InterSystems’ new report on the top data and technology challenges facing financial services in APAC found that 87% of A/NZ banks experience frustration and worry in using their data to drive decision-making.
The report says that 88% of A/NZ firms cannot base decisions on near-real-time information less than a day old, while 38% of A/NZ financial services make decisions based on data between one and three days old, and 13% rely on data between four days and one week old.
Data analyst firm Virteous World surveyed 176 business leaders in financial services companies, including commercial, investment, and retail banks in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore.
Ann Kuelzow, InterSystems’ head of international financial services, says the financial services industry processes massive amounts of data daily.
“It’s the lifeblood of organizations and the key to everything from compliance to Business 360 and Customer 360, helping them deliver the products and experiences their customers need,” she says.
“That’s why it’sthey must find ways to overcome the challenges they face in accessing, harmonizing, and analyzing data so they can use it more effectively to move their organizations forward.”
45% cannot report on all relevant data and must make assumptions and summarize the data. 27% cannot get the data from all the necessary sources, and 29% have delayed access to data. All A/NZ organizations report that there are data and application silos in their company, but only 18% will prioritize eliminating data silos within the next 12 months. 52% say mastering data management, and 48% say accessing real-time data across the business is one of their top technology priorities for the next 12 months. 80% would consider implementing a data fabric to simplify access to distributed data.
InterSystems says that massive amounts of data, combined with information across multiple applications and data silos, present additional challenges for financial organizations as they attempt to track every customer interaction or gain near real-time visibility into business operations.
The report says that understanding all this data typically requires significant investment.
It says that as the database grows, financial organizations find it more challenging to track and anticipate customer interactions, impacting the overall customer experience and creating challenges when attracting, retaining, and expanding customer accounts. It also has implications for employee engagement and retention.
InterSystems warns that, if left unchecked, the current data challenges facing financial services firms in ANZ and worldwide will significantly impact their ability to achieve business goals.
However, the company acknowledges that the research shows that addressing these issues is high on the agenda for most companies for the coming year.
InterSystems says breaking the silos within financial services environments is critical to ensure data can be used consistently across the business.
Implementing modern data management technologies gives financial services firms a real-time, consistent view of data from various sources, giving business leaders a more comprehensive view of the organization.
