IT Spending Under Pressure, No More Blank Checks in Securities and Investment Operations

Featuring: Peter Delano, Research Operations Director, Securities & Investments and Insurance

Moderator: Ralph Silva, Research Director, European Banking & Payments

A few years ago, IT departments responsible for securities and investment operations were spending as if they had access to blank checks. Those days are over, and cost pressures have jumped to the IT department, resulting in difficult compromises. Recent TowerGroup research explored the extent of the cutbacks. The findings are published in a report titled, “North American Securities and Investment Firms’ IT spending: Tightening the Tourniquet as Wounds Heal.”

Across-the-board cuts are the norm, but the cuts are not consistent throughout the IT supply chain. Internal IT expenditures have been curtailed the most, while spending on third-party services and outsourcing has dropped only moderately. The news is not all bad: Not surprisingly, risk management and regulations are in fact driving a slight increase in spending. Europe is in line with the United States in spending cuts, but Asia has not yet experienced significant cutbacks. Peter Delano joins us to talk about the trends and highlight what vendors need to do to keep orders flowing in.