The coronavirus lockdown has accelerated digital transformation among NZ financial services firms, according to a Wellington-based software business.
Tim Packer, YouDo head of business and software development, said while most financial firms in NZ were exploring digitisation prior to the outbreak, the almost two-month COVID-19 disruption has made the search more urgent.
Packer said the crisis has highlighted the critical role of technology in financial services at time of major disruption to internal work practices and changing client needs.
“Many firms have already advanced their digital evolution and begun automating processes to drive businesses efficiencies and to meet the expectations of clients for on-demand services,” he said. “But with more staff now working from home and a sharp rise in clients interacting with their financial providers online, the benefits of robust cloud-based systems and automation are clearer than ever.”
YouDo began life over a decade ago developing software for the NZ energy industry, diversifying into the local finance sector in the last five years or so. The software specialist has flown under the industry radar somewhat but Packer said YouDo was seeing growing demand from financial services businesses.
“We offer white label solutions, so very much under the hood so to speak, on a number of familiar brand names in the finance sector,” he said.
For example, the software provider recently converted a Harbour Asset Management legacy reporting system “into a software solution that is a significant company asset, providing increased efficiency and data visibility”
Packer said rather than building off-the-shelf product, YouDo creates bespoke software solutions better-suited to the very specific requirements and unique needs they encounter with each finance customer. And, typically, customers own the underlying software, he said.
“Our talent lies in business-to-business and business-to-consumer platforms that require complex business rules, high levels of security, redundancy and heavy integration with third-party components such as anti-money laundering, know-your-client and trustees,” Packer said.
“For wealth managers we help deliver precise and secure platforms that capture business systems and processes into one highly efficient scalable cloud-based business solution.”
As well as working with the big end of town, YouDo has strong links with the start-up fintech sector including a seat on the just-launched ‘Golden Ticket’ panel.
Launched earlier this year under the auspices of industry body FintechNZ, the Golden Ticket program provides pro-bono advice from a range of expert partners to help start-ups scale-up.
Digital passive fund house, Kernel Wealth, secured the first Golden Ticket this April.
“The Golden Ticket is an entirely practical program that seeks to de-risk a number of costly items for start-ups at that scale-up phase of their life,” Packer said. “If we can help one more start-up to survive and thrive then we’ve achieved our goal.
Headquartered in Wellington, YouDo now boasts a team of about 20, headed by Kari Reiterer.