Singapore and Hong Kong – 5 March, 2015 – Every two out of five decision-makers in Asia’s financial institutions are expecting growth in IT budgets to exceed 10% in 2015 as the industry collectively renews its resolution to further digitize its practices.
In a survey conducted among 650 delegates of IDC Financial Insights’ eleventh annual Asian Financial Services Congress, the C-suite of the Asia/Pacific banking and insurance communities are found to be aligned in their opinion on technology investments for the fiscal year.
Only a third of those represented in the congress are expecting their technological budgets to stagnate or contract within the fiscal year.
These findings represent the collective views of 215 unique organizations in the region convening in Singapore for the two-day congress.
The opportunity to gather first-hand data from the industry’s senior practitioners has further validated IDC Financial Insights’ most recent and significant findings on innovation, particularly for mission-critical enterprise systems.
The idea that Asian institutions now have the youngest core systems globally has been corroborated by 32% of delegates having admitted to owning related IT assets which are less than seven years old; the median age for European and North American core banking systems are 12 and 20 years respectively.
The bid for greater business agility is also apparent in other IT domains – three in every five institutions are found to be committing themselves to private, hybrid and public Cloud investments for the upcoming year, breaking the years-long indecision that has permeated the industry.
“Combined with the solidification of the ASEAN Economic Community charter, greater affordability of IT in the enterprise and consumer space, as well as the rise of regulators as enablers rather than inhibitors of innovation, we believe the significant shifts in IT investment witnessed over the past years are a strong reflection of future trends, and ultimately, of our financial sector’s growing maturity in reconciling 3rd Platform technologies with day-to-day operations,” says Sui-Jon Ho, Market Analyst at IDC Financial Insights.
“As many of our leading FSIs have demonstrated, the hallmark of a truly ‘innovative’ organization does not lie in a complete departure from legacy systems or practices, but in renewing them through the right technological acquisition, thus creating new synergies which are still firmly anchored to the existing business.”
About The Financial Insights Innovation Awards (FIIA)
Each year, IDC Financial Insights invites banks across Asia/Pacific to nominate initiatives that they believe warrant special recognition in the area of innovation. The FIIA recognizes the successes of these institutions in displaying innovation to achieve business objectives. The FIIA provides a clear indication of how the Asia/Pacific financial services industry leverages technology as a driver of innovation and competitive differentiation.
About IDC Financial Insights
IDC Financial Insights assists financial service businesses and IT leaders, as well as the suppliers who serve them, in making more effective technology decisions by providing accurate, timely, and insightful fact-based research and consulting services. Staffed by senior analysts with decades of industry experience, our global research analyzes and advises on business and technology issues facing the banking, insurance, and securities and investments industries. International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology market. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world’s leading technology, media, research, and events company. For more information, please visit www.idc-fi.com, email info@idc-fi.com, or call 508-620-5533. Visit the IDC Financial Insights Community at http://idc-insights-community.com/financial.
About IDC
International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy. More than 1,000 IDC analysts provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries worldwide. For more than 50 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help our clients achieve their key business objectives. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world’s leading technology media, research, and events company. You can learn more about IDC by visiting www.idc.com.