MICROSOFT LEADERS FORUM - Insurers: Taking on the Cutting Edge and Adding Value |
 The insurance industry has often been criticized for being too legacy burdened to take advantage of new technology, but this is proving far from true. Insurance companies have embraced the latest technological advancements in mobility and elsewhere and have made more strides in streamlining the workflow process than many other sectors. This is critically important now as insurance companies need to add value to the customer experience while charging less than their competitors. Tapping into the Microsoft Insurance Value Chain has been a key strategy for firms to reduce costs and IT complexity and enable straight-through business processes. So what waits around the next bend and what are the critical next steps for insurers facing an increasingly competitive landscape?
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Category(s): Insurance, Leaders Forum
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Short-Term Profits and Long-Term Growth: Technology for Finding the Balance |
 Bankers around the globe are under increasing pressure to drive profits and reduce costs while still investing in technology solutions that help increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. Finding this balance is difficult at best, but our panelists will provide some sage advice to retail bankers who are seeking to strike this balance. Plus, these experts will give us their views on what are the biggest challenges to meeting these goals, and discuss which technologies show the most promise for delivering short-term profits, as well as for long-term growth.
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Category(s): Banking, Leaders Forum
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Microsoft Leaders Forum |
 Compliance: The Right Way Drives Profitability
Compliance is set to become a key differentiator among financial services institutions. Already some forward thinking FSIs are starting to taste the profits of an integrated compliance management strategy while others are struggling with the costs of more fragmented Band-Aid approaches that result in high levels of waste and duplication. This gap will only widen as regulatory requirements increase and as the cost and complexity of compliance swells. By all counts, it is the more holistic approach that will not only enable compliance in the future but result in improved speed-to-market, decreased costs, reduced risk, an enhanced customer experience, and bottom-line benefits to the business. We ask industry experts for their POV on the challenges to achieving an enterprise-wide compliance platform and to weigh in on profitability. |
Category(s): Compliance, Leaders Forum
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Online Banking: Embraced by Consumers - The Next Steps |
 By all accounts online banking is a mature channel. With some studies showing that over a third of American households are using their financial institution’s online banking capabilities, the big question is what is next?
Security is certainly top of mind for everyone, and compliance is an ongoing priority for financial services firms. From a functionality angle, progressive institutions are looking for ways to enrich the experience for their users, cross sell products and services, and deepen customer loyalty. This forum provides our industry leaders with the opportunity to discuss the latest trends in online banking and how they will affect both consumers and financial institutions.
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Category(s): Banking, Leaders Forum
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Leaders Forum: From Risk to Reward - How to Profit from IT Security |
 Competitive pressures have slowly been forcing financial services
institutions to manage security issues proactively rather than
reactively even as security threats and compliance demands multiply and
grow in complexity. An increase in data leakage, for instance, is
forcing institutions to employ new strategies even as the challenge
remains defining and implementing the security measures that can
deliver business improvements and increased profit. We ask industry
leaders to tell us what financial institutions need to do this year. |
Category(s): Security, Leaders Forum
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Insurers: Achieving a Single View of the Customer |
 Insurance companies are realizing that technology is at the heart of
efforts to better compete in the marketplace. To get a clear real-time
view of each customer while cutting costs, many firms have focused on
integrating all their systems and adopting and implementing a
consistent data standard.
To this end, the Insurance Value Chain family
of independent software vendors and systems integrators is starting to
prove itself a strong enabler. But how well have insurers actually
fared in 2006? We asked industry experts for their take on progress and
crucial next steps. |
Category(s): Insurance, Leaders Forum
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Banking Strategies for a Rapidly Changing Marketplace |
 Consumers have more choices than ever before when it comes to handling their finances. Many institutions are struggling to find the right mix of retail and commercial strategies, as well as the optimal way to combine their self-service, online and branch channels. Some financial services firms focus on ‘convenience,’ others on ‘service,’ and still others on the ‘customer experience.’ Some analysts argue that any institution’s success in retail banking demands a continual investment in their business and a close monitoring of changing trends in technology and customer behavior – all backed by a management team that has a strategic clarity to their approach.
We asked industry leaders for their insight on what marketplace trends to be most focused on today and going forward; some of the more innovative strategies they have seen applied; the role technology plays in determining strategy; and how they help FIs compete in this rapidly changing marketplace.
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Category(s): Banking, Channel Renewal, Payments, Leaders Forum
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Cha-Ching! Trading Speed, Size, and Price to Gain that Competitive Edge |
 The speed and volume of financial information is exceeding all forecasts. Investment institutions are facing the need to significantly invest in their trading and processing infrastructures with ever dwindling budgets. Firms will not only need to find the right speed, size, and price fit to remain financially viable, but they will need innovative solutions that add more value to each trade. We ask the experts their POV on the necessary steps for gaining that crucial competitive advantage.
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Category(s): Capital Markets, Leaders Forum
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Online Banking: Expanding the Channel with Convenience and Security |
 Without a doubt, the online channel is the most cost-effective way for financial institutions of all sizes to deliver their services.
It also delivers a strong ROI: research from The Boston Consulting Group and other research firms has shown that online banking users are over 30% more profitable than offline users, while bill payers are nearly 100% more profitable.
These kinds of numbers show the real value of promoting and securing the online banking channel. The question is how to securely deliver services over the Internet while striking a balance between effectiveness and convenience for the online banker.
Our industry leaders provide insight into how this delicate goal can be achieved. |
Category(s): Banking, Leaders Forum
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