Market spotlight

The finance industry is in the grip of digital transformation 

The finance industry is in the grip of digital transformation thumbnail
The competitive opportunity for banks is to connect to new payment schemes, and integrate them into the customer experience in a cheaper, faster way than rivals.”
LAWRENCE FREEBORN & JAMES EIBISCH
IDC

It has been said many times that business is in the grip of a digital transformation. The technological foundation on which business is conducted today is clearly shifting, from monolithic IT systems installed on-premise to the agile assembling of cloud-based technology and microservices, often within open ecosystems. And this transformation is happening fast: IDC forecasts that, by 2020, 50% of Global 2000 enterprises will derive the majority of their business from digitally enhanced products, services, and experiences.

To achieve this level of ubiquity, and to help companies overcome some of the challenges that they experience along the way, digital transformation needs to be underpinned by solid, secure infrastructure. Connecting the components of a modern latency-sensitive or safety-critical application using only the public Internet is not sufficient. This IDC Mini Market Spotlight examines the emergence of interconnection platforms dedicated to providing this type of cloud-level connectivity within the finance industry, to complement the Internet, and so enable users and suppliers to transact digital business in a secure, performant environment.

Security threats cominate the finance industry's challenges

The benefits for the financial industry from migrating to the digital world have been immense over the last 10 years. However, as digital business models have matured, the limitations of the public Internet have become apparent. One major drawback has been the increased sophistication of cybersecurity threats, which have rocketed to the top of the agenda to the extent that fraud, cybersecurity, and distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks are rated the number 1 challenge to the industry.

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