Times of crisis force us to adapt, to take new and different approaches – and to question the existing ones in order to survive.
The savings and loan collapse of the 1980s, the 9/11 attacks on New York, the sub-prime mortgage crisis were all pivotal moments that caused radical rethinking of not only business processes but technology and the way we rely on it.
As a crisis, today’s pandemic is exceptional. It is rapidly rewriting the rules for business processes, customer engagement and technology to, in many cases, limit or dispense with human contact.
In the financial services sector, this transformation has been the driving force behind major technology investments in recent years. A much greater focus has been placed now on digital technologies to ensure business continuity, not only during this crisis, but well into the future.
Operating digitally is no longer just a luxury. It’s become an essential and the race to achieve it is gaining momentum.
The first half of 2020 ushered in new approaches to, not only customer, but employee interactions; approaches that fundamentally changed the way staff now engage with clients as well as the information that enables the processes.
Never before has the need to ensure efficient, secure communications to monitor processes and data and protect customer experience – all from the safety of a home office – been so essential for survival.
Financial institutions that were struggling to build momentum are now being driven to action with extreme urgency.
But with exponentially increased demand in terms of new credit and loan applications, forbearance, and business disruption assistance comes greater threats, especially around fraud, terrorism, and money laundering.
Digital technologies are required to successfully manage this perfect storm of sharply increased business activity, the corresponding volume of supporting documents, and staff shortages.
What does all this mean?
All of these dilemmas and their implications are discussed in a new e-book 3 Tips for Safeguarding Business Continuity in Times of Crisis which you can download for free here.