By Markus Nispel, CTO of EMEA at Extreme Networks
The financial sector faces a delicate balancing act between innovation and risk management. As regulations tighten and competition intensifies, financial institutions must adapt to evolving tech trends while safeguarding sensitive data and maintaining operational resilience.
As financial institutions respond to this need to innovate and start to embrace advanced technologies, the complexity of managing multiple vendors whilst ensuring the entire network remains secure and compliant can become increasingly challenging. In response to this challenge, platformisation which refers to a unified approach that integrates networking and security together with AI, is becoming more prevalent in the financial services industry.
Platformisation and financial services go hand in hand
An appetite has emerged across markets for centralised network and security operations, with 88% of CIOs reporting that they prefer a single integrated platform. This demand is even higher in financial services, where 93% of CIOs report preferring a unified system. Centralising workflows, applications, and data into a single cohesive system to make AI effective allows financial institutions to streamline operations while meeting stringent security and regulatory requirements.
A platform-based approach empowers financial institutions to foster a more agile and responsive business model. By breaking down silos and simplifying these different processes, organisations can increase their time-to-market and spend more time focusing on accelerating innovation. At a time where we’re seeing constant developments in advanced tech like AI and customer expectations evolving, this agility is crucial. Otherwise, risk being left behind.
Navigating security complexities
The financial services industry remains one of the most targeted by cyber criminals due to its wealth of sensitive data and high-value assets, with the average cost of a data breach reaching 5.3M GBP. An attack in this space can have far-reaching consequences, including significant financial losses, reputational damage, and eroded consumer trust. The challenge with traditional network systems in this scenario is that they are often fragmented with disparate tools and applications, which can create vulnerabilities that cyber criminals can exploit.
Platformisation can help address this challenge by converging security with other elements of the network, keeping everything in one place and therefore simplifying the process. This approach ensures that security measures are baked into the network’s architecture, minimising the risk of blind spots. What’s more, having everything on one platform makes it easier for IT teams to enforce consistent security policies, streamline compliance efforts, and proactively address vulnerabilities. This offers a safety net for financial services and provides peace of mind, so that efforts can be focused on innovation to stay competitive, rather than fixated solely on security.
Simplifying scalability and deployment
Financial institutions frequently need to scale their networks to accommodate growth, adapt to new market demands, or integrate emerging technologies like AI. A common challenge with legacy traditional networks is that expanding and scaling up resources often requires costly overhauls and complex configurations, leading to delays and inefficiencies.
Platformisation simplifies scalability by providing a flexible and modular framework. Because all applications and workflows are integrated into a unified platform, scaling up (e.g. adding users, deploying AI tools, or connecting new branches) becomes straightforward. Financial services can quickly onboard new capabilities without disrupting existing systems, enabling rapid response to evolving business needs.
Enhancing operational efficiency
Managing disparate network tools and systems can be difficult for IT teams, with 50% of CIOs calling out widening IT responsibilities as a top challenge. Handled incorrectly, this can easily increase the risk of errors and inefficiencies. Financial institutions are already challenged by limited resources and talent shortages are making it an additional struggle to maintain seamless operations across fragmented networks.
Operational efficiency can be enhanced by consolidating network management tools and automating routine tasks. For instance, integrated AI capabilities can analyse network performance in real time, identifying inefficiencies and recommending optimisations. With centralised control and fewer manual interventions, IT teams can focus on strategic initiatives instead of spending time troubleshooting. Additionally, simplified licensing and procurement processes reduce administrative overhead, which can further boost productivity and enable a predictable recurring revenue model through software, tiered pricing, and bundled services.
A brighter future
Platformization brings networking, AI, and security together into one integrated solution, offering a powerful advantage for the financial services industry, and that’s why we can expect to see popularity grow in 2025. By unifying network functions into one centralised platform, financial institutions can streamline operations, enhance security, and accelerate digital transformation.
This consolidated approach empowers banks, insurers, and other financial organisations to adapt to changing market dynamics, reduce costs, and deliver innovative products and services to their customers.
