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Solving the culture conundrum in software engineering

Source: Finance Derivative

Alistair Doran, Principal Consultant – Digital Transformation & DevOps, Exponential-e

The one crucial ingredient underpinning our transition to a digital-first economy, more than any other, is software. That’s why software engineering has become one of the world’s most in-demand professions.

In the UK alone, the median salary for the role has increased 13% year on year, as businesses look to stay ahead of the competition and attract the very best IT talent. But the high salary often isn’t consistent with where software developers stand in the business; many organisations still view them as suppliers, rather than as crucial players in their success.

Based on the current speed of transformation, we know demand for software engineering is only going to increase. So business and technology leaders need to urgently consider vital cultural changes to help better integrate software development teams within the wider organisation. But what exactly should they be?

The development dilemma

Agility has quickly emerged as a competitive advantage, as businesses strive to deliver on customer expectations quickly and effectively. That’s heralded the rise of DevOps, which aims to write high quality digital solutions more efficiently, and have the ability to continuously update in a secure and low risk way.

The practice is already accelerating feedback loops in the software development of digital solution on a wide scale, meaning new software is brought into production as fast as possible and with reduced risk. As a result, today’s successful businesses are now releasing software updates multiple times a day. The figure even runs well into the tens of thousands for tech giants like Amazon and Netflix. However, other businesses are struggling to keep up with the speed the market demands, largely due to a lack of clear communication, ways of working and integration between software developers and the wider business. It’s a dilemma that needs immediate attention if businesses are to remain at the competitive edge.

Developers are too often left to deal with huge monolithic pieces of work, which require them to write code for months on end without it being road-tested. This inevitably leads to mistakes which are found only once the updates have already been released to market, creating a ripple effect throughout the organisation. It’s an all-too-common scenario that demonstrates business leaders’ clear lack of clarity and understanding about the colossal value adopting a DevOps culture can deliver for the wider business, including its customers.

Take financial institutions looking to introduce a new offering, for example, such as a new mortgage product. Without a collective approach to development, getting the back-end systems up and running for a product can take up to six months. But modularising the options and breaking down the functionality can shorten timelines to weeks, as we encountered on a recent project.

Business leaders must look to create unified, cohesive and cross-functional teams that work together on projects that are broken down into simplified and localised components that can be easily integrated together without a negative impact on each other. It might seem like a small strategic change in working practices, but its impact on the speed and efficacy of software development can be enormous.

Revisiting personalities and processes

The role of the software engineer has changed. It is no longer about writing code in isolation, without much regard for or knowledge of how it benefits the business. Developers work better when they have clarity about the direct impact their work will have on achieving business goals and on the bottom line. It’s down to business leaders to communicate these challenges and goals (in other words understand the “Why”) to help software developers understand what they’re trying to achieve. But doing so in a way that moves towards a better working culture requires a new approach to building and managing software development teams.

The first step is casting aside the negative stereotypes many have of software engineers and celebrating the intellectual and cultural diversity within their teams. Diversity of personnel brings diversity of personalities, which is crucial to creating more inclusive cultures that accept and welcome all characters with open arms. While this may seem obvious, what is often overlooked is the impact diversity can have on stimulating and increasing innovation.

Improving the diversity of development teams helps unlock multiple ways of responding to and analysing the challenges brought forward by business leaders. After all, each individual has an array of different soft and hard skills based on their learning, development and experience. So, encouraging individuals to bring their characters and personalities to their roles is crucial; it ensures each and every stakeholder in the development process is empowered to contribute, feels inherently valued, and is able to challenge existing assumptions, helping deliver a more robust end product.

Recognising and harnessing this spectrum of skills also helps bridge many of the barriers to development that exist within businesses. Some software engineers, for example, might struggle to communicate technical updates in a way the wider business can understand, but tapping into another individual’s strong communication skills can help unite teams – and entire businesses – around one, holistic digital strategy.

Channelling change to deliver better outcomes

Clearly, cultural change is needed to embed software engineering at the core of modern business. But revisiting project management practices is also imperative to continually deliver software that provides value to the business, the world of Scientific Management and Waterfall delivery methods is no longer appropriate for the development of digital solutions. With such a heavy reliance on digital services, businesses – and consequently developers – need to be able to make changes with minimal effect. So, eschewing monolithic projects and encouraging cross-functional teams is essential. Not only does it reduce the need for sweeping software updates, but it negates the risk of a project failing to meet the initial brief, which could ultimately impact the entire business.

By reviewing organisational processes, and bringing the wider business and software developers together, we can create teams that deliver digital solutions effectively and quickly, so that every user, whether internal or external, reaps the benefits of a more sophisticated approach to software engineering.

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Business

Enhancing the eCommerce customer experience through the power of multiple payment options

Source: Finance derivative

Spokesperson: John Harris, Senior Vice President, Travel & eCommerce, emerchantpay

Today’s consumers have higher expectations from brands than ever before. In fact, more than half of consumers (54%) will not return to a brand after just one bad experience. This is due in part to shoppers becoming accustomed to the convenience of the digital era, where they can purchase items at the click of a button from the comfort of their own homes.

To remain competitive in a rapidly evolving market, and prevent customers turning elsewhere, eCommerce merchants must deliver outstanding customer journeys and a seamless overall customer experience (CX). This includes a hassle-free online purchasing process, with payment options that align with customers individual preferences. Consequently, merchants that only offer traditional payment methods risk falling behind.

Offering a variety of payment options is not just about convenience. It also directly impacts customer satisfaction and loyalty. For online retailers looking to improve their CX, expanding their payment offerings is essential. In doing so, they can cater to a broader customer base, increasing loyalty and ultimately driving revenue.

The demand for diverse payments across eCommerce markets

A key factor driving the need for diverse payments is the rapid rate at which the UK eCommerce market is growing. At the end of last year, there were nearly 60 million eCommerce users across the nation. This is anticipated to increase to over 62 million in 2025. As the market expands, so does competition. And with significantly more online brands available, customer loyalty is waning.

For instance, if a customer does not receive a quick and seamless experience from one retailer, they can easily find an alternative merchant to meet their demands. In fact, 44% of UK consumers stop a purchase if their favourite payment method is not available – highlighting the importance of a diverse payment offering. This demonstrates that consumers demand flexibility in payment options as part of a frictionless experience.

Another reason merchants need to expand their payment offerings is to enable better global transactions. The ability to sell products to customers worldwide is a major benefit of eCommerce and can drive huge business success. However, there are challenges to be considered. For example, different countries often have preferred local payment methods and, in some regions, consumers may lack access to certain solutions. Therefore, offering a variety of payment options can help retailers meet the needs of all users and ensure a quality experience, no matter their location. By adapting to local payment preferences, merchants can create a consistent experience for global customers, supporting both satisfaction and loyalty.

How do different payment solutions help improve CX?

There are a range of Alternative Payment Methods (APMs) gaining traction across the eCommerce industry. One key example is Open Banking. This solution streamlines online shopping by enabling direct bank-to-bank transfers. This approach speeds up the checkout process significantly – transactions can be completed in seconds, with no need for consumers to enter their card details. With real-time processing, funds move instantly from the customer’s account. This provides consumers better clarity on their financial situation and can aid their budget management.

Additionally, the direct connection between banks, coupled with robust bank-level authentication measures, significantly reduces the risk of fraud for users. In brief, Open Banking offers a faster, more transparent and secure way for consumers to make online purchases, significantly enhancing the overall CX.

Digital wallets, such as Apple Pay, are another payment method that can help optimise CX. Digital wallets store a user’s credit or debit card details in an app, encrypting sensitive details for security during transactions. Then, consumers can pay for their products and services using their smart device. Digital wallets allow for quick payments, streamlining the online checkout process by saving time and reducing friction during transactions as they are not required to input card details. Typically, users can also access their digital wallets across various devices, making it easy to make payments from smartphones, tablets or smartwatches.

By incorporating solutions like these, merchants can significantly enhance the CX through faster, more secure, and convenient payment options. However, integrating these APMs seamlessly often requires the expertise of a trusted payment service provider (PSP). PSPs enable merchants to quickly adopt diverse payment solutions that cater to customer preferences globally. In fact, for 32% of payments leaders, the ability to offer a range of global payment options is the key reason for seeking a PSP partner. When partnering with a trusted PSP, eCommerce businesses are better equipped to meet consumer demand for alternative payments. This gives them a competitive edge as they can deliver seamless and flexible experiences that customers expect.

Ultimately, the flexibility and convenience of multiple payment options reduces friction in the purchasing process for consumers. This leads to a better overall CX and increased satisfaction. And the happier a consumer is with their experience with a brand, the more likely they are to become a loyal customer. For merchants, this can result in higher conversion rates, reduced cart abandonment and improved customer retention. As all this helps brands to gain a competitive edge in the increasingly crowded eCommerce landscape, offering multiple payment options is an obvious win-win.

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Business

Why Compliance is The Achilles Heel Stunting Growth for Financial Services Firms

Jamie Hoyle, VP of Product at MirrorWeb

Computer says no” or rather “Compliance says no” is an all too common phrase in Financial Services. In fact, compliance in general has been causing a headache for these institutions for decades now – forcing them to grapple with the rising complexities of regulatory change. This is largely due to the evolving landscape, impacted by both regional and global legislation, as well as the emergence of new technologies, such as AI.

To make matters worse, according to UK Finance, the collective annual price tag for UK banks and financial services firms to comply with regulation has hit a staggering £38.4billion! To put that into perspective that is equivalent to nearly three-quarters of the UK government’s spend on defence.

Bottom line? Compliance is complex and costly – and many businesses are now struggling to keep up with the rapid evolution and innovation within the compliance market.

With 2024 beginning to draw to a close, it is clear that the stakes have really never been higher when it comes to financial compliance. As financial institutions continue to navigate an increasingly dispersed workforce and the widespread use of multi-channel communications, compliance should be seen as a critical part of their growth strategy.

The Impact of a Dispersed Workforce and Multi-Channel Communications

It is a well-known fact that since 2020 there has been a shift towards more hybrid or remote working models globally: “Shall we have a quick Slack Huddle, Teams call or WhatsApp chat?”.

Our workforces are now often dispersed, and naturally this has impacted the way a workforce communicates. These days, communication within an organisation is extremely varied, and more and more businesses operate with a multi-channel communication strategy – and the financial services industry is no exception.

With this shift to remote and hybrid work models, a whole new set of compliance challenges has been born. Employees increasingly rely on a patchwork of communication channels, from messaging apps to personal devices, to get their day-to-day jobs done.

This has caused a major compliance headache, blurring the lines between personal and professional communications at work – and FS (Financial Services) firms need to find a way to strike a balance between enabling employee productivity and maintaining the robust compliance frameworks that financial regulators require.

These regulators are already coming down hard on multi-channel communication compliance, with the US Department of Justice formally incorporating off-channel communications policies into its Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are also flexing their authority, having slapped huge fines on FS firms that fail to meet record-keeping and multi-channel communication compliance standards – leading to a $2.5 billion communications compliance crisis within the wider financial landscape.

The state of play can’t be understated here.

It is a big crisis. A crisis that has involved 16 major Wall Street firms, including household names such as HSBC and Goldman Sachs,  being fined a collective $1.1 billion in September 2022 alone. All for non-compliance related to off-channel communications. In August 2023, additional fines totalling $392 million were dished out to 26 firms for similar infractions.

These fines were all a result of regulators finding evidence of these firms using personal devices and messaging apps, like WhatsApp, to conduct business-related communications.  Off-record and unmonitored. Bank of America, in particular, has faced legal challenges related to its “longstanding practice” of utilising off-channel communications.

What does all of this mean? There is increasing pressure on FS firms to adapt to the evolving regulatory environment – reinforcing a real need for robust compliance strategies to survive. But how can FS firms maintain a comprehensive record of all of these multi-channel interactions and stay on top of critical and evolving regulatory compliance requirements?

The Harsh Reality of Non-Compliance – The True Costs in 2024

There are consequences to every business decision, good or bad. And for FS firms, the consequence of poor compliance is…a hefty growth stunting fine. Last year alone, the US Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission imposed $2.7 billion in penalties on financial institutions for record-keeping failures; and the impact of these fines extends far beyond the immediate financial hit.

In a world where “perception is reality”, any reputational damage can be devastating, breaking down those hard-fought-for customer relationships, in addition to overall investor confidence. An example of this is Capital One; when it was slapped with a $390 million fine by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network for anti-money laundering violations – a blow that has undoubtedly left a lasting mark on the bank’s standing reputation in the industry.

The more worrying consequence is the impact on overall operations. Non-compliance can lead to sanctions that actually restrict FS firms’ operational capabilities, hindering their growth strategies and their ability to compete in the market. In the UK, we’ve already seen Ofgem impose a £5.4 million settlement on Morgan Stanley for traders’ use of WhatsApp to discuss energy trades. This is a not-so-subtle message that regulators are taking a hard stance on off-channel communications.

FS firms take note. The message is clear. Prioritising and investing in compliance is no longer just a box to be ticked; it’s a strategic choice that can ultimately make or break a financial firms’ future.

How Technology Can Bring FS Firms into the New Era of Compliance

Fortunately, the financial services industry is not without a solution to its compliance conundrum. Technology is its saving grace – a solution helping to maintain regulatory adherence and navigate the complexities of a dispersed workforce and multi-channel communications.

One of the key areas where compliance-enhancing technology can make a significant impact is communication monitoring and archiving. How does this work? Compliance-enhancing technology enables FS firms to  automate the process of sifting through the seemingly evergrowing volume of digital communication data, flagging potential risks in real-time and freeing up compliance teams to focus on more strategic and rewarding tasks, such as:

  • Developing and implementing more effective compliance strategies,
  • Conducting in-depth risk analysis
  • Collaborating with other departments to ensure a comprehensive approach to compliance across the organisation.

These compliance-enhancing technologies can also enable FS firms to increase the effectiveness of compliance training and awareness by ensuring that employees understand the importance of using approved communication channels and the consequences of non-compliance. Put simply, by using technology to do the grunt work, FS firms can focus on embedding compliance into the fabric of the organisation – fostering a culture of accountability and responsibility, and further mitigating the risk of regulatory breaches.

So what is the key takeaway here? Compliance may currently be every organisation’s Achilles heel – but using the right tech solution to bolster your compliance can act as a steel boot. The path to effective compliance requires FS firms to embrace technology as a strategic enabler. An enabler that not only mitigates the compliance risks posed by a dispersed workforce and multi-channel communications but also turns compliance into a competitive advantage.

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Business

How to maintain efficiency without sacrificing authenticity with GenAI

Jason Morris, SEO Marketing Manager, Brew Digital

Content creation has been fundamentally and forever changed by GenAI tools. They offer a fast and efficient way of building content, in a matter of seconds, and a majority of businesses have been deploying it in some capacity for the last two years.

In particular, tools like ChatGPT, Copy.ai and Jasper have transformed copywriting, allowing businesses to quickly turn around high-quality content, social media content, blog posts and marketing copy, in a matter of minutes. It has also revolutionised our approach to SEO, helping with everything from optimising keywords to generating content that meets search engine standards.

However, the same capability that makes AI attractive – its speed in generating content – can result in copy that feel generic and impersonal, risking the intuition and creativity that are essential for compelling brand messaging. This is because AI, by nature, operates on probabilistic models that predict the most likely next word or phrase based on patterns in the data it has been trained on.

Large language models (LLMs), are excellent at identifying and replicating patterns, but lack the creativity and intuition that come from human experience. While this can be useful for producing factual or structured content, it often results in formulaic writing that lacks originality and depth. In areas like storytelling or thought leadership, where original insights are key, AI struggles to deliver the same level of nuance and emotional connection that human writers can achieve.

Inauthentic writing does not just risk disengaging brand audiences, either, and many search algorithms are now designed to detect web pages with AI-generated content and diminish its domain authority. This will inevitably lead to diminished visibility and a drop in organic traffic, and is exemplified by Google removing a staggering 40% of indexed web pages for failing to meet its E-E-A-T (Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) standards. This is a trend we can expect to see continue as GenAI created content becomes even more prevalent.

Thus, the challenge for brands in the age of AI is to harness the power of efficiency without losing the unique voice that sets them apart.

‘Bans’ are counter-intuitive

The first step in striking the balance between efficiency and authenticity is to establish blueprints for how AI can and should be used within a business setting. For companies keen to retain that human flair, limiting AI usage may seem attractive. However, staff will use GenAI for content creation regardless of whether or not their employers tell them not to. In fact, a blanket ban on GenAI will only lead to the bigger challenge of ‘Shadow AI’.

Recent research shows that 78% of knowledge workers use their own AI tools to complete work, yet 52% don’t disclose this to employers. This not only poses significant organisational risks like data breaches, compliance violations, and security threats, but it also means business leaders will never have full transparency over how much, and how often, GenAI is being used to create the messaging that’s being published for customer or public consumption.

So how should GenAI be used?

For businesses that regularly need to create high-volumes of detailed content, GenAI tools like Jasper can provide crucial support for building first drafts, generating ideas, and providing digestible summaries or even detecting mistakes across existing copy. This process of leaving the more time-consuming content creation tasks to AI frees up considerable time for content creators and enables them to focus on strategy and creativity.

Likewise, tools such as MarketMuse can analyse audience behaviour and preferences, audit existing content, suggest SEO optimisation, and identify gaps in coverage. These data-driven insights enable brands to create more tailored and engaging content, improving both reach and conversion rates.

Another significant advantage is consistency. Ensuring a uniform tone and style across various platforms is essential for cultivating a cohesive brand identity. AI tools play a crucial role here, by supporting content so that it aligns with established brand guidelines. By maintaining consistent messaging, businesses can strengthen their connection with their audience and foster long-term trust.

For businesses and content creators looking to use GenAI to create content which will be made public, it’s essential for them to review, refine and personalise outputs extremely carefully. This ensures that the final output remains true to the brand’s voice and offers genuine value to the audience.

GenAI is no substitute for human storytelling

While AI can support efficiency, human insight is essential for crafting content that truly resonates. This is especially true in storytelling and in complex strategies like seo consultancy, where aligning with audience expectations requires a thoughtful, hands-on approach.

Humans are still best equipped to connect with audiences on an emotional level. Storytelling, creativity, and real-life experience are areas where human writers hold a distinct advantage.

By blending AI’s efficiency with the creativity and empathy that only humans can bring, brands can produce content that is not only high-quality but also deeply engaging. AI tools, therefore, should complement human creativity, not replace it. Striking this balance allows businesses to maximise efficiency without sacrificing authenticity, creating content that resonates and builds long-term connections with audiences.

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