IT Archives - Page 3 Of 25

IT Firms Seen Bracing Themselves for Spending Cuts by Clients | In the News

April 3, 2023

Indian IT firms are expected to submit lackluster report cards for the fourth quarter and warn about demand in the year ahead as their clients curtail spending amid global economic uncertainties, inflationary pressures, and a banking crisis.

“There is definitely a slowdown from the torrid post-pandemic levels. Discretionary spending has come down and the market is in a pause waiting to see what will happen regarding the recession,” said Peter Bendor-Samuel, CEO at Everest Group.

Read more in Deccan Herald.

Price War for Deals to Hit IT Firms’ Margins | In the News

April 2, 2023

Stiff competition in the large deal space among the large IT services companies is leading to a fall in pricing, stoking fears of a margin headwind in the coming quarters. According to industry insiders, though many numbers of cost takeout deals are coming to the market as enterprises are looking to save costs, competition is rising among both Indian and global players to increase their shares.

“It is clear that the pipelines are large and stacked with cost-saving deals. Most large firms have a significant number of mega deals in their pipelines; however, with everyone going after these deals, the close rates will likely drop,” Peter Bendor-Samuel, CEO at Everest Group.

Read more in BIZZ BUZZ.

How the Recent Seize of First Republic Bank and the UBS Takeover of Credit Suisse Will Impact the BFS IT Services Market | Blog

March 31, 2023

The recent seize of First Republic Bank and UBS’ takeover of longtime rival Credit Suisse in a rushed, deeply discounted deal has reverberations across the banking and financial services (BFS) IT services market and on service providers. Read on to learn the looming risks and what to pay attention to in this blog.

The aftershocks of the collapse of SVB and Signature Bank, followed by the UBS-CS deal, are still being felt by the banking industry. The recent seize of First Republic Bank by JPMorgan with warning bells around PacWest has brought back memories from the 2008 financial crisis of whether this will be a one-off event or end up spreading like a contagion to the banking sector, especially the mid-market banking sector in the US. The stock of First Republic Bank had been steadily losing value in the last few weeks, and the massive deposit outflows put the bank at risk of failure. In a hurried weekend bidding, JP Morgan was the winner, while others like PNC and Citizens were unsuccessful. Right after the rescue by JP Morgan, shares in other mid-market banks started to see a slide. Commercial real estate loans have emerged as one of the main culprits pulling down loans value.

One thing that is becoming abundantly clear from these events is that customer confidence in their bank’s ability to protect their uninsured deposits is waning. It is when quarterly earnings are reported that the full picture is coming up on deposit outflows. While technology advancements have helped the banking industry, digital banking has only shown how fast deposits can be moved, which, coupled with social media panic, can accelerate a bank run. The implications for the overall banking sector, along with the technology and services industry, are multi-fold.

Implications for the BFS IT services market:

The market will see the return of large deals as bank consolidation will see the larger acquiring entity consolidate the supplier portfolios
Higher regulatory scrutiny, especially on mid-market banks, coupled with plummeting stock value, will put a dent in banks’ IT spend in the near-term
Cost-saving measures will be put in place, leading to job cuts and even branch rationalizations in the short term; job openings have already slumped to 6-month lows in the US

Interestingly, it raises the question of whether large banks are becoming too big to fail, leading to an even higher concentration risk for the banking sector. While the takeover of First Republic Bank is expected to bring gains to JP Morgan in the wealth management business, will banking get consolidated in the hands of a few? This will have repercussions on technology spend and the competitive nature of the industry. Already, the US was behind the curve on open banking adoption. The added risk of bank failures may halt these initiatives for some time.

The rescue by UBS of Credit Suisse marks the latest explosion across global financial markets in the ongoing banking troubles sparked by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in the US, as we covered in our last blog.

Let’s take a look at the factors leading up to the Swiss brokered last-minute emergency takeover of Credit Suisse at a 60% discount.

Impact of the UBS-CS transaction

Credit Suisse was already battling concerns when its biggest annual loss since 2008 exacerbated the situation. Falling investor confidence eroded its share price to an all-time low, and top investors refused to give the bank more money citing liquidity concerns and regulatory hurdles.

Because Credit Suisse is considered one of the global systemically important financial institutions (SIFI), concerns about its future existence were particularly troubling. While the deal was made to prevent further meltdowns and stabilize the banking industry, risks of further blight spreading exist.

The merger of the two giants will have ripple effects on the BFS market, including:

Slowed growth in Europe: If the crisis trickles down to other banks and lasts long, revenue growth in the banking, financial service, and insurance (BFSI) segments will be impacted in the near to mid-term. Other related sectors (such as retail and telecom) also can be affected as seen during the Great Financial Crisis of 2008
Hits to other business segments: Areas such as asset and wealth management will be impacted by UBS’ decision to exit its wealth management business in some markets. Also, the move to wipe out the holdings of Credit Suisse bondholders has damaged Switzerland’s global reputation as a stable, predictable international asset manager
IT consolidation: With duplicating technology platforms and applications, the new entity will have to rationalize vendor portfolios and IT estates to realize significant cost synergies. Merging the two banks will require increased short-term spending on integration activities and consulting. Partners that can create modernization roadmaps for the combined entity also will be needed to drive long-term value
Job loss: UBS’s rescue plan for Credit Suisse may result in the loss of thousands of jobs at a time when the Swiss financial sector is already under tremendous stress due to the sudden takeover. The bank has slashed 4,000 positions so far this year
Robust risk controls: Credit Suisse’s risk management practices will need a major revamp given its troubled history of scandals and management controversies (Archegos and Greensill scandals in 2021) that led the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) to order remedial action. The required measures include periodic executive board-level reviews of the most important business relationships for counterparty risks

Additionally, suppliers in UBS and Credit Suisse’s IT portfolio should brace for an impact when these mammoths consolidate.

UBS-CS impact on service providers

Traditionally, UBS and Credit Suisse have been huge outsourcing shops, with two or three major service providers controlling most of the work. Both banks have actively been reducing their outsourcing headcount and shifting their focus to insourcing and building capabilities in-house over recent years. This direction, coupled with the dynamics of the takeover, will lead to a rebalancing in the overall service provider portfolio across both banks. Here’s a look at the current landscape:

Typically in mergers, providers that have big contracts with both entities stand to lose revenue because the spending by the merged entity will not be as large as it was under the separate relationships, unless they gain wallet share from competitors.

Suppliers that only provide services to Credit Suisse are at risk of having their portfolio consolidated and moved to UBS. However, providers who bring intellectual property or a niche capability to the table may be able to maintain the business through the consolidation.

We are closely watching how the events will unfold in the next few weeks. UBS has a stronger balance sheet and is insured against any losses by the Swiss Treasury, which should lead to stability but settling cultural, and IT alignment will take time.

How Credit Suisse’s wealth management business shapes up is another element to consider. Already clients and asset outflows have begun, with competitors trying to take a piece of this pie.

BFS market outlook

The road ahead will be marred by the following challenges:

Banking industry consolidation: While the sudden implosion of SVB delivered a deep blow to a mid-market sector, the Credit Suisse collapse may have further repercussions across continental Europe and lead to further industry consolidation and mergers. This also will impact the technology sector, which is already reeling from layoffs, falling stock prices, and diminishing funding for startups
Business segments and markets reprioritization: Providers will need to reprioritize their efforts and pivot their go-to-market focus on high-growth segments. A critical need exists to align with growth segments across lines of business, marquee clients, and the partner ecosystem
Margin resilience: Our initial hypothesis indicates that service provider contract pricing should remain stable. However, revenue realizations could come under pressure with a lag due to portfolio shifts and the heightened competitive intensity. The US dollar has strengthened in past cycles in relation to the Indian Rupee so the cross-currency impact should be positive for margins

For more insights on the BFS technology and IT services market or to discuss the UBS-CS deal, please reach out to Ronak Doshi, Kriti Gupta, or Pranati Dave.

Revenue Cycle Management Trailblazers | Market Insights™

March 30, 2023

Revenue Cycle Management

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Is the US IT Industry Prepared for a Chinese Invasion of Taiwan? | In the News

March 28, 2023

In 2020, China conducted 380 incursions into Taiwan’s airspace. In 2021, that number more than doubled to 960. Last year saw the greatest number of airspace incursions ever, with 1,727 breaches of the zone. While no one really knows if or when China will launch a full-scale attack on Taiwan, the possibility of an invasion is raising concern in the IT supply chain community.

Abhishek Singh, Partner at Everest Group, believes that an invasion’s overall impact would largely be determined by when it occurs. “The US has anticipated this eventually for a while, [so] it’s not a question of ‘whether’, it’s more of a question of ‘when’,” he notes.

Read more in InformationWeek.

Tech Vendor Risk Raises Vetting Stakes in Wake of SVB Crisis | In the News

March 27, 2023

The tech startup ecosystem remains in limbo as federal authorities review bids for Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and a temporary bridge bank tends to daily operations. The venture capital pipeline, which flowed through SVB to fuel the growth of young companies, was already under stress from inflation and rising interest rates. While downstream impacts on funding and innovation aren’t yet clear, the potential implications are serious enough for companies to reexamine vendor portfolios.

SVB’s support role went beyond banking, according to Ronak Doshi, Partner at Everest Group. It extended to “networking events and summits and to product, risk, and financial advisors,” he said.

Read more in CIO DIVE.

Four Steps to Improve Cybersecurity Pricing and Feel More Secure with your Spend | Blog

March 24, 2023

Investing in cybersecurity can be costly for organizations but is essential in today’s risky environment. With a myriad of confusing pricing models, determining your cybersecurity spend shouldn’t be another threat. Learn some simple steps to feel more secure in negotiating cybersecurity pricing.

With demand for cybersecurity services skyrocketing in recent years, budgeting decisions have moved beyond IT discussions to C-level conversations by the boards of the largest enterprises.

This focus at the highest levels, along with the rapid evolution of cybersecurity technologies and services, has brought an unintended pain point – unwieldy cybersecurity pricing structures with a great deal of overpricing by providers.

The problem is exacerbated by a few practical issues, including:

Vendors using different pricing models for the same service: For instance, pricing for Managed Detections and Response (MDR) solutions varies with CrowdStrike and Red Canary having per endpoint pricing, Sophos offering per user pricing, and Rapid7 following an asset-based pricing model
Inconsistency in defining unit-based pricing metrics: Even for seemingly commonplace services such as security information and event management (SIEM), some vendors consider peak values of events per second (EPS) while others consider average values
Semi-asset heavy pricing nature: Pricing is frequently a bundled black box with provider-financed licenses for cybersecurity platforms

It is not surprising that most enterprises we spoke with in the last twelve months were unsure whether they had struck the right deal with providers for their cybersecurity spend. Let’s explore this further.

Steps to achieve clearer cybersecurity pricing

Despite the nebulous structures, transparency in cybersecurity pricing can and should be achieved by following these four simple steps:

Break the black box fee into logical components such as transformation costs, license costs, run fees, and project management office (PMO) charges
Break the run fee to the lowest unit level, such as per endpoint for antivirus or per IP address for vulnerability management
Benchmark the run fee pricing at this unit level
Benchmark pricing of transformation costs, license costs, and PMO charges to achieve maximum benefits

The potential savings that can be realized by going through this process can be substantial, as illustrated in this example of a large natural resources company that had a standalone cybersecurity services relationship with a Tier-1 IT service provider.

The relationship had comprehensive coverage across the security value chain (including endpoint security, host intrusion prevention, endpoint detection and response, identity and access management, cloud security, firewalls, email gateways, network intrusion prevention, security information, and event management).

The provider financed licenses for CrowdStrike and Netskope, while the client financed licenses for other platforms such as Symantec and Palo Alto Networks. The contract had a black box fee model for a defined range of volumes (number of endpoints, firewalls, gateways, EPS, etc.).

Working closely with the client through the four-step process described above, we benchmarked the current cybersecurity spend. As a result, the client locked in a 16% spend reduction at renewal, even though the general pricing trend in the industry was clearly inflationary.

For more cybersecurity pricing tactics to increase contract efficiency and competitiveness, please reach out to [email protected] and [email protected].

Hear from our pricing experts as they discuss recent pricing trends, key tactics enterprises use to keep their software spend in check, and the outlook for software and cloud pricing in 2023 in this webinar, Software and Cloud Pricing and Contract Negotiations: Keep Spend in Check.

How Technology Can Help the Wealth Management Industry Navigate Coming Changes in 2023 | Blog

March 24, 2023

With the economy headed for slower growth, technology is more important than ever to enable companies to better serve customers by providing hyper-personalized experiences. Read on to learn how the disruptions will impact the wealth management industry and the role technology and service providers can play to help wealth managers navigate the choppy waters ahead.

In light of changing investor preferences, mounting regulatory pressures, and a looming economic slowdown, the wealth management industry is at the cusp of change. While the industry has demonstrated good resiliency and recovery post-pandemic, signs point to subdued growth in the next few years.

The wealth management industry has been experiencing one of the longest periods of market growth and economic stability in recent history. Financial support by governments, lower interest rates, and limited consumption opportunities have contributed to rising household wealth, generating increased revenues for wealth management companies from more fees and advisory support.

But the rapid rise in interest rates and fear of an economic slowdown will put pressure on this industry in 2023. Let’s look at the factors disrupting the wealth management industry in the first of our two-part series.

Fundamental change in ecosystem participants – passing trend or here to stay?

The industry is seeing structural changes in ecosystem participants. Traditional wealth managers are no longer the only players offering wealth management services and products. Challenger banks, pension providers, insurance firms, super-apps, nonbank financial companies (NBFCs), and nonbank financial institutions (NBFIs) are entering the market and creating competition.

These emerging segments already have access to a large customer base supplemented by data insights on demographics and buying patterns. This enables them to remove silos for customers and simultaneously improve income streams by reducing churn risk.

Customers now can access investment services within an umbrella of existing offerings. While this is a win-win for both parties, it is making wealth managers apprehensive as they realize the critical importance of retaining and more effectively serving their current customers.

Rethinking growth versus profitability conundrum – impact of a potential slowdown?

While the pre-pandemic era was all about expanding and tapping into new customer segments, the strategy for serving various customer bases has significantly shifted. With the changing market dynamics, the focus has morphed from expanding and tapping into newer segments to building trust with existing customer segments and enabling hyper-personalized experiences.

A potential economic slowdown would have ripple effects on the wealth management industry. The focus on rapid growth would take a backseat as enterprises pivot their attention to reducing costs and improving profitability. This would directly impact tracking advisor productivity, improving advisor-to-client ratios, and enabling hyper-personalized experiences.

At the same time, providing access to emerging themes like Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and digital assets will prove to be differentiators in the long run. Regulatory activity is heating up in the ESG space and will lead to corresponding technology implications for wealth managers’ IT estate, as previously discussed in our blog, New Sustainability and ESG Investment Regulations will Spur a Second Digitalization Wave in Wealth Management.

Technology implications – will the IT estate need to be re-examined?

The wealth management technology estate traditionally has been characterized by multiple disparate systems siloed by products or functions, fracturing the customer experience. At its core, wealth management grapples with a massive data problem – how to effectively analyze customer data, understand their journeys, and identify better cross-sell/upsell opportunities.

Wealth managers need an IT estate that is flexible enough to accommodate these hyper-segments and different products, and their underlying data to address these evolving demands at speed and scale.

Identifying the right platform partner, enabling product expansion via ESG and digital asset offerings, and quickly disseminating this information to advisors will be key priorities for wealth managers as they assess their technology estates.

Identifying the ecosystem strategy for system integrators and other technology companies to improve fractured customer experiences will be equally important for technology providers. At the same time, service providers also will need to orchestrate and assemble best-of-breed solutions for wealth management clients by building a robust partnership ecosystem.

As wealth managers grapple with these market changes, technology has never been more important to help them better prepare and tackle the potential challenges coming their way.

The key questions that need to be answered include:

How can the service cost be reduced?
How can the right tools be used to improve advisor productivity?
How can a microservices-based Application Programming Interface (API)-enabled composable core be built?
How can data be leveraged to enable personalized client experiences?
How can a scalable and purpose-built cloud infrastructure be used to run mid- and back-office operations on the cloud?

We are interested in hearing how wealth managers are preparing and tackling these market dynamics, and how this is manifesting in the conversations technology and service providers are having with clients. Please reach out to [email protected] or [email protected] to share your thoughts. In our next blog, we will look at the future state of the wealth management industry and provide a technology architecture blueprint for this space.

Learn more about how to deliver better customer experiences in our LinkedIn Live session, Frictionless Customer Experiences: The Key to Unlocking Satisfaction.

Tag: IT