CONTENTS 2023: A Challenge or an Opportunity for Financial Services? Financial services perceive more risk than other Industries Financial Services Strategy in 2023 Financial Services Mindset in 2023 Financial Services Technology in 2023 What have we learnt from the Chief Disruptor Community?

How are C-level technology and information leaders navigating increasingly choppy and murky waters? Is a new playbook emerging for demonstrating top-and-bottom-line benefits from technology investments? And what new paradigms are developing to balance profitability with purpose? 

On Wednesday 25 January 2023, Chief Disruptor held the British Army Digital Transformation Conference at the Cavalry and Guards Club. The conference, attended by Chief Disruptor members, the British Army, as well as technology leaders from across Defence, focused on the Army’s Digital Transformation Programme (Programme THEIA).

More than ever, the spotlight is on organisations and how they acquire, use and leverage their data. From banking to retail to sports, maximising the value of data is a fundamental tenet of business strategies and operating models. In fact, a recent National Bureau of Economic Research study suggested that digital capital, such as data, makes up 25% of a firm’s value on average.  So what are the secrets to unlocking the value of data? Nimbus Ninety, in partnership with Oracle, brought together technology and data experts to connect, share challenges and opportunities and offer up actionable insights from data-driven businesses.

Chief Disruptor LIVE made an incredible in-person return last week at The May Fair Hotel. Members, partners and speakers all converged for a day of keynotes, interviews, panels, roundtable discussions and networking. We discussed and debated the meaning of disruption, data transformation, work and wellbeing, tech for positive change, the metaverse and so much more. There might also have been a few glasses of prosecco to top it all off!  Join me as we reflect upon five key takeaways from a jam-packed Chief Disruptor LIVE:

Whether organisations are mid-migration or yet to start their journey, complex, risky and expensive big data cloud migrations are staring them in the face. Siloed data, cultural issues, high costs, a skills shortage and end of support life can block the path towards a unified data platform. And, the case for innovative, data-driven insights is weakened by risks associated with information security and regulation. So what can organisations do to simplify and de-risk these big data cloud migrations?  Nimbus Ninety, in partnership with Unravel Data, Appsbroker and Google Cloud, brought together members from across industry to lend support, share challenges and, perhaps most importantly, enjoy a cheese twist or two. The evening began with a presentation from Eric McCarty, Solution Manager for Data Warehouse Modernization at Google and Matt Penton, Head of Data & Analytics at Appsbroker.

Sales and marketing teams have been under immense pressure from the unpredictability and uncertainty of the last 2 years and, arguably, today’s business environment is more competitive than ever. Now, organisations are realising the need to accelerate sales technology innovation to adapt to changing markets. However, this process is often hampered by outdated tools, ineffective human processes and poor forecasting. What emerges is a widening sales execution gap, the gap between potential and actual performance. Nimbus Ninety, in partnership with Outreach, brought members together to discuss strategies for building a data-driven, future-fit sales strategy that can meet the buying expectations of a digital-first world.

Cyber and ransomware attacks have bumped up the priority list of board-level decision makers, and for good reason - 75% of UK businesses have been affected by an attack. However, what is often overlooked is the role of technology risk management. Organisations now have more distributed, complex and, ultimately, risky, technology infrastructure than ever before. Hybrid working, supply chain challenges, as well as untracked mispractice, such as unsanctioned applications and password files, are adding to this complex picture. And, with out-of-date, inaccurate and manual technology risk management, tech and business leaders aren’t always well equipped to tackle the growing level of technology risk.   It is, therefore, a crucial time to embrace and further a new, data-driven technology risk management paradigm. Nimbus Ninety, in partnership with Tanium, brought together technology and business leaders to share experiences of implementing, adopting and communicating a new approach to technology risk management. The evening, full of insightful debate, cat stories and food, began with a scene-setter from Oliver Cronk, Chief IT Architect for EMEA at Tanium.

Does our supply chain include Russia? Should we be in the metaverse? Do we have a ransomware recovery plan? Even, should top managers have landlines? 2 years ago, some of these questions would be laughed out of meetings or boardrooms. However, these questions of risk, whether that be financial, operational or political, now occupy the headspace of business and technology leaders. Our interconnected and complex world has seen businesses begin to rethink risk and, more crucially, how to manage it.  In particular, over the last two years, emphasis has been placed on rethinking how to mitigate and manage technology risk; with tech and business leaders feeling ill-equipped to tackle the level of technology risk found in modern technology infrastructure. It is, therefore, a crucial time to consider a new technology risk management paradigm. Below, I lay out the fundamentals of this new TRM approach and examine how adopting a new approach could benefit your organisation.

2022 has seen a monumental shift as organisations mitigate the risks of legacy platforms and seek to capitalise off the myriad of new capabilities and possibilities modern platforms present. For tech leaders at the start of their optimisation journey, mastering their data platforms can be a daunting challenge. Those further along their journey, face complex data ecosystems often plagued by rising costs, dwindling performance levels and limited observability. The route to optimisation is not always clear. It is, however, those little-known insights into how to maximise tooling, free up capacity and troubleshoot issues faster that can provide the key to these common challenges. Nimbus Ninety, in partnership with Unravel Data and Databricks, brought together technology and data experts to connect, share challenges and offer up actionable insights to master a modern data platform.