Core banking solutions: Banks looking at vendors’ R&D

• Two new IDC Financial Insights reports assess vendors
• Certain countries likely to see vendor incumbents get even more dominant

BANKS in Asia Pacific are increasingly looking at the research and development budgets being spent by vendors on future solutions, according to IDC Financial Insights.
 
This means core solutions not only have to respond to the requirements of scale, operating cost efficiency and time to market, but also in how prospective solutions deal with new requirements of data management, risk management and compliance, and cloud delivery.
 
When it comes to data management, IDC Financial Insights noted that as banks vigorously pursue single customer views and other enterprise-wide consolidated views, they are reviewing how data structures are organised within their core systems.
 
That was the key finding of IDC Financial Insights' two new IDC MarketScape reports: IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Core Banking Solutions 2015 Vendor Assessment – Global Providers for Asia/Pacific Banks and Worldwide Core Banking Solutions 2015 Vendor Assessment – Regional Providers for Asia/Pacific Banks.
 
The two documents help banks when examining existing core banking systems or when planning for future investment opportunities in core banking solutions, IDC said in a statement.
 
The market and research firm used a newly developed methodology to assess 19 global core banking solutions from 14 vendors, in terms of how the major vendors compare with each other, and what criteria are most important for financial institutions to consider when making core banking investment decisions.
 
Vendors assessed in these reports include Diasoft, ERI Bancare, FIS, Fiserv, ICSFS, Infosys, Oracle, Path Solutions, Polaris, SAP, Silverlake, Sopra, TCS, and Temenos.
 
“There are notable Asia Pacific strongholds where one or two vendors are deployed in several top 10 financial institutions in the region,” said Michael Araneta, research director for Asia/Pacific Banking IT Strategies, IDC Financial Insights.
 
“Vendor strongholds prove how vendors’ references in certain markets are crucial, allowing banks to see if similar models can be easily replicated within their own institutions, with greater certainty that local know-how, skills, and support are available,” he added.
 
Araneta said that as a slew of core banking projects get started in the near- to middle-term, certain countries will likely see vendor incumbents get even more dominant, as they are best placed to clinch the upcoming projects.
 
The reports also look into Silverlake’s stronghold in South-East Asia, Polaris’ Intellect stronghold in India and Vietnam, and the Oracle Banking Platform (OBP) reference in Australia.
 
The core processing platform is the heart and lifeblood of the institution, and the core solutions deployed is as unique as the institution itself, IDC Financial Insights said.
 
However, there are trends that exemplify a successful core banking installation, it added. Some of these attributes include:

• A clear understanding of the reason for core transformation – whether it is cost reduction, improved speed to market, enhanced customer experience, or some other metric. Not only will this support a successful implementation of a new core system, but it can also help guide the selection of an appropriate partner.

• A true partnership with the core system provider, in which both parties have vested interest in the success of the transformation.

• Core vendor knowledge and implementation of compliance requirements in all regions in which the institution operates, and a clear understanding of roles and responsibilities for both the vendor and the institution in meeting compliance mandates across the institution's network.

• Integration of the core system with solutions from both within and outside the vendor's suite of modules and ancillary solutions can be challenging, and the institution should have a full understanding of the vendor's existing integration capabilities and resources available to handle the integration challenge, including skills, locations, and costs.

• When implementing changes within the core, strategically evaluate people and processes connected with the core and allow for (and encourage) changes to those processes before technology is implemented.

IDC MarketScape vendor analysis model is designed to provide an overview of the competitive fitness of IT, telecommunications, or industry-specific suppliers in a given market.
 
Related Stories:
 
Innovation gets more budget and mindshare in APAC banks: IDC
 
Disrupt: Batten down the hatches, gonna be a bad year
 
Malaysia’s ‘stealth’ software billionaire
 
Banks not meeting customer expectations: SunGard research                                                       
 
 
For more technology news and the latest updates, follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Like us on Facebook.