Cyber attacks are happening at alarmingly increased frequency, and they come not only with enormous costs, but significant reputational damage. Unsurprisingly, financial institutions top the list of targets, and as the financial services sector becomes more digitised and the volume of electronic transactions grow, so does the risk of cybercrime.
Amid these threats, it’s essential that financial services institutions (FSIs) constantly review their risk platforms and procedures, to ensure that everything watertight and they have the infrastructure and security to safeguard their customers’ data and assets. This is an essential safeguard at a time when the threat landscape is increasingly sophisticated and virulent.
Part of the problem is the variety of threats FSIs must mitigate against, which includes banking trojans, ransomware, fake finance apps programmed to steal data, phishing… the list constantly grows, and so does the level of destruction, according to the annual Cyber Bank Heists report.
Â
Companies can’t do it alone, though.
Safeguarding cyber security has to be done hand in hand with software and app developers, to ensure companies are on top of whatever the latest threats happen to be – which is why Microsoft and its partner ecosystem place a great deal of emphasis on addressing challenges in the sector and empowering FSIs to become more intelligent, so they can construct the best possible defences against cyber crime.
Of course, FSIs handle a vast amount of data, which is why Microsoft Cloud for Financial Services has been tailored to help FSIs to manage their data at scale. This not only helps in fortifying security; it also facilitates interoperability and the most rigorous of compliance requirements.
Many regulatory developments transverse continents and jurisdictions, and they have broad implications for how financial firms buy, implement, and manage their services and technologies. It’s vital, therefore, that your software platforms reduce fragmentation, and ensure strong risk management controls and practices.
With Microsoft Azure, financial organisations have both the infrastructure and the necessary security to take customer experiences to the next level – and ultimately, that’s where they can provide the most value, all while ensuring the data is tightly locked up.
How? We thought you’d never ask.
The world is changing at a rapid pace, and customers are becoming more demanding. They want a more proactive, more personalised experience. Microsoft’s suite of cloud-based solutions is designed to enhance collaboration, automation, and insights to streamline processes, modernising your financial software systems at the speed of business change.
It personalises every interaction you have with your customers, improving their experience, but also delivering rich data that can be used to constantly upgrade customer experience, and keep your business ahead of the pack using consumer data and predictive analytics.
But it also empowers your employees to deliver a greater customer experience: it improves both organisational and individual employee productivity by providing secure communication, collaboration, and productivity tools – even when employees are working remotely, or outside of traditional working hours.
In addition, FSIs are able to optimise their core business processes – removing the burden of manual tasks from employees, freeing up time for more creative thinking, and improving employee engagement and customer satisfaction.
As a Microsoft partner, Mint is perfectly placed to provide financial services capabilities to help you manage your data at the highest levels, allowing you to deliver differentiated experiences, empower employees, and combat financial crime, all while facilitating security, compliance, and interoperability.