Global Capability Centers (GCCs) have revolutionized company operations in the financial services sector. Access to specialized talent, cutting-edge technology, and robust workflows enable financial services companies to unlock new opportunities for innovation, facilitate business continuity, and ensure local regulatory compliance.

However, financial services companies face several challenges when managing IT systems in these GCCs due to fragmented systems and sensitive data. Read on as we deep-dive into these hurdles and shed light on the vital role of managed services for GCC success.

Financial Services IT Challenges

Global Capability Centers allow financial services organizations to leverage global talent, resources, and expertise. While they are built to help reduce costs, improve efficiency, and expand operations, the inherent nature of financial systems and software makes them challenging to manage and optimize. Let’s look at what makes IT systems in the financial services sector so complex:

• Fragmented IT: Financial services organizations depend on many tools and systems to perform their day-to-day tasks. From accounting systems to customer onboarding tools, payment gateways to ERP systems, CRM tools to lending platforms, digital banking apps to insurance software, and more, managing and monitoring these systems around the clock demands deep experience and expertise.
• Fragmented data: Fragmented IT systems also lead to fragmented data, which impacts operational efficiency. Imagine capturing customer data through the onboarding tool but not having it reflect on your CRM application while issuing a credit card. Critical data, lying in silos, also restricts customer and business visibility, affecting overall business decision-making.
• Limited skills: Financial services organizations have a minimal in-house IT pool, which spends most of its time fixing network issues, responding to user queries, or just keeping the lights on. It does not have the skills or time to operate and optimize complex enterprise systems, run security checks, improve compliance, enable scalability, etc.
• Privacy issues: Financial systems store susceptible financial data that needs protection 24/7. Any cyberattack, misuse, or information leaking can have several far-reaching consequences. These can range from reputational damage to hefty noncompliance fines and lost customer trust.
• Legacy systems: Most financial companies have systems accumulated over the years. These systems, built with proprietary technology, are highly challenging to monitor or update. Managing legacy code, overcoming integration challenges with new-age technologies, and updating the security of these outdated systems is extremely difficult.

The Role of Managed Services

Given the many challenges financial services companies face in operating their GCCs, managed services offer the ideal solution. A curated and customizable set of flexible and scalable services can enable companies in the sector to unlock next-gen efficiencies and free time to focus on what matters the most for growth and innovation.

• Global scale and delivery: A managed services partner can offer global scale and delivery, enabling financial services companies to operate their business – without boundaries. Offering advanced local and global support, a partner can allow access to specialized skills and capabilities, technologies, and regional best practices, driving higher levels of quality and cost efficiency.
• Technology-driven support: With managed services support, financial services can up their GCC game via technology-driven support. A qualified managed services partner can help set up, deploy, and run the latest IT systems, equipping business leaders with the agility and efficiency they need to operate. Managed services can provide a proven path to increased agility, improved operational efficiency, and significant cost savings, with support for day-to-day administration, complex integrations, and ongoing maintenance and security.
• Improved security and compliance: Financial services companies can improve security and compliance with the help of managed services partners. A partner can implement robust security protocols and proactively manage data integrity while constantly mitigating risks and vulnerabilities and safeguarding the financial services business from external cyberattacks or internal insider threats.
• Predictable costs: Running GCCs with managed technology support delivers several cost benefits. Financial services companies can opt for the services they need and pay for only what they use – monthly. This pay-as-you-go model eliminates costly CapEx while allowing companies to keep their OpEx in check.
• Business continuity: For financial services companies, systems and applications must run 24/7. Dedicated IT specialists can ensure the continuity of systems and operations and proactively solve problems to minimize disruptions. A partner can ensure uninterrupted business performance and customer satisfaction by providing the highest levels of replication and redundancy.
• Increased scalability: As business needs and customer expectations grow, managed services support can facilitate seamless scalability. Financial services organizations can effortlessly adapt their infrastructure to meet evolving needs and drive growth without additional investment.
• Automated updates: Technology is constantly evolving, making new updates and changes inevitable. With a managed services partner, financial services GCCs can ensure timely and secure implementation of the latest updates. Whether it is a feature update or a security patch, companies can ensure they have the most up-to-date versions of tools.  
• Innovation and agility: Managed service partners often stay at the cutting edge of technology updates and market trends. This capability can empower financial services GCCs to drive innovation and agility and enjoy competitive differentiation in the market. By implementing the latest tools, they can ensure the highest levels of efficiency and meet their customers’ needs quickly.

Boost Business Agility and Resilience with the Right Partner

As the financial services industry faces unprecedented economic and global headwinds, companies’ operating models are undergoing constant transformation. With reliance on IT growing with each passing day, supporting and managing the many tools, systems, and networks is becoming increasingly difficult. Managed services enable easy access to best-in-class skills and tools, allowing financial services companies to navigate emerging challenges. 

By offloading complex and time-consuming day-to-day tasks related to their IT infrastructure, financial services companies can develop new strategies to optimize their IT operations, drive growth, and boost business agility and resilience.

enreap provides expert Atlassian managed support tailored to your needs. Contact us to learn how our expert pool of resources can help you address the many IT challenges you face in your day-to-day operations.