The digital world is evolving. In fact, you can do just about anything online these days. And that includes managing your entire financial portfolio across various financial institutions. As the financial services industry continues to grow online, so does the risk of cyber-attacks.
This is largely because financial firms house important client data which if placed in the wrong hands can be devastating. That said, how can IT support services for Financial Sectors minimise the risk of a cyber threat? This article will highlight some of the top reasons why every financial institution should consider quality IT support services.
Current Financial Sectors’ IT Issues
Several issues are prevalent in the current financial services sector. Let’s take a look at a few of them.
Improving Customer Relations
One of the key issues has to do with improving the customer experience. In fact, 73% of financial consumers believe that financial services should lead to creating and using emerging technologies that make doing business with them easier.
Financial service firms that are still using old systems often leave customers feeling frustrated when desired service levels aren’t met. One of the easiest ways to ensure a better customer experience is to provide modern, streamlined and secure business processes.
Cybersecurity
Recent surveys have shown that 67% of surveyed financial institutions have reported a sharp increase in cyber-attacks between 2019 and 2021. Providing customers with a secure environment in which to purchase their financial products can be challenging.
Not only do financial firms need a secure manner in which to process data but they also need to secure data when they’re done with it. As online communications and transactions show a considerable increase, risk mitigation needs to be a crucial focal point.
Keeping Up With Regulatory Requirements
It’s no secret that the financial sector is one of the most regulated industries. Compliances and regulations are currently being amended and upgraded to ensure customer data and finances are protected. This essentially calls for shifts to new and progressive technologies. Companies don’t also have the manpower or in-house skills to apply the technologies that regulate new legislation.
Surpassing Competitions
With a vast array of different organisations existing within the financial services industry, it’s essential to stay ahead of competitors. Aside from providing quality and credible financial products, organisations need to improve the way in which they deliver these services. Essentially the key here lies in utilising technology and data harvesting and marketing to the company’s benefit.
IT services For Successful Financial Sectors
Fortunately, a quality IT service can be applied in a variety of different businesses. Whether you have a small business or a larger corporation in the financial sector, your success will largely depend on the security and innovation of your current IT systems.
It should also be noted that financial institutions often have unique technology requirements that aren’t required in other industry sectors. Partnering with a credible IT service provider is therefore vital to success in the financial sector. A few of these much-needed IT services are listed below.
Maximised Uptime
When it comes to dealing with financial products, clients very seldom understand the concept of downtime or business interruptions. A reliable IT infrastructure is crucial to ensuring that the customer experience isn’t interrupted.
Data Protection
Surveys have shown that about 80% of bankers place cyber threats as the top internal risk factor in their work environment. With an increased risk of security breaches on the rise throughout the financial sector, it has become more crucial than ever to have resilient cybersecurity in place. Your organisation will require certified cybersecurity experts armed with the necessary tools to detect and stop potential cyber threats to your business.
Compliant Processes and Systems
Many governments around the world are increasing regulations and compliances in an attempt to minimise cyber risk in the financial service sector. With that said, it’s necessary to highlight that many of these regulations are made up of new software applications that need to be installed and monitored.
Increased Employee Productivity
No matter what part of the financial sector you work in, your organisation will always benefit from increased productivity. To achieve this, your employees need to work with systems that function the way they’re supposed to.
Regular updates, upgrades and improvements to your IT infrastructure are essential to make sure that employees can provide customers with the service your organisation promises. Once this happens, productivity levels will instantly increase.
Benefits of Outsourcing IT Services for Financial Sectors
The good news with outsourcing your financial institution’s IT services is that some benefits are immediate. The most significant of these include the following:
- Reduce IT labour costs: The top advantage is without a doubt, saving money. Opting for outsourcing enables your financial firm to convert previously fixed IT costs into flexible costs. Only pay for services when you use them, rather than paying for full-time IT employees.
- Access to qualified IT staff: Financial IT services can be specialised, and outsourcing provides you with access to individuals who are both qualified and experienced. Having an expert monitoring your IT infrastructure will ensure that there are no unforeseen issues.
- Easy to implement new technology: Quality IT service companies will encourage customers to implement new and upgraded technologies to better serve customers.
- Improved data protection: Outsourcing your IT requirements will ensure that critical data is protected, and security threats minimised. IT experts will use the most up-to-date tools and technologies to ensure that data is protected during all points of the business process.
- Minimise risk: As industry experts, IT service companies can minimise the risk associated with online security and regulatory compliance requirements.
- Enables you to maintain core focus: Having outsourced experts dealing with IT solutions will enable you to focus on daily operations. There will be no need to waste time dealing with IT issues.
What’s Included in the IT Services?
If you’re still not sure if your organisation needs an outsourced IT service company, knowing what they have on offer might change your mind. The broad range of features on offer is listed below.
- Operational support: Consistent IT support includes updating software and hardware systems. An IT service also assists with any IT queries. This includes office setup and virtual hosting.
- Risk management: Continued assessment of your accounting systems, data security and financial services will safeguard your company from potential cyber-attacks. It’s important to partner with an IT company that will provide you with a “threat-centric” approach and use new and innovative tools to minimise risks.
- Technology management: Having access to new and improved technology and product innovation will allow your financial business to improve customer experiences.
- Disaster recovery: A quality IT service will provide your business with data recovery solutions to ensure data privacy and minimise cyber breaches. Ideally, risks should be identified and prevented before the damage is done.
- Project management & collaboration: The IT service will work toward getting your company the perfect IT tools such as effective cloud services at the best prices. They will also find the best hybrid cloud options. This will go a long way toward creating an effective combination of on-premises infrastructures and private storage cloud alternatives.
- IT Audit: Essentially, IT auditing is designed to analyse existing technical infrastructure to identify internal and external IT requirements. These requirements include new technologies to improve your business as well as safety protocols to reduce the risk of cyber threats.
- Perimeter security: Aside from providing IT solutions, many IT service providers also assist with office security. This includes various aspects of office security such as alarms, CCTV and door access.
Moving on From Here
With the information in this article, it should be clear that your financial organisation will benefit from a superior IT service experience. Let IT EASY Co be the company to provide your financial institution with the solutions needed to keep cyber threats at bay.
A simple, free consultation will easily identify your company’s needs. A digital transformation combined with a strong security solution may be just what your financial company needs.
Conclusion
The financial industry is under more pressure than ever to provide secure business solutions. The easiest way to do this is to partner with a certified IT service provider that will take charge of all your IT solutions. Protect your business applications and your customer data by opting for the right IT service company!
FAQs
What are the financial services available in Singapore?
There are several financial services in Singapore. Some of the more well-established financial services include the following:
- Banking
- Professional advisories
- Wealth management
- Treasury institutions
- Insurance brokerage firms
- Tax/Auditing companies
- Financial advisors
- Mortgage lenders
- Capital markets
- Credit unions
What are the top 3 targeted industries for cyber security?
Cyber security is currently rearing its ugly head in just about every industry in Singapore. However, there are some industries more susceptible to cyber attacks than others. The five industries most at risk are listed in order below:
- Finance & Insurance
- Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals
- Intellectual
- Government information
- Public administration
Which industries spend the most on cyber security?
Generally, companies in the financial sector tend to spend the most money on cybersecurity. This is primarily because they are the most targeted. 2020 saw financial organisations spending about 10.9% of their allocated IT budgets on cyber security. This is an increase from the average of 10.1% in 2019. This equates to about 0.48% of their organisations’ annual revenue.
