to navigate an ever-evolving financial world.
The author is solutions lead – IT management and support, APAC, GoTo
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