Top IT Challenges that MSPs Solve for the Banking Industry

By: Kirti Pachauri, Manager - Marketing, Clover Infotech

The banking industry is highly regulated and is experiencing an accelerated pace of technological change. Investments in digital transformation initiatives have skyrocketed since COVID-19. The banking industry in particular, has embraced digital transformation to reap a plethora of benefits such as improved efficiency, reduced IT overheads, and enhanced innovation. The recent turbulent economic uncertainties coupled with digital disruption and cyber threats have led the banking industry to think of new ways to overcome these challenges.

The traditional way of banking is disappearing, paving way for a modern approach ­ the digital approach. Banks have transitioned to new business models with a digital service mindset to support flexibility and changing dynamics. They have recognized the importance of digital technologies as a powerful lever to improve profits, regulatory compliance, and transform their customer experience.

The basic requirement for creating a seamless digital banking experience is the advanced IT infrastructure. Banks need to digitalize their processes, modernize legacy applications and upgrade to a virtual infrastructure to support this shift in mind-sets and preferences of customers. One way to optimize IT infrastructure is by partnering with a Managed Services Provider (MSP). An MSP enables banks to augment competencies that they lack and enhance their business processes, resulting in reduced overheads, improved security, and streamlined in-house processes. Below are the ways in which MSPs empower the banking industry to overcome challenges for continued business growth.

EMPOWERS INTERNAL IT TEAMS: The growing need to digitalize IT systems and processes is leaving internal IT teams feeling over-burdened. The internal IT teams can find it challenging to cope-up with such demands due to lack of skilled resources, transparency, and legacy infrastructure. An MSP can fortify internal IT teams by providing the necessary services and equipment to upgrade the IT environment.

SUPPORTS ADOPTION OF NEW TECHNOLOGY: Internal IT teams can feel under-equipped while supporting an organization-wide adoption of new technology. New-age technologies such as AI, cloud, and blockchain are taking-over the technology world. However, to be able to leverage these new-age technologies, businesses need to build deep skillsets. Hiring or having to gain substantial knowledge of these emerging technologies is time-consuming and inefficient. In such a scenario, MSPs bring-in extensive knowledge, technical expertise, and skilled resources to support digitalization drive and adoption of new technologies.

ENHANCES CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE: The banking landscape all over the globe is evolving by adopting a customer-driven approach. Initially reluctant to adopt new technology, the banking industry has now realized its inevitability. With the millennial population forming a major percentage of customers, banks have to prioritize comfort and convenience in their services. Such a shift demands intelligence and agility in banking processes. An MSP can upgrade existing systems, automate redundant processes, and integrate new-age technologies into existing IT infrastructure to enhance customer experience.

“MSPs bring-in extensive knowledge, technical expertise, and skilled resources to support digitalization drive and adoption of new technologies”

MODERNIZE LEGACY SYSTEMS: In traditional banks, employees still work on legacy systems, resulting in latency, poor experience, and increased overheads. The shift from legacy systems to new-age cloud solutions can be a daunting task for internal IT teams. MSPs have teams of experts with several years of experience. These experts are well-versed in different areas and have specialized skillsets. They can assist internal IT teams in moving applications and the underlying infrastructure from on-premise to cloud while ensuring minimum downtime and expenses.

ENHANCES SECURITY: With the number of cyberattacks increasing by the day, it is becoming important for businesses to secure their IT infrastructure. This requires them to first identify the touchpoints that are at the highest risk of being broken into, building solutions to secure them, implement the solutions, and then continually monitor them for any leaks. Implementation of such a threat detection and mitigation plan requires resources with the right skillsets. An MSP can help the organization to build a strong defence mechanism by continually upgrading, monitoring, and optimizing security policies & measures.

As the banking industry navigates today's unpredictable economic and regulatory landscape, the pressure on technology teams are mounting. Hence, adoption of managed services is rising, as businesses seek a more strategic approach to better organize, operate and safeguard their operations.