83% of Financial Service Providers Pressured for Digitalization – Study

Editing by Nathaniel Cajuday

Following the rapid adoption and integration of digitalization in financial institutions, a study from cloud database platform Couchbase revealed that 83% of developers at banks, insurers, and other financial service providers are being pushed too hard to meet digital expectations.

The firm cited the growing pressure on financial service providers to accelerate their digital transformation efforts and deliver enhanced customer experiences in line with their digital-first competitors as the key challenges faced by the sector’s development teams.

From the 83% of information technology (IT) leaders from financial services providers confirming the challenges they are facing in their development teams 54% of them noted having to do too much in too little time; and that deadlines and agility requirements were difficult to meet (30%). Overall, more than three-quarters, 77%, of IT decision-makers report obstacles in supporting their development teams.

The survey in achieving the data needed was done by Vanson Bourne, an independent market research organization. 

For this study, the independent organization conducted an online survey of 650 heads of digital transformation, such as Chief Information Officers (CIOs), Chief Data Officers (CDOs), and Chief Technology Officers (CTOs), in organizations with 1,000 employees or more in the US, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Turkey, and Israel, in February to April 2022 and on behalf of Couchbase. 

The findings in this release were based on responses from 69 senior IT decision-makers in the financial services sector, as part of the wider survey.

“Amid the race to complete digital transformation projects in the sector, where developers must balance the security of sensitive customer data alongside expectations for remote access and seamless digital experiences, these barriers impacting developers jeopardize businesses’ progress,” said Perry Krug, Director Shared Services, Couchbase.

Krug also stressed that firms need to “recognize their reliance on developers at this time, and work to give them the right resources and support.”

“After all, without successful digitization projects, financial services firms will fall behind the competition,” the Couchbase director concluded.

Moreover, the global survey of 650 senior IT decision-makers found that despite development teams’ extensive contributions to digital transformation and innovation initiatives, they concluded that a lack of resources and communication with IT leaders in the financial services sector is still creating barriers for them.

Aside from the aforementioned assessments, the study also found that the financial sector struggles to support development teams. The IT leaders cited making sure they always have the right technology (33%); redeploying development teams rapidly to work on new projects when needed (29%) and investing in new technology to make developers’ jobs more accessible (29%). 

Additionally, almost one-third (30%) of respondents did not know for certain whether their development teams were behind or ahead of schedule as the key challenges they face in supporting development teams.

On another note, developer teams in the sector have grown by an average of 26% in the last year. Although larger teams will aid some development challenges, CouchBase highlights that firms must still focus on keeping their developers motivated and passionate about their projects to achieve success as almost a quarter of IT leaders or 22 % find it difficult to gauge whether development teams are engaged in and enthusiastic about their work, signaling waning enthusiasm or fatigue.

On the other hand, the study also revealed that 35 percent of respondents say that the pandemic has taught them how to empower development teams

“Digital ambition will fall flat for financial services providers unless they can support development teams to build great applications,” said Krug.

CouchBase also stressed that “without the right support, development teams in the financial services sector cannot complete digital transformation as quickly as the business may need them to.”

As per the research, the positive impact of well-supported development teams is demonstrated by 29 percent of respondents confirming that pressure from developers to support agile development and innovation was a driver for digital transformation projects.

“And in the fast-paced financial services market, firms must be proactive in addressing these challenges to ensure success in a time of product-led growth,” Krug added.

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