The case for centralized software purchasing at the enterprise business level

June 23, 2017 by Andy Penkalski

Executives at a company discuss consolidating technology vendors.

About the author

Andy Penkalski

Director, marketing

Andy oversees the breadth of go-to-market initiatives for Advicent, including product marketing, lead generation, public relations, and partner learning and development. He is interested in always discovering new tools for brands and businesses to more effectively reach their audience and improve metrics for success within their own organization.

In 2017, the amount spent on IT at an enterprise-level organization can seemingly balloon overnight. In the financial services space, there are a multitude of factors that can lead to an unanticipated surge in technology spends.

Over the past several years, large technology contracts have been inherited through a cavalcade of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). In 2014 alone, the financial sector experienced the second highest number of global M&A deals, which accounted for $340 billion in transactions.

The benefits of centralized software purchasing

Maintaining profitability during ventures such as M&A deals typically requires a glacial reassessment of any absorbed tech infrastructure, so as to not completely disrupt the ongoing business dealings of the acquired organization. Once a large institution finds the time to finally assess a long-ignored technology budget, the opportunity for savings can be staggering.

Deluxe Corporation, one of the largest check printers in the United States, realized such an opportunity for cost-cutting in 2011. By consolidating all software and hardware budgeting and decision making under a single department with uniform goals and vision, Deluxe Corporation was able to cut annual IT expenses by 15 percent. This was accomplished through a blend of third-party expertise and input from software stakeholders.

Aside from these clear opportunities for cost-cutting when a financial services institution consolidates the technology leveraged by their end users, there are larger best-practice implications for our industry. As compliance becomes a growing concern for those providing retirement advice, uniform back-office integrations and consistent planning calculations can help enterprise-level firms better document their commitment to the client’s best interest.

In a post-DOL world, there is not a single solution to achieve compliance, but the workflows required to maintain a compliant advisory team can be bolstered by a lean, uniformly-implemented technology strategy.

Click here to read more about how enterprise-level Advicent partners benefit from a centralized software strategy.