A report from banking software specialist London Bridge Group (LBG) suggests that British banks need to reconsider their software policies.
The research shows that on average, the top banks in the UK have announced implementations with 34 software houses in the past two years. One bank is linked to at least 40 vendors. These figures are based on public announcements; the real figures are likely to be much higher, according to the research.
Chris Rowbottom, chief operating officer, LBG, warns: "If the number of software products in British banks keeps growing at this rate, we are going to see some real problems as IT departments juggle to keep all these balls in the air."
According to Rowbottom, banks are following advice from industry experts to pick best-of-breed software in the absence of viable alternatives.
He believes that the dilemma facing banks is how to develop IT architectures that harness the investment in best-of-breed software with filling the gaps left by non-specialist products. "The new imperative is to join up the gaps in the banks' systems which have been all too obvious to customers," says Rowbottom.