Brain drain a pain as Infosys stops hiring SAP executives

With the news of 16 SAP executives moving to Infosys, the issue of sudden staff departures has come under the spotlight. The fear of a brain drain to businesses and even countries is the stuff of nightmares. All that lost talent, investment and time.

Is the US core banking sector finally saying yes to outsiders?

Statue of Liberty. Source: featherboa

The US core banking software sector has always been notoriously difficult to gain a foothold in for the non-domestic vendors. The local heavyweights – FIS, Jack Henry and Fiserv – have over the years acquired smaller players and have ended up with numerous systems under their corporate umbrellas. These companies have also been traditionally close to the regulators, making the case for a bank or credit union to select a non-US vendor difficult to justify.

What's the deal with Finacle?

Infosys swimming pool, Bangalore.

I ask the question just after news that its erstwhile head, Haragopal Mangipudi, left Infosys to be replaced by SAP veteran Michael Reh. This was the first senior change carried out by Infosys' new CEO, Vishal Sikka, who joined the company in August.

Have European banks given up on core banking system replacements?

© www.itrw.net

Despite the emergence of new technology and increasing competition, it seems the replacement of core banking systems is not on the agenda for European banks. Instead, banks are investing in niche IT projects to not only maintain their existing systems, but to introduce incremental changes, which can provide a quick return on investment (ROI) and meet their business and consumer needs.

Old systems, older systems, even older systems

Zions HQ, Salt Lake City © Ricardo630

I’ve been immersed in the US core banking systems market for the last few weeks as we are working on a new report, to help banks to navigate the many offerings that are available here. The task has taken me around the three mainstream heavyweights (FIS, Fiserv, Jack Henry & Associates), the few mid-tier players that remain (CSI, D+H, IBT), and the smaller players, including the couple of would-be new entrants. A key consideration, of course, is the extent to which these might finally be challenged by the non-US core system vendors.