The entry of customer-focused fintechs, whose products promote convenience and the ease of switching financial service providers, are shaping consumer expectations today. In turn, traditional financial services providers need to adopt a more customer-centric approach. If not, they risk being blind-sided by nimbler and more agile rivals.

Companies need an agile and robust infrastructure to be customercentric. They also need to continue assuring customers that their information and funds are safe while offering a platform to launch new applications and functionalities that consumers expect quickly. These organisations also need to adapt to new applications, innovative technologies, and a complex patchwork of regulations. These are the reasons why many companies have embarked on a digital transformation journey.

In a recent roundtable luncheon organised by FST Asia with Red Hat Software in Singapore, financial services representatives discussed the importance of infrastructure agility and robustness, the need to change relationships with vendors, and why building the right innovation-focused culture remains as important as technology deployments.