Australia - only 6% of banks enhance IT security

According to a Capgemini survey, while 21 percent of respondents have pointed systems modernisation as their top corporate priority, 36 percent have mentioned it was “not on the agenda”. The same source unveils that another 18 percent have declared it was a top-three and top-ten priority, while 6 percent have stated it was a priority for individual business units only.

Results show that 41 percent have stated that the implementation of multi-channel delivery capabilities was top on their list. Only 24% have indicated they were focused on overhauling core systems, 9 percent were upgrading online customer portals and only 6 percent were busy enhancing their IT security.

With regard to the challenges they faced in delivering a multi-channel customer experience, participants have mentioned a number of different concerns. Aging bank technology was a problem in 35 percent of environments, while new channels and time-to-market pressures were indicated by 28 percent. Trends for initiatives to be siloed within business lines were named as a challenge by 22 percent of respondents, while competing channels and channel profitability were relatively low concerns with 9 percent and 7 percent responses, respectively.

The report reveals that mobile devices were seen by 43 percent of respondents as conduits for targeted offers or information, while 20 percent have said they would use mobile devices to engage customers through social-media channels. Findings point out that only 11 percent have flagged the value of mobiles for workforce collaboration and only 6 percent were interested in using mobiles to track customer behaviour.

Asked about their priorities for 2012, data analytics (45 percent) and the use of mobile devices and digital wallets (39 percent) were by far the dominant priorities, with biometrics (7 percent), videoconferencing (5 percent) and gamification (5 percent) taking up the rear.

According to the report, banks were broadly optimistic about the potential for new online channels to increase revenues.

The Capgemini survey was conducted amongst a live audience at FST Media’s recent Future of Banking & Financial Services conference.