How Lifecycle Services are the Right Choice for Financial Institutions

With the prevalence of modern digital media, the integration of technology and finances has become close enough to spawn a new term expressing the relationship: fintech. Individual user oriented fintech includes apps and websites like PayPal and Venmo, but current technology even drives forward such massive institutions as the global stock market. The implementation of artificial intelligence, as well as robotic automation and blockchain development, are galvanizing everyday financial operations, but not everyone understands the fundamentals of modern technology. Financial institutions that need computing power to maintain sharp competition but lack the necessary aptitude can enlist the aid of IT lifecycle services to supply that crucial knowledge.

What are Some Examples of Fintech?

The cooperation of finance and technology has a singular purpose: providing consumers with direct and easy-to-use access to their financial profiles. Smartphone capabilities have brought financial transactions to the end-user’s fingertips. Venmo allows exchanges between individual accounts, while ApplePay provides transactions between individuals and businesses that support the software. Kickstarter and Patreon allow fundraising to reach wide audiences, redefining the notion of crowdfunding. Apps like Acorn support stock trading from any supporting mobile device.

Even cryptocurrency represents the digitalization of finance. Investment in bitcoin and litecoin take financial transactions purely into the virtual world. The fluctuation of the bitcoin value conversion to US dollars demonstrates alone the predominance of online transactions.

How Do Financial Institutions Use Technology?

The essential change that follows digital banking is the ease of personal finance. However, institutions such as organized banking entities, investment firms, and insurance companies require the advancement that coincides with technology simply to maintain a competitive edge. Robotic Process Animation (RPA), for example, eliminates the monotony of simple labor and streamlines operations to optimize productivity and, ultimately, the overall customer experience. Software that supports machine learning continues to optimize these capabilities, freeing time for deeper and more relevant analytics. Many financial institutions now utilize Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software as well, contributing further to the end-goal of superior customer service. Regardless of the type, these advancements rely on the use of computing power.

Yet, the proper application of technology requires a certain level of expertise. IT lifecycle services provide the relevant acumen to implement technology to its full potential. From the procurement of the appropriate technology, throughout its lifespan, and to its eventual recycling, lifecycle services ensure the optimization of technology as a tool. The relevance of technology to finance is ubiquitous: online banking is not a trend but a preliminary to total financial interaction in the future. The use of technology in banking should not be considered in terms of if, but when.

How Can Lifecycle Services Provide Security for Financial Institutions?

It takes a high level of training and proficiency to compete in the realm of finance, but that prowess does not always include technological ability. While a lack in skill and know-how largely means overspending on technology that is overqualified in use, it can also translate into insufficient security measures. Within the financial sphere, security marks the most significant concern. The ease of online banking means little to a customer who cannot be sure that their funds will be safeguarded from theft. It is not enough for a company to utilize optimal software, they must also guarantee that measures are in place to combat cybercrime and the leakage of sensitive information. Sometimes this occurs through hacking private accounts, but most often it occurs through the improper disposal of hardware. Lifecycle services provide the necessary security.

Although their initial function includes cost-reduction, selecting the appropriate hardware for specific functions, their most valuable service covers the security of the information contained within that hardware. The acquisition of technology entails the installment of secure software that protects the information while it is in use. Continued maintenance keeps this software up to date, and when that device is finally deemed End of Life, lifecycle services oversee the entire process of Data Destruction and recycling.

Deleting a file from a computer prevents easy access to that file, not total. Exceptionally savvy technicians can recover information from hard drives that the users themselves were unable to find. The process of Data Destruction, when performed by a specialized company, uses three external methods to sanitize data. Overwriting, degaussing, and physical destruction, sometimes performed all together, can almost guarantee total erasure. Companies that provide these services often carry certifications of secure destruction, sometimes provided by organizations like the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Association of Information Destruction (NAID). These governing bodies establish both standards and accountability, thereby ensuring an additional layer of security offered by lifecycle services.

With hardware that contains such personal data as credit card information and social security numbers, that promised security becomes not a perk but a necessity. Customers deserve security in every financial transaction, during each interaction and when the hardware that contains their data is decommissioned and slated for recycling. Financial institutions that solicit lifecycle services access the proficiency in technology that safeguards not only themselves, but the information of all their customers.

How Do Financial Institutions Benefit from Lifecycle Services?

The role of computers in finances grows deeper every day. Lifecycle services assist with the acquisition of technology for specific functions and deploy this hardware where it is needed. Teams of trained technicians oversee maintenance until the devices become defunct, at which point they securely destroy all the remaining data before responsibly recycling the material. Their technical expertise initially reduces costs, but their supervision of the entire lifespan ensures that customer information never reaches unauthorized hands.

In short, lifecycle services share an in-depth knowledge of computers to optimize their use in every field. Their applications are endless, but for financial institutions, they provide both the processing power and the security needed to compete in the modern business climate.