Perspectives on the Internet and Financial Services
During the dot.com bubble, everyone (read industry analysts and pundits)
thought that the Internet would change everything about the financial services
industry. Even Bill Gates with his notorious "banks are dinosaurs" quote agreed.
Everyone, including Bill, was wrong.
We thought so then and we said so.
"The Internet is the most fundamental communication invention since
the printing press and the telephone. It will have a profound effect on
everything. But, it's not going to change everything, not all at once, and
some things it is not going to change ever."
(Richard Bell 1997)
Today the pendulum has swung the other way. Everyone thinks that
pure play Internet banks are failures. Never mind that there are at
least two in the top 200 banks by assets in the United States.
Everyone thinks that Internet banking is something of a bust. Never
mind that there are banks with 45 day transactional household
penetration rates above 50%.
We still think everyone is wrong.
"If there is anything I've learned about the Internet and fundamental
change, it's that it more often than not manifest itself in unexpected and
surprising ways. Regarding Internet financial services, I think there are at
least two fundamental truths."
"First, the real battle for Internet financial services has only just
begun. The Internet revolution in financial services did not and is not
going to happen over night, it is going to take time, but it is going to
happen. Internet financial services is not a 100 yard dash, it's a marathon.
Laurels will go to those financial institutions that can mount and sustain a
long term Internet initiative."
"Second, the battlefield will not be where most expect it to be. It
will be fought on a changing technology, competition, and consumer
landscape. Objectives will change. Tactics will change. Functionally, the
battle will be about sales and service, about financial advice, about
exception based banking, about enhanced transactional services, about doing
more for your customers. Competitively, it will be about retaining your
customers and acquiring more of their business, about acquiring more
customers, about competing both with the bank down the block and the bank
across the Internet, about competing not just on the Internet but across all
your channels, about using Internet technology not just on the Internet, but
throughout your organization. It is going to be brutal." (Richard Bell 2004)
Internet financial services may not be the future of financial services
tomorrow, but you need to get ready for the day after.
At the Bell Curve Group we believe that
- the Internet is fundamentally important and essential to your success,
- the Internet as a delivery channel is important today and will be more
important tomorrow, and
- Internet technologies within your enterprise will fundamentally alter
the way you do business in all your delivery channels and within your
enterprise
At the Bell Curve Group we understand technology and we
understand the financial services business. We are dedicated to helping you
succeed in your Internet initiatives.
Who we are
At Bell Curve Group we understand the Internet and we understand the business of financial services. We
are here to help your financial institution succeed in delivering products and
services both over the Web and in using Internet technologies to improve your
internal systems.
Our work with the Internet goes back to its earliest days. You'll
find our name on the earliest switching and routing code from the ARPANET. We've seen the net change from a tool for
university and government researchers to the most revolutionary
invention since the telephone and the printing press. Along the
way we've designed operating systems, built web applications, designed
and developed high availability Internet servers, and worked with
massive databases. At Bell Curve Group we understand technology, the
Internet and the Web because we are technologist.
Our work with the financial services industry goes back over 20
years. Our
biographies
are here. We've developed teller applications and loan origination systems,
helped institutions analyzed the strategies and technologies they use to
delivery their services in both traditional channels and over the
Internet. We've studied the use of Internet technologies to build true multi-channel delivery infrastructures. We've
defined new and innovative Web financial services. We've looked at the ways
institutions can use Internet technology to improve their internal operations.
We've published numerous research studies distributed by firms such as Financial
Insights and TowerGroup and used by some of the leading financial service
institutions in the world. Our research reports and articles
are listed here. We've spoken at many industry conferences. We've been
frequently quoted in the financial services industry press. At Bell Curve Group
we understand the business of financial services, because we are part of that
business and familiar with the industry.
At Bell Curve Group, we're here to help you with your Internet initiatives .
to deliver financial services on the Web, use Internet technology throughout
your institution to improve your internal systems and delivery infrastructure,
and compete effectively by staying abreast of this rapidly evolving phenomenon.
Let us help you succeed.
You may have heard us speak at
conferences, seen us quoted in the press, heard your colleagues
talk about us, or . You can learn more about our
thoughts and opinions here.
Where we are going
We are committed to helping our financial industry customers succeed on the
Internet by offering a package of services that help them understand their
Internet site, their competitor's sites, and the evolving Internet financial
services landscape. Today, we are offering very sophisticated availability and
performance monitoring. But there is more in the works.
It's about the marathon, not the 100 yard dash.
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