FIO plants the seed for future growth

April was a month packed with excitement and activity as we kicked off our new financial year. As a company, we embarked on our very first management offsite visiting the modernising financial capital, Mumbai.

Enjoy the highlights!

The FIO management team recently met in Mumbai for strategic planning for the company. The week was spent brainstorming and strategising our Go to Market plan for several regions, discussing potential partnerships, and meeting with multiple customers and prospects. The result was an exhilarating week that provided valuable insights into the current state of the industry.

One of the key takeaways from our meetings was the prevalence of digital transformation in capital markets. We saw firsthand how technology is transforming the way banks and other financial institutions operate, from using artificial intelligence and machine learning to enhance risk management to improve efficiency in trade settlement. We also discussed how sustainability is becoming increasingly important for banks, although each institution has its own approach to addressing this issue.

Another interesting insight we gained from our meetings is that banks are still taking a cautious approach to moving to the cloud for capital markets and treasury operations. While there is a growing interest in cloud-based solutions for these areas, many banks are still hesitant due to business case rationale and concerns around security and compliance. Nonetheless, we believe that the benefits of cloud technology for capital markets and treasury operations are too significant to ignore, and we are committed to helping our clients navigate the challenges of cloud adoption.

Overall, our week in Mumbai was an important step in our strategic planning process, and we look forward to implementing the insights we gained into our Go to Market plan and partnerships. We are excited to be at the forefront of digital transformation in capital markets and to help our clients embrace the latest technology to drive growth and achieve their business goals.

Exploring the Future of Data Centers

Our colleague Amol Pai attended the CIO&Leader event in Mumbai on April 12th which primarily focused on the evolution of Data centers, Co-Location and Edge computing.

Data centers are the epitome of "As A Service," but simply expanding an organization's digital footprint with more servers is not enough to enhance the customer's digital experience. To deliver a low-latency, responsive application, the data center needs to be brought closer to the customer, and this is where edge and co-located data centers come in. However, there is no reference architecture for these data centers yet, and having one could accelerate their adoption.

In addition to the hardware, the network, and cybersecurity components must also work together seamlessly. Modernizing the data center with a modular approach is crucial, and it should integrate into the monitoring system effortlessly. The design should also factor in energy consumption and carbon footprint reduction since data centers are essentially energy businesses. Adopting energy-saving measures proactively and publishing them to customers is a smart move in light of increasing awareness about climate change.

Climate Finance for a Greener Future

Our colleague Niraj Marfatia spent April, learning about climate finance from a two-week seminar for SMEs, the Sustainability Innovation Programme, run by UOB and The FinLab in Singapore. The seminar helped SMEs understand the changes coming as Singapore moves towards decarbonising its economy. One regulatory change that was highlighted was the carbon tax, which is set to increase from S$5/tCO2e in 2019 to S$50-80/tCO2e by 2030, providing an opportunity for green financing.

UOB spoke about their Green Loans offering and the ecosystem they are building for solar, energy efficiency, and electric vehicles. Another interesting point discussed was the idea of Green Procurement, where SMEs that are not making efforts to reduce and report their carbon emissions would be left out of tenders from MNCs. The Singapore government also offers support to SMEs on this journey. Overall, the seminar provided valuable insights for SMEs to navigate the changing regulatory environment and build a more sustainable business.