One parochial multi-region survey suggests that non-tech priorities such as being more focused on people and culture can be equally critical

In a yearly survey of 500 global C-suite and senior executives across the buy side and sell side on their digital transformation (DX) experiences and strategies in financial services firms holding US$1bn to over US$250b in assets under management in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific regions, the following trends were disclosed.

First, when it came to areas of digitalization focus, more than 80% of all respondents indicated that they were making the biggest day-to-day investments in cybersecurity technology and building an advanced IT cloud platform. A majority also expected to maintain or increase their investment in next-gen technologies like AI, quantum computing, crypto/digital assets, and blockchain over the next two years.

Next, 40% of respondents in the financial services industry indicated that being “customer obsessed” was the top accelerator of digital transformation in their organization. Overall, 52% indicated that they were prioritizing their AI investments in customer interaction to “fuel stronger and more meaningful customer engagement”. When it came to generative AI, 44% of respondents deemed as leaders in digitalization among the sample cohort were more likely to be making “more than twice” the amount of investments in technology compared to those deemed as non-leaders.

Other findings

Of all executives surveyed, 28% were deemed to have reached the advanced stages of implementing a digital skills and talent strategy — a 4% increase over the previous year’s survey. Also:

      • 71% of respondents deemed as digitalization leaders had reached the advanced stages of implementing digital skills and talent strategy, compared with 12% of non-leaders

      • 85% of “leaders” indicated they had created an “advanced innovation culture” versus 24% of non-leaders.

      • Respondents indicated plans to boost their investments in cybersecurity by 28% on average over the next two years; impacting their internal security protocols, and how they engage with third-party technology vendors. Cybersecurity was the top capability the respondents expect from their technology vendors, followed by expectations of the “ability to deliver projects on time and on budget” and “building next-generation technologies into their solutions”.

      • Cybersecurity risks were also cited as the top challenge currently inhibiting the pace of digital transformation at respondents’ organization. Respondents that were tech executives were more inclined to understand the risks of an insecure environment more than other respondents deemed as digitalization leaders.


According to Chris Perry, President, Broadridge, the firm releasing its survey findings: “Focusing on the human aspect of digital transformation — attracting and retaining digital talent and fostering a culture of innovation — has proven to be just as critical to ensuring (tech digitalization) initiatives succeed,” noting that respondents whose organizations used a decentralized approach to innovation “were more likely to be leaders in transformation.”