Digital Platforms Fortify Banks Against Rising Competition

Traditional banks continue to adopt modular, cloud-based architectures to meet customer demand for easy digital experiences, ISG Provider Lens™ report says

Banks still using legacy technologies are continuing to move toward modern digital platforms to better compete with emerging rivals, according to a new research report published today by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.

The 2023 ISG Provider Lens™ Digital Banking Technology and Platforms global report finds that traditional banks’ monolithic IT environments do not allow rapid innovation and are increasingly expensive to operate. At the same time, a range of new competitors are offering alternatives to traditional banking products, capturing the growing market of consumers who expect seamless, omnichannel digital experiences.

“Banks need to be where customers are,” said Owen Wheatley, ISG’s lead partner for banking and financial services. “With modern platforms, they can rapidly introduce convenient, digital products and easily add features to meet changing demands.”

Most banks that are modernizing are either carrying out progressive digital transformations one module at a time, implementing new platforms out of the box or launching new, greenfield operations separate from their traditional offerings, the report says. Because they need resilience and agility, banks are partnering with providers that offer cloud-based, modular, microservices-based architectures. The most effective systems use open APIs for easy interoperability with third-party features and are connected to a broad ecosystem of fintech startups for continuous co-innovation, ISG says.

A key benefit of modern banking platforms is real-time data processing, which allows banks to quickly onboard new customers, perform know-your-customer procedures and make time-sensitive decisions such as loan approvals, the report says. With real-time decision-making, banks can get into new businesses such as buy-now-pay-later services.

Changes to regional and global banking regulations are forcing banks to use new payment systems and more data-rich message formats, ISG says. Modern digital platforms help banks comply with these regulations and use the newly available data to offer customers more personalized products and services. New regulations also require stricter risk screening and fraud detection, further increasing the need for fast, flexible data processing.

“Banks are sharpening their focus on preventing financial crimes,” said Jan Erik Aase, partner and global leader, ISG Provider Lens Research. “Modern banking platforms enable stronger protections that can be improved over time.”

The report also explores other banking technology trends, including the rise of DevOps practices and the growing need for real-time payment processing systems.

For more insights into global banking challenges, including the shortage of skills to manage legacy systems, and advice on how to overcome them, see the ISG Provider Lens™ Focal Points briefing here.

The 2023 ISG Provider Lens™ global Digital Banking Technology and Platforms report evaluates the capabilities of 38 providers across three quadrants: Core Banking Platforms, Digital Banking Engagement Platforms and Payment Processing Platforms.

The report names Finastra, Intellect Design and Temenos as Leaders in all three quadrants. It names Infosys Finacle, Oracle and TCS BaNCS as Leaders in two quadrants each. ACI Worldwide, Avaloq, Backbase, FIS, Fiserv, Jack Henry & Associates, Thought Machine and Volante Technologies are named as Leaders in one quadrant each.

In addition, Mambu and Q2 Software are named as Rising Stars — companies with a “promising portfolio” and “high future potential” by ISG’s definition — in one quadrant each.

A customized version of the report is available from Comviva.

The 2023 ISG Provider Lens™ global Digital Banking Technology and Platforms report is available to subscribers or for one-time purchase on this webpage.

About ISG Provider Lens™ Research

The ISG Provider Lens™ Quadrant research series is the only service provider evaluation of its kind to combine empirical, data-driven research and market analysis with the real-world experience and observations of ISG's global advisory team. Enterprises will find a wealth of detailed data and market analysis to help guide their selection of appropriate sourcing partners, while ISG advisors use the reports to validate their own market knowledge and make recommendations to ISG's enterprise clients. The research currently covers providers offering their services globally, across Europe, as well as in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, the U.K., France, Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, the Nordics, Australia and Singapore/Malaysia, with additional markets to be added in the future. For more information about ISG Provider Lens research, please visit this webpage.

A companion research series, the ISG Provider Lens Archetype reports, offer a first-of-its-kind evaluation of providers from the perspective of specific buyer types.

About ISG

ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 900 clients, including more than 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs more than 1,600 digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries—a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry’s most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit www.isg-one.com.

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