We at TPI have said before that outsourcing adoption in the financial services industry is critical to the growth of the overall market. With active annualized outsourcing contract values worth more than $11 billion collectively, it is one of the largest buyers of outsourcing. The decline in activity during the 2nd quarter is indicative of just how much stronger regulation and weaker balance sheets have adversely affected financial institutions.
Like most other sectors, senior leadership is mandating initiatives to reduce costs while also increasing productivity and quality. Profitability for banks has and will be reduced as consumer demand shrinks and more cautious lending practices are enacted. This is leading banks to look within to improve how their capital base, liquidity, risk management and market-facing entities are managed while also looking outward to better understand existing customers’ preferences so that expanded services (mainly online & mobile banking) can be made available.
Companies in this sector with active outsourcing contracts (one third of 307), will need to take these steps to reshape its business model as it recovers from the financial crisis. Due to its maturity in outsourcing, more value-added and complex analytical work is outsourced, though many firms are also looking to shared services, process improvements, and offshoring to captive or lower-cost domestic service centers for solutions.
Cloud computing is a hot topic for many firms looking at its offerings closely, but the pressure to rapidly respond to market opportunities is pushing firms to commit more to long term infrastructure transactions such as SaaS. Flexibility, innovation, continuous improvement and process reengineering are all deliverables that banks will look for particularly as banks try to optimize their global delivery strategies and M&A takes them in and out of markets. Opportunities for service providers exist in being able to show evidence to support their claims that technology/services offered will deliver on its promise.
For more information about outsourcing activity in the Financial Services sector and other industries, please contact Paul Reynolds at [email protected].
About the author
Paul Reynolds leads Momentum, a division of ISG that provides research services to help service providers better target, win and retain business. Paul has 25 years of market research experience with specific expertise in methodology development, data analytics and research process design. Having found many service providers’ Advisor Relations functions to lack appropriate analytics, Paul is working to develop innovative new approaches that allow for data-driven programs based on the unique needs of each client. His approach benefits Advisor Relations, go-to-market functions, sales, strategy, marketing, and market/competitive intelligence teams.
About the author
Paul Reynolds
Paul Reynolds leads Momentum, a division of ISG that provides research services to help service providers better target, win and retain business. Paul has 25 years of market research experience with specific expertise in methodology development, data analytics and research process design. Having found many service providers’ Advisor Relations functions to lack appropriate analytics, Paul is working to develop innovative new approaches that allow for data-driven programs based on the unique needs of each client. His approach benefits Advisor Relations, go-to-market functions, sales, strategy, marketing, and market/competitive intelligence teams.
