Despite the slow adoption of cloud computing by the banking and financial services industry with security and reliability being the major concerns, financial institutions are quickly resorting to cloud-based services to achieve increased agility and lowered total cost of ownership (TCO). According to IDC, worldwide revenue from public IT cloud services exceeded $21.5 billion in 2010 and is expected to reach $72.9 billion in 2015. There is an emerging trend in which financial institutions are embracing “cloud solutions” as not just a ‘me-too’ option, but as solutions that yield competitive advantage due to shorter cycles of time to market for products and services. (more…)

Financial services firms globally are investing strategically in enterprise mobile financial service solutions to deliver more mobile-based banking services and reduce the overall cost of operations. According to a recent survey by KPMG, mobile banking has already reached critical mass with 33% of US consumers conducting banking transactions over their mobile devices. This number is expected to significantly increase based on several trends. First of all, more consumers are becoming comfortable with the security of executing mobile transactions. Second is the continued penetration of smart phones and third is the rapid emergence of tablets as both a mobile device and in many circumstances, a replacement for standard desktops/laptops. (more…)

The last few years have seen tremendous changes in the business world; particularly the way customers, employees and partners are interacting and collaborating to conduct their business. Customers are making decisions to buy or discontinue a service with a click of a button. The “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) trend involves employees bringing their own smart phones and tablets to work, which is significantly impacting both IT and business. Brokers and agents are leveraging smart gadgets to speed up the business cycle by educating, building relationships and doing business with customers.  For example, using a tablet, an insurance agent can instantly run illustrations and compare premium quotes for insurance products simultaneously, making it easier for clients to see the various options. The “consumerization of IT” trend is having an enormous impact on businesses and is something they must take steps to embrace. In other words, the “empowered consumer” has arrived and is here to stay! (more…)

The economy has disappointed in 2011, and 2012 looks similar. In the US, the housing crisis and high unemployment persist. The euro debt crisis threatens Europe with recession. Healthier regions like Asia are too small and too export-oriented to escape a downturn in the West. The best macro case appears to be halting progress on structural issues and continued weak growth.

Despite this, IT spend in banking and financial services grew in 2011 and looks poised for modest growth in 2012. Why is this happening? Banks and securities firms feel pressure both to reduce costs and to innovate. There are multiple ways to cut costs but the only way to simultaneously reduce unit costs and innovate is through (more…)

Last week, Virtusa announced the acquisition of ALaS Consulting.  ALaS provides comprehensive management consulting services to the banking, financial services and capital markets communities.  This acquisition continues Virtusa’s strategic pursuit of providing high quality consulting and implementation services that are second to none.

The IT services community has many players.  Yet, few organizations are able to provide truly meaningful services that help their clients achieve their business goals.  Most organizations focus on one of two areas – technical IT services or management level services with deep domain expertise.  The powerful blend of capabilities from Virtusa and ALaS gives us the opportunity to combine true industry expertise with a global force able to deliver comprehensive solutions in a cost effective manner. (more…)