Fear of failure is holding back digital projects at UK financial services firms, which admit spending almost one million pounds on unsuccessful or cancelled efforts, according to a survey from Fujitsu.
FS firms are being driven to carry out massive digital transformation projects by customer expectations, says Fujitsu.
However, fear of failure is holding back the implementation of these projects, with almost three quarters of financials services leaders put off by the costs of failure. This comes as no surprise, as seven-in-10 admit to cancelled projects in the last two years.
Ian Bradbury, CTO, financial services, Fujitsu UK & Ireland, says: "Financial services firms are under pressure from their customers to deliver greater speed, convenience and personalisation, as well as better customer services.
"Digital transformation is certainly a key strategy in helping banks and insurers achieve this, however, despite the sector going from strength to strength, financial sector firms have undertaken unsuccessful projects and lost money. This has made them nervous about deploying new projects."
When it comes to what is preventing firms from successfully completing digital projects, respondents highlight a skills gap, with four-in-five believing that attracting ‘digitally native’ staff will be vital to their firms’ success in the next three years.
Over a quarter of those quizzed believe collaboration is an important element in realising the company’s digital strategy. While almost four-in-five turn to technology experts for co-creation, three quarters go as far as seeking consultancy and training from start ups and organisations outside their industry.
Many firms are already leveraging new technology that will radically change the way they do business. A fifth believe implementing technology will be the most important factor to realising their digital strategy, with cloud computing and big data and analytics playing a key role in helping drive the financial success over the next 10 years.
Continues Bradbury: "Historically, financial services firms have been cautious when it comes to innovation. They are working under strict regulations and the very nature of what they do, means that a radical digital transformation project could have a detrimental impact on people’s lives - for example, negatively impacting access to bank accounts or making insurance claims.
"But this shouldn’t hinder innovation across the sector. Quite the opposite - with the help of external expertise and willingness to implement digital transformation, we can be soon pleasantly surprised at a revamp of the industry."