For quite some time now, it’s been hard to keep up with all the different variations of tech innovations in finance. We’ve seen transformations via digital banking platforms that were hard to imagine just a few years prior. With growing permutations of blockchain-based transactions and other non-traditional banking practices, technological advancements have already reshaped how financial services are delivered and even thought about.
Most advancements seem to be welcome at first, especially in service circles, mainly based on positive experiences from the past. The industry has experienced much faster transactions, seamless connectivity, and greatly enhanced customer experiences. Mobile payments have empowered its customers to manage their finances from anywhere in the world. There are stories of successful transformations via an openness to innovation throughout every industry.
Michael Rustom, a technology solutions consultant with nearly 30 years of experience, has been at the delivery end of many of these transformations throughout his career in IT.
“My first job was an outside sales representative, and I was winning businesses in the Greater Toronto area,” says Rustom. “We were bringing AT&T’s full suite of services to markets all over the city, and I learned quickly back then that you had to tailor your tech offerings to meet the needs of these different industries. That lesson still applies.”
Rustom says that, beyond understanding the logistics of integrating new tech solutions, the most important thing for him as a sales leader was his ability to form partnerships with clients, creating a sense of collaboration in the effort to find the right solution for their business.
“I think for any industry, when you’re coming in as a consultant, you want to create that sense of trust as soon as you can,” says Rustom. “People know that when we show up, we’re about to change the way things have always been done, tech-wise, and that stresses people out. They’ve invested years, many of them, in perfecting the old way. So we know it’s a process that has to be eased into, and it’s helpful if we can show that we’ve done it successfully many times before in their industry.”
This applies especially to financial services, where heightened security issues make technological changes much trickier. But the growth of advancements in internet technologies, as well as new fintech tools, shows no signs of slowing down.
Fintech companies and startups continue to leverage cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and big data analytics to develop new products, many with the promise of institutional transformations for companies that adopt them.
“It’s harder than ever to know how to gain an edge,” says Rustom. “But for many businesses, the choice is to change or become obsolete.”
Fintech tools are also democratizing access to financial services, creating disruptive innovations that challenge traditional business models. These innovations can shake the foundations of industries, causing wholesale reappraisals of a business approach.
The collision of the tried and true principles of financial service with the emergence of new tech capabilities will continue to reshape the sector in ways we can’t imagine. But we’ve usually seen that those who embrace the digital revolution do gain a competitive edge, at least in the short term. And that’s usually enough to swing the vote.
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