Turbulent Global Market Drives Outsourcing Strategies in Financial Services Sector

01/07/2008

Current economic volatility may trigger further business process transformation in the financial services sector according to a research paper released today by EquaTerra, a leading business advisory firm.

The research paper ‘Perspective: What’s Next for Service Delivery in Financial Services ?’ reveals that financial services firms are changing strategy in response to opportunities and threats created by globalisation. Additionally, in the short term, financial services outsourcing buyers have become more focused on cost avoidance and are looking at outsourcing as a means to defer or amortise investments in new IT capabilities. Longer term however, outsourcing is still viewed as a strategic reengineering tool, enabling business process improvement and market innovation.

As a result, EquaTerra expects demand for financial services outsourcing to grow at a more rapid pace, (seven to eight per cent annually over the next five to seven years), in response to both current market challenges and opportunities.

“Financial services firms understand they need to reduce complexity across the board to lower costs,” said Stan Lepeak, EquaTerra’s managing director of research. “A growing need to customise new product and service offerings to capitalise on emerging markets is adding urgency for operational innovation.”

The research is a compilation of findings gleaned from two recent EquaTerra studies (EquaTerra Globalisation Study and Q1 Advisor and Service Provider Pulse Survey).

Sixty-four percent of financial services executives polled in the EquaTerra Globalisation Study (conducted on behalf of the company by the Economist Intelligence Unit) believe rising income levels in developing regions of the world are creating a lucrative pool of new investors, spurring new-market expansion. Unfortunately, this window of opportunity coincides with continued volatility in the global economy. EquaTerra’s Perspective suggests financial services firms will explore new outsourcing strategies to tackle both challenges.

“Management and delivery of middle and back-office business processes is a prime target for innovation” according to John Boyle, financial services sector lead for EquaTerra. “Financial services firms could significantly benefit from alternative service delivery models like offshore captives or outsourcing to more efficiently and effectively deliver these services” he continued.

The information in this Financial Services Perspective is derived from two recent studies – the EquaTerra Globalisation Study and the Q1 Advisor and Service Provider Pulse Survey

The EquaTerra Globalisation Study, conducted in February 2008 by the Economist Intelligence Unit on behalf of EquaTerra, surveyed more than 200 business leaders in North America, Europe and Asia on their opinions about globalisation.
EquaTerra’s Advisor and Service Provider Pulse Surveys are designed to capture changes in demand, scope, capacity and related key-market indicators. They highlight changes, and the direction of change, in the outsourcing market compared to prior quarters and years. The 1Q08 Pulse Survey (January through March 2008) survey reflects BPO and ITO market activity and projections for the balance of 2008.

About EquaTerra
EquaTerra sourcing advisors help clients achieve sustainable value in their IT and business processes. Our advisors average more than 20 years of industry experience and have supported over 2000 transformation and outsourcing projects across more than 60 countries. Supporting clients throughout the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, we have deep functional knowledge in Finance and Accounting, HR, IT, Procurement and other critical business processes. EquaTerra helps clients achieve significant cost savings and process improvement with internal transformation, shared services and outsourcing solutions.