For years financial institutions have been easing into the use of digital channels to connect their employees to the consumer. It has been long said that the financial services industry is built upon trust and relationships, something that physical interactions bridge more simply than digital ones. However, in a time where the new normal removes physical interactions and more and more consumers turn towards digital channels, financial institutions must accelerate the use of technology to establish and fortify trust with its consumers and businesses.

Not only have consumers shifted towards these digital channels of interactions, but many financial institutions have shifted much of their workforce to work from home.  A recent study shows; the shift to work from home is likely to remain in place for quite some time. Before 2020, about 22% of employees worked remotely. That figure jumped to 53% earlier this year, and it currently sits at 46%. Around 42% of office workers will continue to work remotely even after they are invited to return to the workplace, and 40% of office workers will maintain their working from home capabilities into the future. This shift in work locations and consumer interactions has placed strains on 1) consumer's uncertainties, 2) employee's unfamiliarity, and 3) the institutions' IT departments, as many of the technologies required to help build trust and empower employees fall into multiple IT domains.

As you read last week in a blog by Al Slamecka, Cisco recently introduced Connected Experiences, which is designed to simplify the deployment and management of cross-domain solutions. Connecting a financial institution's consumers, employees, apps, data, and devices is vital to instilling trust at the onset of a consumer's interaction with institutions. Doing all of this seamlessly is paramount to IT departments, as it takes a highly disjointed and fragmented process and makes it turnkey in nature.

Over the past several years we have seen digital transformation as a powerful driving force for business evolution. The global pandemic has accelerated digital initiatives as financial institutions look to maintain the highest levels of employee productivity and consumer experience while remote working has become normalized. Thusly, financial institutions have adopted a wide range of new technologies, building their business resilience.

Cisco's two main business resiliency themes: Trusted Workplace and Secure Remote Worker are rendered useless without connection. From intelligent guest WIFI connecting to a customer's phone the moment they pull into the bank parking lot, to Webex Teams connecting colleagues now working on opposite sides of the country, connection within a financial services institution is pivotal to an organization's success during both the present crisis and the future industry standards, bringing new capabilities to the institutions and driving sustainable innovation.

Cisco's Connected Experiences solutions combines our broad portfolio of products with infrastructure to connect employees and customers simply and quickly. To learn more about connecting your organizations and building a network you can trust check out our FSI home page, a recent podcast discussion or contact sales today.

Check back next week for the third blog in our Connected Experiences series: Secure.