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Banking Industry Embraces Emerging Technology

Banks are laying the foundation for the digitization of their businesses and anticipate emerging technologies -- from IoT to biometric authentications and blockchain -- to make a substantial imprint on the industry within five years, according to a recent survey of banking professionals commissioned by VMware.

Results of the survey made one thing very clear -- technology will drive banks' next transformation. The question for financial institutions is no longer whether to invest in technology, but how fast they can invest. And, banks are already laying the groundwork for their digital transformation.

When respondents were asked to describe their bank's core mission over a 3- and 5-year horizon, respondents described the bank's top business focus as "integrating digital and physical channels" and "becoming a digital leader," respectively.

Emerging Technologies Take Center Stage

■ More than 50 percent of banks with $100 billion or more in assets expect to have commercial implementations of the following major categories of emerging technology: mobile apps, APIs/open banking, artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality, biometric authentications and blockchain -- in the next five years.

■ 78 percent of respondents say that AI voice-based banking has the potential to be transformative in retail banking; about a third say AI voice-based banking could be transformative in commercial banking.

■ 67 percent of respondents from banks with $100 billion of assets or more are currently implementing blockchain technology.

Implementation Challenges

■ Integration of new technologies into existing platforms and upgrading legacy systems are banks' top implementation challenges. In fact, 46 percent of respondents say legacy infrastructure has some impact on their institutions' ability to launch new products.

■ Of bankers who say legacy infrastructure has a high impact on their ability to launch new products about half of respondents say their institutions are currently engaged in data center modernization (52 percent) and cloud computing projects (48 percent) to address the problem.

Impact of Data Center Modernization and Cloud Computing Deployments

■ 81 percent of respondents from banks with $100 billion of assets or more and 68 percent of respondents from banks with $15 billion to $100 billion of assets are currently implementing cloud computing technologies.

■ Among banks currently considering, piloting, or implementing security upgrades, data center modernization programs, cloud computing deployments, and fintech innovations, at least 73 percent expect the initiatives to have a moderate to high impact over the next 12 months.

■ 82 percent expect the initiatives to have a moderate to high impact in five years.

Methodology: In June 2017, VMware commissioned a survey conducted by SourceMedia Research. The online survey yielded responses from 166 respondents, who were drawn from American Banker magazine's opt-in contacts, to understand their current and future outlook for business and technology, and emerging technologies in banking. The survey sample consists of banking professionals at manager levels and above at banks with at least $15 billion in assets.

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Banking Industry Embraces Emerging Technology

Banks are laying the foundation for the digitization of their businesses and anticipate emerging technologies -- from IoT to biometric authentications and blockchain -- to make a substantial imprint on the industry within five years, according to a recent survey of banking professionals commissioned by VMware.

Results of the survey made one thing very clear -- technology will drive banks' next transformation. The question for financial institutions is no longer whether to invest in technology, but how fast they can invest. And, banks are already laying the groundwork for their digital transformation.

When respondents were asked to describe their bank's core mission over a 3- and 5-year horizon, respondents described the bank's top business focus as "integrating digital and physical channels" and "becoming a digital leader," respectively.

Emerging Technologies Take Center Stage

■ More than 50 percent of banks with $100 billion or more in assets expect to have commercial implementations of the following major categories of emerging technology: mobile apps, APIs/open banking, artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality, biometric authentications and blockchain -- in the next five years.

■ 78 percent of respondents say that AI voice-based banking has the potential to be transformative in retail banking; about a third say AI voice-based banking could be transformative in commercial banking.

■ 67 percent of respondents from banks with $100 billion of assets or more are currently implementing blockchain technology.

Implementation Challenges

■ Integration of new technologies into existing platforms and upgrading legacy systems are banks' top implementation challenges. In fact, 46 percent of respondents say legacy infrastructure has some impact on their institutions' ability to launch new products.

■ Of bankers who say legacy infrastructure has a high impact on their ability to launch new products about half of respondents say their institutions are currently engaged in data center modernization (52 percent) and cloud computing projects (48 percent) to address the problem.

Impact of Data Center Modernization and Cloud Computing Deployments

■ 81 percent of respondents from banks with $100 billion of assets or more and 68 percent of respondents from banks with $15 billion to $100 billion of assets are currently implementing cloud computing technologies.

■ Among banks currently considering, piloting, or implementing security upgrades, data center modernization programs, cloud computing deployments, and fintech innovations, at least 73 percent expect the initiatives to have a moderate to high impact over the next 12 months.

■ 82 percent expect the initiatives to have a moderate to high impact in five years.

Methodology: In June 2017, VMware commissioned a survey conducted by SourceMedia Research. The online survey yielded responses from 166 respondents, who were drawn from American Banker magazine's opt-in contacts, to understand their current and future outlook for business and technology, and emerging technologies in banking. The survey sample consists of banking professionals at manager levels and above at banks with at least $15 billion in assets.

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According to Auvik's 2025 IT Trends Report, 60% of IT professionals feel at least moderately burned out on the job, with 43% stating that their workload is contributing to work stress. At the same time, many IT professionals are naming AI and machine learning as key areas they'd most like to upskill ...

Businesses that face downtime or outages risk financial and reputational damage, as well as reducing partner, shareholder, and customer trust. One of the major challenges that enterprises face is implementing a robust business continuity plan. What's the solution? The answer may lie in disaster recovery tactics such as truly immutable storage and regular disaster recovery testing ...

IT spending is expected to jump nearly 10% in 2025, and organizations are now facing pressure to manage costs without slowing down critical functions like observability. To meet the challenge, leaders are turning to smarter, more cost effective business strategies. Enter stage right: OpenTelemetry, the missing piece of the puzzle that is no longer just an option but rather a strategic advantage ...

Amidst the threat of cyberhacks and data breaches, companies install several security measures to keep their business safely afloat. These measures aim to protect businesses, employees, and crucial data. Yet, employees perceive them as burdensome. Frustrated with complex logins, slow access, and constant security checks, workers decide to completely bypass all security set-ups ...

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Cloudbrink's Personal SASE services provide last-mile acceleration and reduction in latency

In MEAN TIME TO INSIGHT Episode 13, Shamus McGillicuddy, VP of Research, Network Infrastructure and Operations, at EMA discusses hybrid multi-cloud networking strategy ... 

In high-traffic environments, the sheer volume and unpredictable nature of network incidents can quickly overwhelm even the most skilled teams, hindering their ability to react swiftly and effectively, potentially impacting service availability and overall business performance. This is where closed-loop remediation comes into the picture: an IT management concept designed to address the escalating complexity of modern networks ...

In 2025, enterprise workflows are undergoing a seismic shift. Propelled by breakthroughs in generative AI (GenAI), large language models (LLMs), and natural language processing (NLP), a new paradigm is emerging — agentic AI. This technology is not just automating tasks; it's reimagining how organizations make decisions, engage customers, and operate at scale ...

In the early days of the cloud revolution, business leaders perceived cloud services as a means of sidelining IT organizations. IT was too slow, too expensive, or incapable of supporting new technologies. With a team of developers, line of business managers could deploy new applications and services in the cloud. IT has been fighting to retake control ever since. Today, IT is back in the driver's seat, according to new research by Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) ...

In today's fast-paced and increasingly complex network environments, Network Operations Centers (NOCs) are the backbone of ensuring continuous uptime, smooth service delivery, and rapid issue resolution. However, the challenges faced by NOC teams are only growing. In a recent study, 78% state network complexity has grown significantly over the last few years while 84% regularly learn about network issues from users. It is imperative we adopt a new approach to managing today's network experiences ...

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From growing reliance on FinOps teams to the increasing attention on artificial intelligence (AI), and software licensing, the Flexera 2025 State of the Cloud Report digs into how organizations are improving cloud spend efficiency, while tackling the complexities of emerging technologies ...