Here are some of the numerous factors that prompted this radical shift to the digital:

• Declining branch traffic and the rise of mobile banking apps: A recent by S&P Global Market Intelligence found that 51% of respondents confessed to visiting bank branches less frequently due to the ongoing pandemic. Of those, more than 65% claimed to also use mobile apps more frequently. The most popular mobile banking feature among the respondents was the ability to use the photo check deposit (24%), followed by account-to-account money transfer, bill payment, and peer-to-peer payments (20%). In fact, banking conglomerate JPMorgan Chase & Co. that its active mobile user count grew by 9% to 42 million users. Naturally, banks are reducing their physical footprint to go deeper into the digital realm

• Changing customer needs and expectations: According to a survey by PwC, Ìýwish to open a new account digitally but cannot do so today. There’s a marked change in the way customers want to engage in financial transactions and activities. Clearly, banks that fail to rise to the occasion will lose out to the competition.

• Heightened competition from non-traditional players: Tech giants Amazon and Google are making headway into the banking space. Ìýthat the number of UPI transactions on its platform is doubling each month, with the total number of transactions touching 4.2 billion in October 2021. The company has highlighted the importance of preparing its infrastructure to cater to the fast-rising demand. Meanwhile,ÌýÌýwith a wealth management platform, Kuvera, to allow users to facilitate investments into mutual funds, fixed deposits, etc. Considering this field’s immense scope, it is only natural to expect that more and more tech companies will want a slice of the pie. This will increase the competitor pool of traditional financial institutions.
• Skyrocketing use of innovative technology: From cloud computing and smartphones to digital currencies and blockchain technology, there are numerous technological tools that are driving digital disruption in the banking sector. One interesting example is the rise of Robo-advisors, which are computer programs that provide investment advice to customers. This is done by analyzing the customer data in real-time and extracting emerging patterns as well as trends to make the ‘advice’ relevant and engaging. The increasing popularity of business analytics service solutions in different fields, leading to the development of tools such asÌý, is another example.

Needless to say, all these fast-paced developments have driven banks and financial institutions to revisit their offerings, restructure their current growth strategies, and understand their true place (and potential) in the digitally powered financial ecosystem.Ìý

Emerging Digital Trends Reshaping the Financial Industry

the current wave of digital transformation has the potential to drastically alter the banking sector. With the help of breakthrough technologies and innovative offerings, financial players are looking to hyper personalize consumer experience and enable smoother journeys.

Here’s howÌýthe industry is leveraging digital transformation to transform every juncture in the customer’s journey:

• Using newer technologies:

  Banks are leveraging a heady combination of Information Technology, Big Data, and specialized human capital to gain a competitive edge. With the help of futuristic technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), banks can process high volumes of customer data and drive actionable insights to improve customer experience. For example, HDFC leverages the services of ‘Eva’, an AI-powered chatbot that can efficiently answer overuser queries with more than 85% accuracy. Additionally, over 81% of companies compete mostly on the basis of CX andÌýÌýare expected to involve emerging technologies such as machine learning applications, chatbots, and mobile messaging. Clearly, the demand for emerging technologies is skyrocketing in the financial sector.

• Developing customer-centric products:

  Banks are developing and deploying new products with a laser-like focus on increased transparency and great user-friendliness. In other words, banks are focused on creating products that can actually address their core customer’s pain points and minimize friction.

• Catering to phygital customers:

  Approximately banking customers use digital channels and 80% of all customer touch-points occur on digital channels. Yet, usage of physical branches and the traditional way of conducting financial transactions in person is not dying down. So, banks are taking the middle route to cater to the needs of the ‘phygital’ customers–those who actively use both digital and physical channels — by driving a seamless, customer-centric, and hyper-personalized omnichannel banking experience.

• Leveraging cloud-native architecture:

  Financial institutions are focusing on creating a centralized digital banking platform–powered by cloud-native architectures and containerized workloads–to deliver increased speed, flexibility, and agility when building new products for customers. In fact, Ìýindicates that 50% of financial firms are steadily adopting Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) to drive cost-effectiveness, boost on-demand availability, and leverage automated scalability. Furthermore, financial institutions benefit from a shorter ideation-to-service timeline, thanks to cloud computing technology.

• Driving cultural change:

  There’s a change in the organizational mindset, with banks wanting to invest in the right tools and processes to free up their IT team. This team can then focus on more strategic tasks, as opposed to engaging in routine and repetitive work with zero value-add. Additionally, banks are working towards better aligning the digital platforms with the organizational goals and restructuring the technology decisions based on the customer’s needs.

• Rebuilding technology stack:

  The financial industry is focusing on rebuilding its tech stack, keeping in mind more business-critical factors such as risk and compliance, operations, and business development. This, instead of solely focusing on the technology’s technical specifications, indicates a win-win-win situation for the users, the leadership, and the bank itself.

• Utilizing business analytics:

  Leading banks are now using the power of analytics in various ways. From employing ML techniques to forecast which consumers are currently engaged and who are likely to leave to looking at competition marketing to see if any banks are offering any needless discounts, the results are varied. In a nutshell, banks are dependent on business analytics services to manage and reinvigorate customer experience.

The Way Forward

Digital transformation is the only logical way ahead if the financial services industry wants to keep pace with the technological, cultural, and societal advancements occurring at breakneck speed. There’s an acute need to build highly-scalable IT systems at low costs, without compromising on the quality of service or falling short of the customer’s growing expectations.

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Everything went digital. Broadly defined as the adoption of digital technologies in business to streamline processes and offer services to customers in a more digital way, digital transformation saw organizations bring about more automation; use bots for customer service; provide collaborative tools to enable work from anywhere for remote employees, etc. Businesses started to adopt disruptive technology to provide value to consumers while increasing revenue and productivity. Businesses began developing a digital presence to serve their audience as customers shifted to online platforms due to the pandemic-induced constraints.

And with the pervasive nature of digital transformation, many enterprise asset management software too made its presence felt in the market. Enterprise asset management (EAM) software helps firms buy, manage, and evaluate physical assets across various sectors. EAM services have been significant in assisting businesses in being flexible and resilient. In the wake of the pandemic, the corporate asset management system services-based software market has moved in tandem with the pace of digital transformation.t.

Digital transformation has a lot to offer this year, with technology becoming integrated everywhere and the shifting corporate landscape.Ìý

HereÌýare the top seven trends that will shape Digital Transformation trends:

1. The New Normal Will Be 5G

For years, we’ve heard about the advantages of 5G. However, it wasn’t until last year that the demand for increased bandwidth and dependable connectivity became a real, tangible benefit that we could all understand.

In today’s world, digital is the standard, and businesses are attempting to run operations from their homes and other remote locations. While 4G has quickly gained acceptance in recent times, in the coming years, the 5G technology will acquire even more popularity. The 5G network can deliver relevant information and connection, meeting the rising need for more capacity and dependable connectivity. The adoption of 5G will lead to an increase in the demand for IoT connection, improve digital collaboration, and speed up digital transformation.

Our reliance on phones, tablets, and gadgets – which now include an ever-increasing number of IoT sensors – highlights the need for the multi-lane expressway that telecommunications companies predicted. Today, businesses can no longer afford to remain disconnected, and 5G deployments have become a critical answer component. In the coming years, the benefits of 5G will become increasingly popular as 5G is introduced in India and work from home becomes a norm for many rather than a pandemic-induced compulsion.

Also, the schools were able to function during the pandemic because of high-speed internet. Education will continue to adopt new technology faster, mainly as this implies access to learning for students located in the remotest and far-flung parts of the country. The requirement for learning is expected to remain after the pandemic and will contribute to the need for high-speed internet, i.e. 5G demand in the coming years.

2. CDP (Customer Data Platform)

Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) have picked up steam in recent months, and for a good reason. Data fragmented from numerous sources is famously difficult to arrange, which is inconvenient for businesses that rely on timely, well-curated data to function properly.

According to IBM, ‘poor data quality’ costsÌýÌý$3 trillionÌýevery year; solving this issue has become a top concern for enterprises of all kinds.

The Customer Data Platform (CDP) is a comprehensive customer database that supports companies in consolidated data collecting, big data, processing, consolidation, activation, and execution from online and offline channels. This timely data coupled with AI and ML can help companies adapt to change in customer preferences at lightning speed.

3. Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity has emerged as a major concern in the aftermath of the pandemic. In a greatly digitally connected world where organizations allow employees to access data from secure outside networks, there is an increased risk of perimeter security being threatened.Ìý

Hackers have taken advantage of the coronavirus outbreak to extend their attacks on businesses across the world. As per the latest report byÌý, cybercrime is up 600%. As fewer employees work onsite on the same secure network, businesses must reinforce their networks and improve their cybersecurity protocols, spreading them to home networks and mobile work-from-home devices.

4. The Winning Enterprise Architecture is Hybrid Cloud

Businesses are progressively moving to a hybrid cloud architecture. Hybrid cloud enablesÌýenterprises to achieve the proper balance for their cloud infrastructure demands, ranging from SaaS apps and on-premise solutions to a combination of public and private clouds.

Large public cloud providers such as AWS, Azure, Google, IBM, and Oracle have made significant investments in hybrid during the last year. OEMs such as HPE, Dell (VMware), and Cisco are also investing more in developing solutions that make connecting on-premises data centers to the cloud far easier. These efforts aim to reach the customer where they are right now, taking on the problems of exponential data expansion while simultaneously being proactive on privacy, security, and compliance concerns. The modernized hybrid cloud model goes beyond traditional IT to include industrial applications.

5. Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/MR) – Extended Reality (XR).

These terms refer to technology that projects computer-generated visuals directly into the user’s field of view via glasses or headsets. It is referred to as augmented reality (AR) when placed over what the user sees in the actual world. It’s VR when used to immerse the user in a completely computer-generated environment.

You may expect to see them, along with the other developments outlined. This will mostly include assisting us in avoiding potentially risky circumstances when viral transmission is a possibility. When we go through locations where the infection is known to have spread, AR technologies will provide real-time alerts. Simple steps such as reminding us to wash our hands when we touch a door handle in a public space could save lives and prevent us from spreading infection throughout the real-world environments we inhabit and move through.

6. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI is one of the biggest tech developments right now, and it will become an even more essential tool for interpreting and comprehending the world around us in 2022. The amount of information we gather on healthcare, infection rates, and the effectiveness of contamination strategies will continue to grow. This means that the answers that machine learning algorithms scoop will grow more educated and involved.

Understanding new behavioral patterns will be an essential need for businesses. From shopping and socialization to virtual working environments, meetings, and recruiting, more human activity will occur online. The tools used to study behavioral trends are expected to continue to be in demand the next year.

7. IoT

Innovation driven by the Internet of Things (IoT) technology has become one of the cornerstones of competitive differentiation. From healthcare and manufacturing to retail and SCLM, the pace at which companies are driving innovation-based IoT has drastically increased in the wake of the pandemic. While connected devices will continue to be popular due to the convenience involved, wearable electronics to monitor health; IIoT in manufacturing; IoT in warehousing will be areas of focus going forward.

Conclusion

The ways organizations operate will continue to change as they increase digital transformation initiatives. According to theÌý, more than half of CEOs want to increase their technology investment by 10% or more to strengthen digital transformation services. These trends are applicable to India as well.Ìý

Digital transformation impacts every level of a business and brings data from many departments together to collaborate more efficiently. Improving customer experience is one of the biggest benefits of digital transformation. Tech-savvy customers want a positive experience across various channels, including mobile applications, social media, email, and live chat. Digital changes will also impact customer experiences.Ìý

Digital transformation also enables new data-driven models for asset management systems and procedures like Asset as a Service (AaaS) and Maintenance as a Service (MaaS). AaaS allows you to represent assets (both tangible and intangible) in a digital format. The latter provides for the execution of digitally enabled functions in order to improve them (for example, lowering maintenance and repair costs based on simulations and digital twins).

To understand the changing landscape and emerging trends, you need a partner who understands the technology and can help your business succeed. If you have the right partner on your side, you can expect the changing landscape to work for you. With SAPÌýÌýsoftware, you can be assured of a reliable partner to help you benefit from emerging trends.

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In the connected world we see today, companies rely heavily on technology and reimagining their business models. The IT industry is probably at its highest point since its inception as the world tries to align itself with a digital-first future. According to theÌý, 65% of global GDP is likely to be digitalized by 2022 and will drive over $6.8 trillion of direct DX investments from 2020 to 2023. The guide also predicts that by 2022, 70% of all organizations will see accelerated use of digital technologies, transforming existing business processes to drive customer engagement, employee productivity, and business resiliency.

As digital reality becomes our only reality, businesses are turning to digital IT tools to keep up with the demands of continually changing customer expectations. They are now eager to embrace the latest digital IT trends and rethink their IT system management. Interestingly, the most significant trends may not exactly be cutting-edge, but they are causing maximum impact in the business landscape.ÌýHere are five of them:

Workplace Automation:Ìý

Automation isn’t a new trend; but it will be seen in more fascinating and transformational ways in the following years. While future automation technology holds vast scope, even today’s technological advancements are adequate to automate tedious manual processes and streamline workflows. Automation can help enhance productivity, utilize resources better and increase customer satisfaction levels.Ìý

According toÌý, 50 percent of knowledge workers will engage with their own AI-enhanced robot assistant on a regular basis, which will support them in identifying and prioritizing tasks, collecting data, and automating repetitive chores. Meanwhile,ÌýÌýpredicts hyperautomation will play a massive role in the future. It is referred to as a tech trend where companies combine AI, IoT, machine learning and robotic process automation to enhance the ways people complete their tasks.

Conversational AI:

When the pandemic struck, many businesses turned to conversational AI to sustain and improve customer and employee communications. It took away the burden of routine transactions and processes from employees and helped them focus on strategic initiatives.

Today, has become a mandate for success for any organization, especially those dealing with a huge volume of customer service queries. There has been an addition of innovative technologies to its cognitive capabilities, leading to increased market demand for AI skillsets.

Conversational AI has evolved with the deployment of chatbots and virtual agents, coupled with adjacent technologies like NLP (Natural Language Processing) for contextual understanding. It can better understand and mimic human language and deliver highly personalized conversations.

Big Data Analytics:Ìý

Big data analytics is playing an integral role in the digitization and automation of business operations. It has emerged as a game-changer for all types of organizations, from SMEs to global behemoths. According toÌý, executives accelerated their investment in data analytics even during the pandemic, when overall IT spending was on a decline.Ìý

As the amount of generated data continues to grow exponentially, big data analytics is playing an integral role in enabling data-driven decision-making.ÌýWithin the umbrella term of big data analytics, decision intelligence is a theme that is rapidly gaining popularity. It includes a variety of decision-making methodologies for designing, modeling, aligning, deploying, and tracking decision models and processes. It also consists of a framework that combines rules-based approaches and modern techniques like AI and machine learning.

Overall, big data analytics allows organizations to use meaningful patterns to make data-driven decisions, predict future outcomes and detect anomalies in operations.ÌýFor this, an organization needs to have proper database management as a first step. Organizations adopting enterprise data management can achieve the goals of their data analytics journey faster.

AR and VR:

ÌýFor most of us, our initial experience of Artificial Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) was through social media or gaming. Of late, there has been a deepening realization of the immense potential of AR and VR in business. These technologies make it possible to create a digital environment for customers that matches their demands, responds to real-time stimuli, and tracks their activities.Ìý

For example, automobile manufacturers are utilizing augmented and VR business developments to make car-buying more convenient for all customers. Customers can locate the precise automobile they want, take a virtual test drive, and even apply for finance directly from the VR car showroom.Ìý

With the support of AR/VR communication systems, reporting programs and mobile storage apps, many sectors, such as retail businesses and service providers, have been able to stay afloat during and after the pandemic.ÌýAR and VR also hold exciting possibilities for a big chunk of the workforce that is now remote or hybrid. There are remote assistance programs and immersive alternatives to videoconferencing available now. New technologies allow candidates to ‘virtually shadow’ existing employees or visit a company’s office without leaving their homes.Ìý

Edge Computing:

Edge computing is increasingly becoming a valuable component of a holistic industrial automation strategy. Targeted at improving performance and lowering latency in widely dispersed networks, edge computing has unveiled new business opportunities and enhanced operational efficiency within the IT infrastructure.

With the rise of the (IoT), organizations are expected to reshape their IT infrastructure to gain maximum benefits. Edge computing will be required by IoT devices such as manufacturing floor robotics and intelligent traffic controllers, which will require localized processing and real-time connectivity. As remote working becomes the norm, businesses can also improve application performance and overall user experiences for remote workers with edge resources.Ìý

Partner with ExpertsÌý

Gearing up for is a massive undertaking and given the rapid pace of change, digital technologies will become wholly integrated into the business ecosystem very soon.ÌýÌýfocuses on simplifying enterprise IT with the use of futuristic technologies and helps organizations achieve digital transformation quickly and cost-effectively.Ìý

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