“This new study offers business leaders new insights into the way their peers are organizing their internal cultures, teams and processes to deliver innovation.” says Janet King, Vice President, Research, Arizent. NEW YORK (PRWEB) June 21, 2021
A new survey conducted by Arizent, the parent company of American Banker, The Bond Buyer, National Mortgage News, Financial Planning and other leading information brands for the financial services industry, examines how financial services organizations are reconfiguring their digital transformation strategies, hitherto somewhat unfocused and ineffective, as they strive to innovate to stay ahead of their competition.
“Increasing competitive, regulatory and financial pressures are forcing companies to innovate to stay competitive and drive their businesses forward,” says Janet King, Vice President, Research, Arizent. “This new study offers business leaders new insights into the way their peers are organizing their internal cultures, teams and processes to deliver innovation.”
The survey finds a scattered distribution of where financial services firms land relative to innovation. One in four (24%) are outpacing their peers or “guiding” the sector with respect to the extent of their commitment to innovation policies and practices. A majority (52%) are “following” or moving along with the masses with their innovation decisions and 23% are trailing their peers with respect to the adoption of innovations policies and practices.
Other key findings of the research include:
Among companies actively pursuing innovation, about half have a documented strategy or roadmap. Not surprisingly, those with a documented strategy are also more likely to have the policies, practices and tools in place to support and advance innovation. Customer experience is the primary goal driving innovation initiatives, with far fewer companies prioritizing efforts that deliver operational or business model innovations. This leads to potential misalignments as back-office areas will be key to sustaining and advancing customer-facing innovation. 6 out of 10 innovation stakeholders admit their firms have not aligned their technology roadmap and investments with key areas of innovation, a critical gap that could undermine future success. Big data, analytics, security, cloud, digital payments, APIs and AI are most widely seen as vital to progress. Corporate innovation programs are still relatively new. The most commonly adopted course of action is establishing a dedicated innovation team, taken by just under half of those surveyed. Only a minority report implementing open innovation programs like hackathons, demo days or innovation labs. That minority looks ready for growth, with innovation lab or external partnership investments doubling to 20% in the next two years. This will need to be balanced against other programs, with organizational interest in both internally oriented projects and outside investment/acquisitions. The results and implications of this survey are covered in stories today in the following Arizent publications:
Rebooting Innovation, American Banker: https://www.americanbanker.com/research-report/rebooting-innovation Rebooting Innovation, National Mortgage News: https://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/research-report/rebooting-innovation Rebooting Innovation, Financial Planning: https://www.financial-planning.com/research-report/rebooting-innovation Rebooting Innovation, Employee Benefit News: https://www.benefitnews.com/research-report/rebooting-innovation Rebooting Innovation, Digital Mortgage: https://www.dig-in.com/news/rebooting-innovation Research Background/Methodology
Arizent conducted a survey of innovation leaders from March 19 to April 5, 2021. Respondents were screened for employment at companies pursuing innovation initiatives and personal involvement with or knowledge of those programs. It resulted in 287 qualified participants representing perspectives across the financial services ecosystem including banks, credit unions, mortgage brokers, insurance carriers, wealth managers, financial planners, accountants and fintech firms.
About Arizent Research
Arizent delivers actionable insights through full-service research solutions that tap into their first-party data, industry SMEs and highly engaged communities across banking, payments, mortgage, insurance, municipal finance, accounting, HR/employee benefits and wealth management. They have leading brands in financial services including American Banker, The Bond Buyer, Financial Planning and National Mortgage News, and in professional services, such as Accounting Today, Employee Benefits News and Digital Insurance. For more information, please visit http://www.arizent.com
About Arizent
Arizent is a business information company that advances professional communities by providing insights and analysis and convening industry leaders. The company uses deep industry expertise and a data-driven platform to deliver its services, which include subscriptions, marketing services, live events and access to Leaders, an executive forum. Arizent also connects business communities through leading financial services brands like American Banker, The Bond Buyer, Financial Planning and National Mortgage News, as well as professional services brands like Accounting Today, Employee Benefit News and Digital Insurance.
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