Wednesday 18 January 2017

The Bunker says there's a Fintech skills shortage

Oh, God! Not this Bunker guy again! Why won't the pervert leave me alone? 'It's not a guy, boss. It's a firm, as you well know.' Whatever, Voice. Whatever!

Yes, dear reader(s), it's the Wednesday morning PR email, back by popular demand. An email from Beau "Shandy" Bass, too. 'Great!'

Skills shortage threatens to slow pace of Fintech innovation, warns The Bunker.

Ha!

The Bunker is hosting a series of Fintech events to bring together start-ups and experts to help shape the future of financial services.

The guy never gives up! All right, what is this?

With research highlighting the digital skills deficit that the UK is currently facing, Fintech companies must be selective about the skills they employ in-house. This is according to Phil Bindley, CTO at The Bunker, who argues that Fintechs should focus their attention on developing a great product, rather that the platform on which it is delivered.

Fair enough.

As Innovate Finance, the body representing the Fintech sector in the UK, puts its plans together for the next "Big Bang", research from Harvey Nash shows that 65 per cent of CIOs and technology leaders are suffering from a technology skills shortage. This deficit presents a real challenge for Fintechs, who may struggle to drive innovation without access to the relevant skills and talent.

Oh dear. What are they going to do?

For Phil Bindley, Fintechs have two choices when it comes to addressing this obstacle. They can either compete for the skilled staff needed to manage infrastructure internally. Or they can find a trusted partner who can help plug the skills gap by taking on this responsibility.

Okay.

He commented: "There is undoubtedly a digital skills shortage in the UK and this is something that threatens to derail the pace of Fintech innovation. Companies within this space need a lot more than just software development skills to build the infrastructure that delivers digital financial technology services. This requires a number of skilled individuals that are currently in short supply, such as infrastructure experts, operating systems experts and digital security experts. As organizations continue to compete for a resource that is in short supply, they will need to make tough decisions about the skills they adopt in-house and what they decide to outsource."

Well, the problem is, we don't have any goddamn education in this country. 'Probably never will, the way things are going, boss.' Voice, the only solution is to bring more immigrants in. 'The government won't like that, man!' / Well ...

"The companies that are really disrupting the financial industry are those that are ploughing their time and energy into innovative product development, as opposed to the management of infrastructure. Ultimately, Fintechs need to focus on making their products and software as great as they need to be to attract customers. Therefore, these companies will be wise to lean on a trusted service provider for the management of servers and infrastructure, in order to help bridge the skills gap. However, the financial services market is one that is highly regulated and this makes it essential for Fintech companies to conduct due diligence with regards to their outsourcing arrangements. Those using a Cloud Services Provider (CSP) must prove to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) that they are not introducing any degree of risk to the financial services environment, so opting for a provider who has a pedigree in compliance and security is vital. Working with a CSP who has accreditations such as PCI DSS and ISO 27001 will alleviate the regulatory pressures that come with operating in this sector and can also provide a competitive advantage. But ultimately, working with a trusted provider will free up more time for innovation, which is what Fintech is all about," concludes Bindley.

Well, outsourcing or something. I don't know. / Oh, I've been invited to one of these things -

The Bunker is hosting a series of Fintech events, which bring together start-ups and experts to help shape the future of financial services. These events will foster long-term mutually beneficial relationships, designed to scale new business models into live products and services.

'Nice. Will you be going, boss?' What?! And meet The Bunker, face to face, like? 'Yeah.' No. Do me a favour! Christ!

...

Anything else? Brexit? I ain't talking/writing about Brexit no more because I value my mental health too highly. However, I will just say I find it amusing ... Mayhem's claim yesterday that this country of sixty-five million people is coming together behind her deranged vision of a hard Brexit. 'Ha!' Yeah. Doesn't she ever go on Twitter?