The global credit crisis has boosted the demand for risk management and cost-cutting technologies by financial institutions, but the focus is likely to be temporary.
"Today, the focus is on cost-cutting, compliance and risk management and if you have products which are in those markets, congratulations, that is...where the ball is today," FTVentures partner Ben Cukier said on Friday.
FTVentures is a US venture capital firm that invests in technology companies serving the financial services industry.
Cukier is supported in his observations by Euclid Capital managing partner David Fite. But Fite warned companies not to take the impact of the crisis out of perspective.
"Nowadays, people find it difficult to finish a sentence without mentioning the credit crisis, but in the long-term it is not that important," he said.
Instead, he urged technology companies to concentrate on industry basics.
"Innovation is always going to come out of the technology, it is a lot easier to change systems than it is to change people." Fite said.
According to Fite, technological development in the financial services industry will always revolve around three aspects: customer service, risk management and transactions.
"One element might be a little bit stronger at one point, but it really doesn't matter because financial institutions need innovations on all dimensions," he said.
"The focus today is risk management, but two years from now, people are going to swing back to customer [service]."
