Expert: Daniel, Head of Customer, Seccl Technology Facilitator: Philip Biber, Sionic
Expert: Daniel, Head of Customer, Seccl Technology
Facilitator: Philip Biber, Sionic
Key Takeaways
- Advice is currently expensive because adviser time is so limited in part due to archaic systems and processes that take up too much of their time.
- Empowering advisers and customers alike through the appropriate use of technology is thus key.
- A connectivity approach, enabled by APIs is the way forward.
- Data is the key to this - ugly data maps with duplicate fields over multiple applications lack synchronicity and have data validation issues.
- A middle layer to take in all the client facing front end and also connect to the middle and back office acts as the system manager.
Overview
The pandemic has moved technology from an agenda item to top of the agenda. Paper based and manual platforms are no longer fit for purpose and so the conversation about building business for the future moves right up the list.
The digital side of things can and should provide more than online valuations to client onboarding, secure communications and the like. Players are envisioning a holistic and omnichannel client experience that gives client choice in selecting pathway. Advisers also need to nudge clients towards digital to enable things to be quicker and belter. To do this the functionality needs to be very user friendly and easy to use.
1. Advice is currently expensive because adviser time is so limited in part due to archaic systems and processes that take up too much of their time.
Tech is one barrier but the other is regulatory where the regulator makes it hard to offer differentiated service. It is a more binary approach – was advice offered or not? A gradient level of service would make sense and appropriate use of FinTechs to enable this would be therefore good for the advice market – the customers.
2. Empowering advisers and customers alike through the appropriate use of technology is thus key
There are significant cost benefits to having a modern workable and future proof platform. Clients don’t really care about the platform they just want it to work. Lack of integration between internal systems can be an issue- legacy systems that pre-date the existence of a platform make it painful to move new assets over and this has a client impact. In an age where people looking to grow both organically and via acquisition, a quality platform makes sense. It also works for smaller companies might struggle with expertise and IT overhead to build a platform in house.
3. A connectivity approach, enabled by APIs is the way forward
Architectures have been historically built to keep everything in one place. But APIs promote connectivity as long as all APIs same calibre so that data and information can be moved, using the same standards, from one system to another.
4. Data is the key to this - ugly data maps with duplicate fields over multiple applications lack synchronicity and have data validation issues.
This is a barrier. A single data source and a single client identifier to feed a constellation of applications and to look and feel slick is required.
The idea is use a core system which is the single source of truth and from which other systems take information. So validation is done once with the core system.
The utopia is having multiple technologies but the users at the front end would not know they were different because the ecosystem is working in harmony; it looks and feels the same at the front end and is easy to use and is thus, engaging.
5. A middle layer to take in all the client facing front end and also connect to the middle and back office acts as the system manager.
Currently the vendor with the most connections ends up managing things and this allows the joining of multiple pieces of capability to provide a whole. To the future, firms will move to having a coding team in house to manage the integration layer and create a bespoke ecosystem, rather than rely on a vendor.
The future is advice firms that can advocate more heavily on the connection side and the vendors who will win will be those that are able and willing to connect to other systems to create a best of breed system that works for all – meeting the needs of the adviser.
The technology to do this exists. It all comes down the execution and all players within an ecosystem being on the same page when it comes to a joined up and efficient approach without unnecessary disruption or friction points. Any proposition is only as strong as its weakest link and so this best of breed approach is valid and valuable.
