If we are to describe the modern banking, financial services, and insurance industry (BFSI) in one word, we would say complex. With the onset of digitalization, many customer services are now online; banking and insurance mobile apps are increasingly becoming the norm. Apart from this transformation of customer services, traditional banks are facing competition from neobanks – technology-driven, agile banking and financial service providers. Neobanks often have lower operational costs as they are mainly online-based. Similarly, “born digital” insurers that leverage technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) are competing with established insurance companies. We have also seen the rise of super apps that offer consumer services through third party integrations with several digital payment options (i.e., WeChat, Grab, AliPay, Gojek, to name a few). To stay ahead of these new disruptive developments and remain relevant to younger, digital native consumers, traditional BFSI companies are adopting digital-first strategies.
Competition is not the only factor that contributes to the complexity of today’s banking and financial services industry. As more services are available online and accessible from mobile devices, there are significantly higher security risks. In 2020, the BFSI industry was the top target for cyberattacks. The number of devices used in this industry is rising due to digitalization. Microfinance and insurance companies also have a mobile workforce, where employees travel to many locations to support their customer base.
The BFSI industry in Sri Lanka and digitalization
The BFSI industry in Sri Lanka is undergoing rapid growth. Innovation has become the defining characteristic of this growth, as institutions strive to differentiate their products and services. Digital onboarding, QR based payments, digital wallets, mobile applications, and mobile payments are some of these new services. With innovation and greater device use, device security inevitably becomes a major concern for the industry. Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) has a pivotal role to play in catering to this innovative landscape and making it secure for all the customers. In this highly sensitive market, even the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) introduced explicit guidelines to ensure the protection and security of mobile devices so that users are not exposed to threats in an uncontrollable manner.
Any digital-first strategy must then address flexibility, efficiency, and security. Discussions around device management and security often lead to Mobile Device Management (MDM). Let us start with some basics. MDM is a software solution that empowers IT admins to manage, monitor, and secure devices across different operating systems in an enterprise IT ecosystem. Banks, financial services providers, and insurance companies cannot control customers’ devices – but you can control your own devices and provide secure services to your customers.
In this blog we will delve into some common challenges faced by organizations and how you can address them by implementing an MDM strategy.
Mobility challenges in the BFSI industry
Challenges in the BFSI industry vary – they range from securing data to ensuring that corporate devices are used for their intended purposes. Each organization will have their own challenge. Some common issues are:
- Centralized management of devices
One of the biggest challenges in Sri Lanka’s BFSI industry is the lack of a proper system that manages devices and tracks their usage. The latter is to monitor whether the field sales agents are not misusing corporate devices by using these devices to view non-related videos, play games, install improper wallpapers or apps that can lead to a loss of productivity or damage the organization’s reputation.
- Launching apps and pushing app updates
In the microfinance industry, field sales agents are required to visit remote areas where the WiFi connectivity could be weak and/or challenging. Under these circumstances, pushing app updates is a daunting task.
- Data security
The BFSI industry possesses large volumes of sensitive data. It is vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Any compromises in data security are costly for an organization’s reputation and will have an adverse impact on its business operations. The BFSI industry faces immense pressure to protect data in case a device is stolen or lost and must have the ability to erase all data stored in a device.
Benefits of an MDM strategy
- Centralized device, app, and data management
An IT ecosystem with many different types of devices, apps, and data will have multiple endpoints. With unified endpoint management (UEM) capabilities, you will be able to centralize all your UEM functions in one place – regardless of the operating systems that your devices use.
- Faster onboarding of new customers and team members
The MDM solution will oversee identity management – authentication, passwords, and authorization. The onboarding of new customers can become an online, device based function – which is more efficient and faster than dealing with cumbersome manual tasks. Similarly, granting the right authorization for your team members to use corporate devices will become a simpler task.
- Mitigating effects during security breaches
Lost or misplaced devices, or any loss of data from apps need quick responses. MDM solutions provide geotracking capabilities to locate devices remotely, plus the ability to lock devices and delete data in the case of a security breach. This way, you can prevent the mishandling of devices and your all important data.
- Remote troubleshooting
MDM solutions provide remote troubleshooting capabilities which is especially helpful if you have team members working in many geographic locations i.e., based in the field. In the event of device problems, these team members are not dependent on admins who are based elsewhere to solve such issues.
- Device usage control and SIM lock-in
Restrict enterprise device use to required apps only through app blacklisting features to ensure that devices are used for work-related purposes. Moreover, you can also bind mobile SIM data to these apps only so that you do not incur any additional costs with your data packages.
- Business intelligence
MDM solutions give you device usage statistics that you can view on dashboards. The data gives you insights into team performance and any app upgrades required.
- Extensive integrations and customizations
You can customize the solution to suit your specific requirements, with the necessary dashboards, reporting, and analytics features.
At Entgra, we understand each of the challenges faced by the BFSI industry and we have a highly customizable product that will enable you to respond to rapid changes. Entgra MDM is a centralized device management and unified endpoint management platform that helps you manage your many device identities securely. You have access to a host of features such as remote device management, analytics and dashboards, and simplified device enrollment. Learn more here and start the conversation with us.
