What are the reasons financial institutions are moving to the cloud?
Several catalysts have accelerated the move to the cloud in financial services, as part of a broader digital transformation. As a result of the global pandemic, employees became geographically dispersed and needed digital connectivity. Additionally, customer markets became more digitally inclined.
Throughout 2022, rising inflation led to interest rate hikes, which can be good for some financial institutions (banks and credit unions) but challenging for others (mortgage lenders). In addition to rising borrowing costs, uncertain economic conditions increase business risks.
As a result, financial services companies are increasingly using advanced technologies to improve customer experience, improve risk management, and increase operational efficiency.
In spite of reduced IT budgets, financial services organizations are investing in cloud technologies to increase agility and future-proof their operations.
Top Five Benefits of Cloud Migration for Financial Services
1. Productivity is increased
Agents can easily move interactions with customers from one channel to another with UCaaS, and dispersed work teams are able to hold planned and spontaneous meetings without any hassle.
In addition to spurring product & service innovation and employee productivity gains, UCaaS maintains low IT costs and in-house management requirements. Because of the reduced demand for hardware and on-premise system infrastructure, an organization can significantly reduce its physical footprint.
2. Enhancing the customer and employee experience
It has always been a competitive industry, but fintech has made it even more so. The increase in competition emphasizes the importance of maximizing customer and employee experiences. Customers must be attracted and retained to sustain revenue and profits, especially in tough economic times. To ensure an optimized customer experience, it is necessary to retain talented employees.
Despite the focus on cost controls, organizations continue to invest in transformative technology, such as:
In addition to providing real-time data, analytics, and communication tools, cloud systems provide employees with omnichannel flexibility and enable a seamless omnichannel customer experience.
A key component of cost efficiency and employee productivity is automation of manual processes.
API based solution integrations: APIs enable companies to monetize data, provide valuable financial product and solution partnerships, and provide rich customer experiences across all channels.
As an industry, financial services added many tech tools from 2020-2022, and this trend will continue in 2023. The goal is to standardize common business processes and simplify for ease and efficiency.
3. Artificial intelligence: harnessing its power
A recent Accenture report predicts a 38 percent increase in the profitability of global firms by 2035 thanks to artificial intelligence (AI). This technology will have a significant impact on various industries, including financial services. In fact, Accenture estimates that financial services will experience a 4.3-percent growth rate driven by AI use, placing it third among all sectors studied. The only industries expected to grow at a higher rate are information and communication at 4.7 percent and manufacturing at 4.4 percent. It’s worth noting that the growth in communication and financial services are closely linked.
Moreover, Accenture evaluated the impact of artificial intelligence on productivity for companies. By the year 2035, firms in the United States will be 35 percent more productive than those without. All developed countries with the necessary technology infrastructure are experiencing similar levels of impact. As well as benefitting employers, these productivity boosts allow workers to maximize their potential.
Increasingly, banks, insurers, and investment firms use AI to gather research, leverage deep learning, and personalize customer experiences.
4. Integrations and custom APIs streamline workflows
Among the ways digital expansion optimizes cost efficiency is by integrating digital solutions rather than having them exist in silos.
Digital solutions require access to open architectures and communication APIs. Open architectures give firms the greatest flexibility in implementing digital solutions based on their existing infrastructure and strategies. By integrating communication APIs with popular cloud tools, UCaaS solutions allow businesses to maximize their past investments and create new opportunities for innovation and growth by leveraging communication APIs.
To streamline customer management, RingCentral integrates seamlessly with Salesforce, so your team can make, transfer, and record calls from the Salesforce app:
5. Digital maturity is a competitive advantage
Digital champions, according to Deloitte’s Digital Banking Maturity 2022 report, have several advantages over other financial services organizations.3 As defined by Deloitte, digital champions are those that:
Provide a wide range of customer-relevant functions (e.g., omnichannel communications).
- Provide a compelling user experience
- Identify key digital trends
- Practice leading market practices
The digital champions develop functionalities that build and expand customer relationships based on these criteria. Communication technology plays a major role in digital champion organizations having a competitive advantage. Digital champions, for example, offer the following advantages compared to less digitally mature organizations, according to the Deloitte report:
- Access to channels is 1.5x more convenient
- Onboarding functionality for new users is 1.3x increased
- A 1.5x increase in customer support functionality
- Investment services with 2.5x the functionality
- Cross-selling functionality 1.8x greater
- Optimize your organization’s productivity with cloud migration for financial services
In financial services firms with tight budgets, cloud communications are essential. Innovation leads to fewer manual processes, increased accuracy, and better financial decisions. In addition to its cost, flexibility, and security advantages, an all-in-one cloud communications system supports the best user experience strategies.
Financial services organizations can achieve these objectives with RingCentral, a comprehensive, cloud-based communications system that offers seamless, cross-channel communication. It integrates with many popular applications banks already use and features the most advanced security protocols