The increasing rate of global disruption and uncertainty has made resilience a crucial trait for leaders and organizations to possess. In the face of natural disasters, pandemics, cyberattacks, and other unexpected events, businesses must be able to adapt quickly and efficiently to survive. Technology has become an integral component in building resilience, with many companies implementing digital strategies to minimize risk and maximize their ability to withstand disruptions. However, with technology evolving rapidly, leaders must stay ahead of the curve to ensure they are leveraging the latest advancements in the most effective way possible.
Vaidyanathan V, Chief Information Officer, Unity Small Finance Bank, said that, “The banking industry sees technology leaders as agents of change, presenting both opportunities and challenges. In the past, technology was viewed as a back-office function, only receiving attention during crises. However, now technology is at the forefront of everything, and technology leaders are part of the executive committee and board, changing the way business is done. This responsibility to deliver what is promised is a great opportunity but also a challenge.
He further stated, “The company received its license in June 2021 and started the business in November of that year. In January, the company acquired an existing bank and merged some entities from its parent company. The challenge is multifaceted, starting with getting all the technology in place, including technology that was in a suspended state for almost two years. The company faced the question of where they stand currently, and the answer was a mess due to having several businesses from the parent company, an acquired bank in a suspended state, and a board with dotted connections that needed to be connected to form a meaningful picture. The company had to make meaningful connections to move forward.”
He stated “Changing our core banking system was a monumental task that I faced when I joined the management desk. The obvious question was why disturb something that was already in place and make it work? However, we were convinced that we needed to implement a new microservices based architecture and remove our existing core banking system used by Earthwild PMC Bank. The whole core banking journey was done in a record time of 88 days. This was a huge challenge as we had to agree on the needs of my business and management, which were drawn by customer demands and what the users wanted. It was doable within a specific timeframe, but we are still facing this challenge with almost 25 projects running simultaneously, and hiring and retaining technology people is challenging.”
“The current generation is smarter than the hiring managers, and by the time we hire five people, three would have already left. This ongoing challenge affects the team’s performance, and we are expected to deliver every project in under 90 days.
The biggest challenge we face is regulatory compliance, and it takes away our energy and resources. However, it’s a necessary evil, and we have to comply with regulations. Cybersecurity is also a top priority, and everything we talk about with RBI revolves around it. For example, we had a cybersecurity audit coming down when we were not even four months old, and it was a challenge to comply with them. We had to make sure that we had done everything right to pass the audit”, he concluded.
Anil Sinha, Chief Technology Officer, Fibe, said that, “A decade ago, technology was primarily considered a back office operation, but now it’s taking up a driving seat and creating new business opportunities and customer experiences. From a business perspective, technology helps with both customer acquisition and retention. For example, embedding financing options in office platforms or HRMS systems can provide a seamless user experience for customers. It also provides strong data for underwriting and creates a win-win situation for both customers and businesses. Retention is about servicing the customer with quality and timely service, and building a strong technology ecosystem is essential for this.”
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He further stated, “However, being at the front foot of technology also comes with increased responsibility and challenges. One significant challenge is building a strong technology team with the right skill set and investing in people to create the right synergy. Another challenge is regulatory compliance and cybersecurity, which are necessary evils that require significant resources and attention. Meeting the expectation of delivering projects under 90 days is also a challenge, especially with the ongoing struggle of hiring and retaining talented technology personnel. Despite these challenges, technology’s front foot position helps businesses and customers achieve a seamless experience and operational efficiency.”
“There are a few things that we need to focus on as an industry. One of these is preparing for a large-scale cyber attack. As the industry grows, we need to have a collaborative effort to handle such attacks, especially in the BFSI sector. We should invest in conducting dry runs to ensure we are prepared for any such event.
Lastly, agility also means adapting quickly to changes, such as regulatory changes in the digital economy. As the industry grows, regulators are also learning, and we can expect frequent changes in regulations. Therefore, it is important to have an effective ecosystem to handle these changes in an agile manner,” he concluded.
