IT infrastructure top priority for Financial Markets in 2014

Financial markets set to continue spending on regulatory compliance and servicing to improve client loyalty

Melbourne, 12 December 2013: New research* from Ovum, a leading global analyst firm, reveals that as profitability is more difficult to find than prior to the financial crisis, 2014 will be a year of foundational investment for the financial markets, with the primary focus on investment in IT infrastructure.

This investment is required for finding new opportunities to drive profit, by moving into new markets, trading venues, geographies and asset classes, while managing this additional complexity. Over two thirds of respondents queried on infrastructure spending forecasted an increase of between one and six percent in their outlay.

Meanwhile, the ongoing volatility in global markets is making profitability a challenge and, as a result, customer loyalty is declining. As neither the buy side nor the sell side can guarantee profit margins in current market conditions, both sides are set to invest in IT systems that improve service levels in the hope that it positively impacts customer satisfaction and ultimately customer loyalty.

Rik Turner, senior analyst, financial services technology, Ovum comments: “Financial markets will face two main challenges in 2014, with the difficulties of achieving profits in a post-financial crisis environment and complying with the ever-increasing raft of rules and regulations. This will drive an increase in IT infrastructure spending, as well as a focus on servicing systems to improve customer loyalty levels.

“Regulatory compliance will continue to be a particularly large area of spending,” comments Turner. “The ever-increasing range of rules and regulations is requiring large investments and is currently consuming as much as 40% of overall IT budgets across the financial markets.”

This is supported by Ovum’s ICT Enterprise Insights** – the largest survey of senior IT executives ever conducted – which reveals that navigating the tsunami of regulation around the globe, particularly in North America and Europe, the two largest trading regions, requires significant investment in IT systems.