Financial products and services know no boundaries. Increasing numbers of technology-savvy consumers are using the Internet and mobile devices to research and buy financial products from around the world without shaking a bank manager`s hand or sharing coffee with an insurance consultant.
The consumer has gone the virtual route, but South African financial institutions still cling to the need to own the physical things that were the bedrock of their business - the bricks and mortar in the form of branch operations and information technology platforms.
Financial institutions need to move on to become more dynamic and project-driven, enlisting the resources of talented individuals and service providers to constantly explore and rapidly develop new products to meet emerging market trends.
This may take the confidence of a trapeze artist - not an image one associates with bankers - but if they are confident in the information they own and the talent they can deploy, they can leave their buildings and hardware behind.
Instead, what they need to retain - and evolve - as their core asset is information about customers and prospects, gathered in new ways from a myriad of devices with which people now interact. From this will come information systems - housed on service providers` platforms - that support innovative ways to develop and deliver cheaper products and services for Internet and mobile-device-savvy customers.
These people are unlikely to go near a bank`s branch office. They draw cash at ATMs or supermarket checkouts and buy insurance products from clothing retailers, because the costs of these transactions tend to be lower and access more convenient. They interact with their bankers or brokers online.
So if the new generation of customers doesn`t care about what the bank building looks like, or where it is, why should the bankers?
As long as financial institutions are smart about how they gather, store and manage information about customers and their behaviour, they can move this asset to whichever hardware platform their product developers need it on.
This is essential to drive down the costs of financial services and products. Physical office space is becoming far too expensive to factor into the price of products. Cost savings, dynamic products and innovative delivery platforms will enable institutions to make financial services more accessible to the vast `unbanked` population of Africa. The continent may have only 2.5% of the world`s Internet users now, but the rapid acceptance of mobile technology indicates that this will be the continent`s major delivery platform for financial products and services.
If South African financial enterprises shift their focus and club together to share physical resources, they could lower their technology costs. Their growth will come from harnessing talent and innovation in their product and service offerings. If they don`t let go of their proprietary attitudes to property and hardware, they may find their customers opting to buy their financial services from the supermarket.
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CSC offers the South African market a wide range of services, including systems integration, application and infrastructure outsourcing, and business process outsourcing, as well as financial services solutions.
In South Africa CSC also provides business process outsourcing (BPO) services to manage the policy processing and administration for its US and UK financial services customers who include banking, short-term insurance, and life and pensions providers.
A leading IT services provider, CSC adds value through its collaborative approach to delivering fast, reliable and flexible solutions. CSC opened its doors in South Africa in November 1999 and today has offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town. For more information, contact 021 529 6500 or 011 612 5400.
CSC
Founded in 1959, Computer Sciences Corporation is a leading global information technology (IT) services company. CSC`s mission is to provide customers in industry and government with solutions crafted to meet their specific challenges and enable them to profit from the advanced use of technology.
With approximately 78 000 employees, CSC provides innovative solutions for customers around the world by applying leading technologies and CSC`s own advanced capabilities. These include systems design and integration; IT and business process outsourcing; applications software development; Web and application hosting; and management consulting. Headquartered in El Segundo, California, CSC reported revenue of $14.6 billion for the 12 months ended 30 June 2006. For more information, visit the company`s Web site at www.csc.com.