Banking is an old business. But in the past year, the rapid adoption of financial services innovation technology has catapulted banking, insurance, and financial leaders into the now. In fact, researchers are saying that 2016 is set to be a year of massive disruption for this sector, as leaders search for new ways to approach business, serve customers, and defend their positions in the market.
Forrester Research has published a number of recent reports covering the future of financial services innovation, the technology platforms shaking up the industry, and the most effective strategies for riding the banking innovation wave. Check out our top choices, below.
Digital Financial Innovation Is The Antidote To Disruption
Disruption and innovation often go hand-in-hand, but staying competitive means being ready for it. The best way to do that? Get buy-in from stakeholders on strategic innovation objectives, tools, and success measurements.
About the report: “Digital financial innovation has finally taken off, propelled by disruptors and incumbents racing to find ever new ways to serve digitally empowered customers. Yet innovating is hard, particularly in rigid and heavily regulated organizations like retail financial services firms. In this introductory report to our new research series on digital financial innovation, we detail how eBusiness executives at retail financial services firms should approach digital innovation and articulate its benefits to their colleagues.”
How To Organize For Digital Financial Services Innovation
Successful innovation is all about breaking down silos and capitalizing on all the resources and ideas at your disposal. But that can be especially hard in an industry that’s prone to red tape.
About the report: “Digital disruption is hitting retail financial services as ambitious financial upstarts flood the market, aiming to delight your customers with superior digital experiences. Leading firms are responding by promoting innovation. But financial services firms are riddled with barriers to change — from heavy regulation to legacy systems to an ingrained aversion to risk. This report helps eBusiness and channel strategy professionals determine the best organizational structure to move the digital innovation agenda forward.”
Inject Discipline Into Your Digital Innovation Process
Business innovation involves a lot of creativity, but structure is also key. Finding the balance requires vetted tools, intuitive platforms, and a dedication to consistency. A little bit of advice from those who’ve been around the block doesn’t hurt, either.
About the report: “Digital innovation is both art and science. While creativity, design instinct, and good timing all play a role, eBusiness executives at financial services firms need processes to convert creative ideas into value for the business. The innovation funnel is a tool that many successful digital innovation teams use to move ideas from inception to execution, to understand any blockages in their process, and to maintain a pipeline of innovations. In this report, we use more than two dozen interviews with digital financial innovators to draw lessons on how eBusiness executives can succeed at each stage of the innovation funnel.”
Digital Financial Services Innovation Requires Matchmaking
Innovation efforts don’t work simply because you tell people to go forth and innovate. Like any business approach, there are a number of teams, tools, people, and processes that have to come together in the right way in order to be effective. How can financial services providers put the puzzle together for innovation success?
About the report: “To develop and deliver digital innovations, eBusiness and channel strategy executives at financial firms need ideas, data, technology, software development skills, design experience, and change management support. Often, they can’t source these components internally in a timely and cost-effective manner. Partners like innovation agencies, systems integrators, adjacent firms, startups, and even competitors can help you add capabilities quickly. However, working as part of an ecosystem requires a certain loosening of control and a more flexible approach to project management.”
