Financial Services CIO/CTO Advisory: Research Council Meeting Outcomes

Financial Services CIO/CTO Advisory Practice Has Launched

Emerging technologies continue to disrupt traditional business models, and financial services (FS) organizations are challenged to make the right technology investments to achieve their strategic business objectives. To help organizations realize the full value of digital transformation initiatives, enterprise architecture (EA) is shifting to a strategic enablement function that provides consultative leadership on integrating technology and business strategies.

Aite-Novarica Group’s Financial Services CIO/CTO Advisory has launched to help EA leaders make decisions about architecture investments and practices that create optimal business outcomes.

Successful Charter Advisor Launch Meeting

A number of senior FS IT executives participated in our initial Research Council meeting on October 25 and shared their time and expertise to set the research direction for Aite-Novarica's Financial Services CIO/CTO Advisory practice. These leaders represent a diverse group of financial institutions, including small (community) and large banks as well as a range of FS firms.

The conversation with our Research Council members determined specific goals for launching this new practice as well as a list of shared challenges and priorities for research topics. Research centered on the challenges to and opportunities in creating business value is the core of how the FS CIO/CTO Advisory supports FS heads of architecture and chief technology officers (CTOs).

The conversation also surfaced ideas for how this FS CIO/CTO Advisory can deliver decision support to increase the effectiveness of FS architecture leaders and their teams. Quarterly 2022 research group meetings will be held for Research Council members to provide ongoing guidance on their most pressing challenges and opportunities to preview new best practices, research insights, and spotlights on fintech organizations creating real value. Other ideas receiving substantial interest include learning events for architecture leaders/CTOs designed to help evaluate emerging technology trends and digital players in the industry, including a trip to Silicon Valley.

Common Architecture Function Challenges

The robust Research Council discussion identified common strategic and function management challenges to increasing the business impact of EA. These challenges cover initiatives that EA practices facilitate, such as migrating legacy systems to cloud platforms, and areas in which consultative leadership is integral to aligning IT and business strategies, such as evaluating potential fintech partnerships.

Unsurprisingly, the principal emerging technologies and IT/digital functions for business transformation were addressed, namely cybersecurity, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), cryptocurrencies, blockchain, quantum computing, data operations, and APIs for open banking standards.

Also, three major themes emerged as priorities for delivering C-level insights, decision support, and networking for FS heads of EA/CTOs:

  • Workforce of the future: How should talent management and acquisition approaches adapt to build and/or buy the highly specialized skills organizations need to execute on strategic IT and business transformation initiatives?
  • Digitally aligned architecture: How do organizations successfully migrate from mainframe/legacy IT systems to cloud computing, and leverage AI and other emerging technologies to drive transformation initiatives?
  • Innovation leadership: How does the EA function deliver consultative leadership and help the business align the right IT investments, from partnerships with fintech companies that create real value to business strategies that facilitate product and service model innovation?

With research as the foundation, the FS CIO/CTO Advisory will also deliver unique executive learning and networking experiences.

Support for FS Heads of Architecture/CTOs

Based on Research Council members’ suggestions, we will include a number of service elements in the FS CIO/CTO Advisory to help architecture leaders make better decisions in aligning investments with strategic business objectives. These elements include expanding the scope of our research coverage, surveying architecture leaders/CTOs on relevant trends/function management topics, and peer-to-peer learning opportunities.

The research and best practices we deliver for FS architecture leaders will include new deliverables on the prioritized topics and more consumable briefs from existing Aite-Novarica Group content that are relevant to EA executives.

To augment the quarterly Research Council meetings, unique C-level learning and networking experiences will be established, such as virtual advisory boards (e.g., cybersecurity) and fintech spotlight presentations. Our member-facing calendar will include best-practice presentations by Research Council members and the broader FS CIO/CTO executive network to help increase EAs’ effectiveness on initiatives, such as implementing open banking APIs.

As the EA function continues to evolve into a strategic business partner, Aite-Novarica Group’s new FS CIO/CTO Advisory is focused on providing decision support for FS architecture leaders’ most salient function and business challenges.

Give Us Your Input

Are you an FS CTO or head of EA? Would you like more information about joining our exclusive Financial Services CIO/CTO Advisory Research Council? We’d love to hear your guidance on how this new offering can support your function’s impact.

Email me, and I’ll contact you to schedule an introductory conversation and send you a complimentary copy of our brief, CIO Checklist: Enterprise Architecture for FDIC-Supervised Firms.

 

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