Insights for Banking IT in 2021

In a recent article published by Deloitte, banking industry leaders shared their predictions for how they will leverage COVID-19 lessons to transform business in the coming year. One of those themes was IT and experts predict that advanced technology will be at the heart of everything banks do - if this is true then strong infrastructure should keep it all beating. Want to get granular? Here’s what makes up successful bank tech in 2021.

Virtual Operation Models

COVID-19 was a sizable pain in the neck for banks. They were required to make major changes and updates across their entire operations, but as Deloitte noted, these organizations more than stepped up with an adaptation plan well before COVID-19 even happened! Fortune Bank is one example of this.

“One of the biggest challenges during the pandemic was ensuring everyone was set up to work from home securely,” McKeen shared. “We had to make sure every data security protocol that is followed in the office was also followed remotely—which we were able to do thanks to our CompleteCloud remote desktops that use multi-factor authentication (MFA).”

Fortune Bank proactively invested in technology that prioritized productivity, security and compliance years ago. When tragedy struck they were ready to take on the challenge because of their brilliant foresight at a time when many banks still struggle with IT issues such as lack of scalability or outdated technologies. Read more about why Fortune switched to CompleteCloud several years before it was too late and what outcomes they’ve seen since then!

Cloud Capabilities

In the past, banks have been able to reduce costs and modernize their technology stacks with cloud migration. Recently companies are also using it for virtualizing workforces so that they can be more agile in a changing world. Now people might use this shift as an opportunity to rethink how business models operate entirely - going beyond cost reduction and modernization into agility, scale, innovation…all of which will help them evolve while maintaining profitability through times of change or uncertainty.

With the growing need for compliance and scaling platforms, ABQ-IT continues to see more financial institutions show interest in CompleteCloud. Built with flexibility in mind so that as businesses needs change or grow they can continue to comply, be secure on any device including tablets and smartphones, this platform is a perfect fit for many organizations today.

Some banks are exploring how private cloud technologies can contribute to their success in the coming year. They understand that these new technology tools will help them achieve better accuracy, increase speed and scalability as well as saving money on IT.

Productivity and Collaboration

According to a recent Deloitte survey, the top two strategic goals of leaders are improving productivity and collaboration. This is not surprising when you consider that IT has become an integral part of how we bank today—whether it’s traditional or virtually.

“[Technology] should play a fundamental role in improving productivity in a virtual environment…creating flexible teams, sharing knowledge, making information flows efficient, and promoting new forms of collaboration across the organization.”

A few of the most important things to consider when it comes to staying secure is using collaboration tools that are reputable and safe. When an attack happens on a service like SaaS, your risk goes up dramatically due to how many applications you’re utilizing for work purposes. For example, Microsoft was hit hard by ransomware in 2020 because they have so much exposure through their products used across all industries including healthcare, finance and education - which obviously has big implications if malware gets into these systems too! If you use CompleteCloud as opposed with Google Drive or Dropbox (for instance), this kind of cyberattack would not be possible since everything lives inside your private cloud infrastructure without any external access points whatsoever.

Speaking of Cybersecurity…

Many banks have been severely tested by the recent pandemic and cybercriminals. The threat volume, velocity, and variability continue to increase as more progress is made with every day that passes. Deloitte’s advice:

“In strengthening cyber resilience, banks should both adopt more effective preventative controls as well as prepare for rapid recovery from adverse events caused by malware, ransomware, and other pernicious attacks. Additionally, to get ahead of emerging problems, banks should take a security-by-design approach, weaving cybersecurity requirements into all aspects of their digital architecture.”

A recent Deloitte-FS-ISAC benchmarking survey found that access control, data security, and detection are the top investment priorities for financial institutions. With an uncertain macroeconomic picture causing more intense prioritization in order to maintain stability or even lower budgets, outsourcing a secure IT infrastructure within predictable per user monthly pricing model is becoming increasingly appealing for smaller institutions as well.

Trusted Partners

As our world becomes more digital, bank industry leaders are forced to wear many hats. Successful leaders will find trusted advisors and vendors to help them determine how far, how deep, and what their role of business technology is in this transformation. Deciding if they want change at all or not when thinking about the future for a company can be tough as well as knowing where it should start from with IT strategy but we’re here to answer those questions!