There are telltale signs when firms have outgrown their systems, says Patrick Murray, the founder of STP Investment Services via an FTF Exchange Podcast.
One of the ripple effects of the global pandemic for financial services firm is a comprehensive review of their IT infrastructures.
Inevitably, when firms do the review, they will see telltale signs that they have outgrown their current systems, says Patrick Murray, the president and CEO of STP Investment Services via an FTF Exchange Podcast.
Firms are also likely to realize that moving to another software system by itself will not fix the problem, Murray says. (STP is the winner of the “Best Outsourcing Provider” in 2020 for its achievements in 2019.)
“I’m sure listeners are used to what we call ‘The Excel Hall of Fame.’ It’s amazing what people have done in [Microsoft] Excel to get by,” Murray says. “Ultimately, these workarounds can break.” The workarounds are often plagued by human error that will yield major challenges. “This is an indicator that you need to outsource,” Murray says.
“Now, I’d also advise that certain areas of software are not as well developed and shouldn’t be used. You might have a product that has all sorts of functionality and it demos really great and has lots of sizzle,” Murray says. But sometimes sizzling software has shortcomings where firms can “use it for these three things but avoid these two things. And that other thing over there that was developed for XYZ client and we don’t want to use it all, because it’s just for them.”
Another indication that firms may need to consider other options is when firms see that they are “spending a lot of time on systems or upgrades or trainings or workarounds,” instead of on the business, Murray says.
For instance, firms may want to launch new strategies but have a system that cannot handle of the firm does not have the expertise to invest in foreign markets, he adds. “It’s really not the way to run or grow a scalable business,” Murray says.
Some of the other podcast talking points covered are:
- What guided Murray in founding STP;
- What firms should take into consideration when evaluating partners for digital transformations;
- Client expectations about front-, middle-, and back-office operations;
- Growing demands for more data and insights at lower costs;
- Emerging, cutting-edge technologies on the horizon;
- Major new services and/or platform enhancements that STP launched in 2020 & enhancements to come in 2021;
- And why some firms might be hesitant to reevaluate their situations.
Please enjoy this podcast! We invite you to continue the conversation in an upcoming webinar “Revamping Recon For A Post-Pandemic World” on June 15, 2021.
To register or learn more about this upcoming webinar, click here.
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