Bank on Us: Solving Critical Infrastructure Challenges for Financial Institutions

The banking and finance industry faces many challenges in today’s rapidly changing landscape with the ever-present threat of fraud, as well as the introduction of mobile banking, online investing, and cryptocurrency. Moore’s Law states that technology tends to double every two years while simultaneously becoming more accessible and affordable.

This is certainly true in banking and finance as privacy and security are critical concerns. The Internet of Things (IoT) has brought technology to the Edge of financial services, allowing banks, lenders, investment firms, and other financial institutions to become more efficient and provide better service to their clients. While helpful in many areas, this fluid industry also provides significant challenges.

The Internet of Things (IoT) has brought technology to the Edge of the classroom allowing educators to become more efficient and provide better service for their students. This rapidly changing landscape provides significant challenges.

Banks and financial institutions require continuous, clean, and reliable power to support critical IT infrastructure and ensure 24/7 continuity. Loss of power can result in compromised privacy, data loss, and fraudulent activity, causing distrust from clients and potential customers.

The keys to protecting your reputation, ensuring employee safety, and boosting financial stability start with building your organization’s reliability. This is done through optimized critical infrastructure, along with flexible services and support for customers and staff.

Other factors that contribute to technology risks for financial entities are rising energy costs, natural disasters, aging physical infrastructure, ever-changing regulatory requirements, and the shortage of skilled workers. Recent events, such as the global pandemic, have also posed challenges to global supply chains and availability of international supplies. Dependable technology can help solve these problems with communication and visibility.

How Technology Is Transforming the Financial Landscape

Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the idea that the internet will expand to many items in the world besides phones and computers. These items will be accessible via the internet wherein you can affect them and/or pull data.

Here are four ways the IoT can change your work today:

Remote Monitoring

Can provide status updates and up-time reports for critical infrastructure through wireless communications, which allows the facility to quickly resolve potential problems.

Precision Recording and Reporting

One of the major benefits of using machines is their objectiveness. If the machine is functioning properly, it is very unlikely to make data-entry mistakes.

The Advent of “Smart Facilities”

IoT is allowing manufacturing facilities to become “smart” through connecting various devices, industrial equipment, tools, monitoring software, and many more technologies that collect, analyze, and transmit data. This data can be used to strengthen security, improve production workflow, enhance the quality of materials produced, and much more.

Cost and Time Savings

Like any major upgrade, the initial investment of both money and time into the IoT will be high. You might need to completely revamp your technology base and retrain your staff. The returns, however, are unbelievable. No more faulty data recording, no more inaccurate reports, no more wasted time and money on inaccurate analysis or data records. In the long run, the IoT is the next big step toward efficiency, automation, and accuracy.

Interoperability & Secure Data Transfers

The idea of interoperability refers to multiple finance and banking organizations working together while exchanging data and trends to provide the best services and design the most optimal workflow. To do this, each organization must communicate well and send sensitive documents through the internet. Here are a few perks of interoperability:

• Fast Access to Data

Collaborating with other organizations allows you to get the key data you need, at faster speeds than ever before.

• Expanded Knowledge

Sharing information allows everyone to develop a complete knowledge base, expanding the possibilities for every organization.

• Better Decisions

With more information, accountants, bank tellers, auditors, credit analysts, brokers, financial advisors, loan officers, and banking IT managers will be well-informed and make better decisions.

• Improved Learning Experience

The goal of interoperability is to improve production for each facility. Sharing data empowers your staff to make the best decisions and build the best services possible.

Despite these benefits, there are some drawbacks to interoperability and regular data transfer.

• Risk of Hacks

As more documents are sent over the web, secure connections must be ensured to protect from hackers. Equipment downtime from ransomware can cause disruptions throughout the entire supply chain. If your tech isn’t up to security standards, interoperability isn’t going to be safe for your employees until you upgrade.

• Regulatory Compliances

Any breach can result in incredibly large fines, loss of trust, and even a loss of funding. Your tech needs to be able to protect your employees and your reputation before interoperability can begin.

• Data Security

The biggest source of data breaches at any organization isn’t hackers or faulty tech, it’s the staff in the workplace. Your staff will need to be trained on proper usage of the new technology and procedures to ensure that data isn’t compromised due to operator error.

Regulatory Environment

The finance and banking industry can be incredibly stressful and has significant impacts on consumers and the market in general. In addition to supplying quality services, it’s imperative to maintain facilities and ensure that staff has the necessary technology in place to do their work well.

Natural disasters and malicious attacks on your systems may seem like far-off threats that would never happen to your financial institution, but unfortunately that’s not always true. These events are all too common and growing ever more frequent. Improving the physical and virtual security of your environment is essential to preserving the privacy of your operations and clients.

The result of a noncompliance inspection or lawsuit can be incredibly detrimental to your operations. Fines often stretch into the millions after a data breach, and this is generally considered to be a good outcome, considering worse alternatives like business closures. You need a partner who understands the stringent requirements you face, who can build elegant code-minimum solutions for you and your business.

Finance & Banking Critical Infrastructure Challenges

Network Security & Infrastructure Protection

• Technology is an incredibly important part of banking and finance. Without a strong IT backbone, you won’t be able to rely on the critical technology needed in order to help your clients and employees.
• Your branches need reliable power all day, every day.
• As interoperability and the Internet of Things expand, so, too, will your needs for greater security and power.

Enable the Financial Technology Edge

• As industries become more technologically sophisticated, innovation must take place in order to ensure efficiency and drive rising costs back down.
• We advise that you deploy small branch center locations with connections to your data center. This expands your reach without compromising security, efficiency, or operational ability.

The Challenge of Distributed Technology Infrastructure

• Your facility must meet the challenge of not only using legacy applications but applying them over outdated infrastructure. Some of these networks are comprised of hundreds of facilities all trying to use these programs at the same time.
• Without strong IT management resources, it can be impossible to know what’s happening on your own network.
• Through a strong, connected network, you can simplify your IT management and empower your staff.

Increasing Demand in Financial Operations

• Banking and finance infrastructure is a very complex system. You need all the power you can get out of your IT systems in order to meet requirements and prepare for new technology adoption.
• Pressure is rising to reduce your costs, improve performance, and increase staff productivity and efficiency.
• As the IoT grows, your systems will be increasingly taxed by the volume of incoming data and connected devices. Your infrastructure needs to keep up with growing requirements and its efficiency must increase with each addition.

Enable “Green” Solutions & Sustainability in Finance and Banking

• Financial institutions of any size use a tremendous amount of energy. Getting the most efficient tech possible is a huge priority when driving down skyrocketing power costs.
• Energy-efficient equipment upgrades and replacements help decrease costs and the facility’s environmental footprint. Optimizing your infrastructure can be a simple but powerful way to lower costs.

Power Quality and Protection Concerns

• Low power quality, poor installation, or problems in your electrical grid can severely impact critical infrastructure equipment and lower the quality of the workplace for your employees.
• Unplanned equipment downtime due to power problems can be detrimental for production and put your business at unnecessary risk.
• Clean, reliable, and efficient power starts with proper design, equipment selection, and installation. Regular system testing can also help ensure efficient, safe, and continuous operation.

Finance & Banking Critical Infrastructure Services

As you look to optimize your operations, we provide a variety of solutions to keep your infrastructure secure and online.

How Air and Power Solutions Can Help

• Simplify the management and design of your IT infrastructure.
• Build your infrastructure power system into a reliable, efficient, and
  eco-friendly system.
• Aid your operations in the transition to IoT.
• Create compliant energy and data storage solutions.
• Empower you and your team to do the best work.

Empower Your Finance & Banking Facilities with a Partner You Can Trust

Finance and banking technology is ever-expanding and growing quickly in complexity and cost. You need a partner who understands the stringent requirements and incredible regulatory complexities that financial institutions face daily. You need a partner with industry experience, dedication to safety and efficiency, and expertise in IT fields.

We can help lower your power costs, increase your security, create an efficient network, establish strong infrastructure, and empower you to provide the best possible environment for your clients and employees. Contact us today to start moving toward tomorrow!