Strategic support models: Empowering banks to maximize software value
This article is the third in a four-part series authored by Michael Dowthwaite, Chief Operating Officer of Finastra’s Lending Business Unit, exploring how strategic service models in corporate banking technology can help banks unlock long-term value. You can read the previous articles on choosing the right deployment path and building a future-ready workforce on our website.
In today’s competitive financial landscape, technology alone doesn’t guarantee success. The real differentiator lies in how effectively banks can leverage their systems to deliver value. Support, often seen as a reactive function, must evolve into a strategic enabler – one that drives resilience, agility and innovation.
Proactive and preventive support
Traditional support models focus on fixing issues after they occur. But in a world where downtime can mean lost revenue and reputational risk, banks need a proactive approach. Continuous health checks, performance tuning, and early issue detection ensure that systems remain stable and optimized. This shift minimizes disruptions, reduces operational risk, and allows teams to focus on strategic initiatives rather than firefighting.
In financial services, downtime isn’t just disruptive, it’s expensive. Independent benchmarks put the average cost at $300k+ per hour ¹, with finance frequently at the upper end, making reactive support an acute drain on capacity and investment momentum. Proactive support mitigates these risks and frees resources for innovation – whether it’s developing new products, enhancing customer experiences or exploring emerging technologies.
Flexible and scalable models
No two banks are alike, and their support needs evolve over time. A one-size-fits-all approach simply doesn’t work. Flexible models – such as tiered support packages and on-demand expert access – allow institutions to scale their support as their business grows or as complexity increases. Whether it’s a regional bank implementing its first lending platform or a global institution managing multiple systems, adaptable support ensures continuity and efficiency.
This flexibility also addresses opportunity cost. When internal teams spend less time troubleshooting and more time on strategic projects, the return on technology investment accelerates. As McKinsey notes, leading banks focused on productivity have achieved 50% more capacity for innovation – simply by reducing the time spent “keeping the lights on.” ² Strategic support plays a critical role in unlocking this capacity.
A partnership approach
Support should not be transactional; it should be collaborative. Banks and service providers must work together to co-create solutions aligned with strategic goals. This partnership model goes beyond resolving tickets – it involves understanding the bank’s vision, aligning technology roadmaps and jointly planning for success.
As highlighted in my previous articles, the most critical phase in the customer lifecycle is from point of sale to go-live. Delays during this stage can stretch into years if governance and enablement are weak. Strategic support ensures smooth implementation, faster time-to-value and a foundation for long term success.
Supporting innovation and growth
A comprehensive support ecosystem does more than maintain stability – it fosters continuous improvement. By streamlining upgrades, managing release cycles and facilitating adoption of new features, support becomes a catalyst for innovation. Even routine software risks add up: 62% of financial institutions reported outages caused by certificate and PKI issues ³ – problems that proactive monitoring and automation can prevent.
This approach transforms support from a cost center into a growth enabler. Instead of allocating resources to fix problems, banks can invest in initiatives that differentiate them in the market.
Conclusion
Strategic support models redefine the role of service providers in banking. They enable resilience, agility and competitive advantage by ensuring technology delivers its full potential. For banks, this means less time spent on operational challenges and more time driving innovation – a shift that is essential for success in the modern banking landscape.
Sources
¹ https://www.calyptix.com/wp-content/uploads/Hourly-Cost-of-Downtime-ITIC.pdf
¹ https://www.splunk.com/en_us/blog/industry-insights/cost-of-downtime-banking.html
