By: Rob Hoehn
One of the most popular resources that IdeaScale has ever created was our white paper about how crowdsourcing was going to impact the financial sector. I think the reason why that white paper was so popular was because crowdsourcing was just one of many emerging trends that were beginning to shake up the financial sector. Other financial trends included the emergence of blockchain, sophisticated hacker schemes, and much (MUCH) more.
The industry today, if anything, has only become more complex and chaotic with over $78 Billion in investments in fintech start-ups – some of which will certainly become the financial leaders of the future. The question is who will those leaders be? While I wouldn’t presume to make predictions about individual businesses, I will hazard some guesses about the skill sets they will need to have in order to stay relevant now and in the future.
Security. Financial institutions will need to be digital natives who prioritize system security, because hackers seeking financial gain will certainly always be digital pioneers. Engineers at financial institutions will have to design with a security-first mindset, which takes into consideration the latest trends like biometric identification, usage patterns, and multiple system redundancies.
Data Processing. Big data means a wealth of predictive ability that can be applied to almost anything, from buying patterns to trade values. But all that data means nothing if organizations can’t parse the data for meaning. And processing all that information can lead to other concerns – have you heard that the amount of energy it takes to power Bitcoin could power an entire country? Proof of work efficiency is going to matter a lot in the digital future.
Customer Experience. Financial customers today are more educated and less afraid of change than ever before. They’ll trade their own stocks and leave brands they’ve been with their whole life without losing a night of sleep. The customer experience should be seamless, pleasant, and even delightful in order to hold someone’s brand loyalty and that goes for everything from their in-app experience to their perception of a brand’s social responsibility.
By Rob Hoehn
About the author
Rob Hoehn is the co-founder and CEO of IdeaScale: the largest open innovation software platform in the world. Hoehn launched crowdsourcing software as part of the open government initiative and IdeaScale’s robust portfolio now includes many other industry notables, such as EA Sports, NBC, NASA, Xerox and many others. Prior to IdeaScale, Hoehn was Vice President of Client Services at Survey Analytics.