The root causes of low automation explain the lag in many financial organizations’ decisions to implement end-to-end automation. One of the primary drivers of low automation—fragmented data—is a direct result of a splintering within the financial services industry.
A recent study commissioned by SS&C, a survey of more than 90 senior technology and data management executives, revealed that only 18% of respondents reported full end-to-end automation at their organizations.
More than half of the firms surveyed reported automation levels of between 30 and 60 percent, according to the study, conducted by Adox Research Ltd, an independent research group.
Although many of the financial industry’s trade publications tout customer-centricity and ease of use, the reality is we’re not quite there yet. Fragmented workflows, siloed data and scarce insights are holding back the insurance, investment management and banking industries.
The study asked respondents to share the areas they believed had the highest potential value as a result of increased automation, and assign a score to the drivers of automation. Reduction in hardware maintenance cost was the top result. The top risk drivers for technology investment decisions landed in a three-way tie among time-consuming compliance with regulatory requirements, scalability of the system to planned volume, and vulnerability to security threats.
Financial services providers have not made enough progress in achieving high levels of end-to-end automation, creating a drag on innovation and customer-centricity objectives.