Following a string of outages within the financial services sector, several exchange groups including Japan Exchange Group and Euronext have pledged to implement change in an attempt to reassure and retain their customers.
Guy Warren, CEO of technology company ITRS Group, below, explores the firms’ responses to outages and how, rather than short-term fixes, they can address the root cause of the problem.
"Japan Exchange Group’s new research centre and Euronext’s promise of a playbook for business continuity are a perfect demonstration of an industry that is still, stubbornly, treating the symptom, rather than the disease that is a lack of operational resilience.
While these actions are a step in the right direction, for real change to occur, and to put a final stop to outages, a full overhaul of the financial services sector’s approach is needed – where power and authority is put in the hands of the right people: individuals within firms responsible for operational resilience.
Understandably, following the economic consequences of COVID-19, firms across industries are desperately trying to protect their profit margins and cut costs wherever immediate returns aren’t guaranteed – and that includes postponing investment in operational resilience. Still seen as a drain on resources rather than a driver of growth, operational resilience remains on the backburner.
But with both regulatory and consumer demands on the rise, time is running out. The FCA’s regulations around operational resilience come into force in less than a year, and customers, faced with ever increasing options, won’t remain patient forever.
Firms must realise that investing in operation resilience – whether that be allocating funding to the endeavor or providing those internally responsible for operational resilience with more authority – is key; not only to their regulatory compliance, but their very survival. The reputational damage and customer losses following repeated outages cannot be underestimated. Firms must act now or face the consequences later."
