Banking and sec firms' IT spends to increase 9.7% in 2017

Global analyst firm Gartner today said IT spends by domestic banks and securities firms will grow nearly 10 per cent to USD 8.9 billion in 2017.
"IT spending by banking and securities firms in India will reach USD 8.9 billion in 2017, an increase of 9.7 percent from 2016," it said in a note.
This includes total enterprise IT spending for internal spending and spending data on data center systems, devices, software, IT services and telecom services, it said.
The spends on IT services will grow at a faster clip of 13.8 per cent, as the companies invest more in business processes, with a specific focus on business process outsourcing, it said.

The focus is on outsourcing will be driven aimed at achieving operational efficiency and reduce costs, it added.
Its principal research analyst Moutusi Sau said the "sudden" demonetisation announcement on November 8 last year saw "sea of change" in the banking and securities industry.

"Banks are increasingly working to enhance their customer facing platforms and investing in payment tools," it said.
It can be noted that a slew of newer entrants which will driven primarily by technology like the Payments Banks and Small Finance Banks are expected to enter the market in 2017.
Additionally, the RBI has also put licenses for universal banks on tap, who would also be doing major investements in technology.