Growing Modern Data Platforms Adoption Seen as Benefits Become Apparent: Webinar Review

Take-up of modern data platforms (MDPs) is expected to accelerate in the next few years as financial institutions realise the greater agility, scalability and deeper insights offered by the innovation.

Organisations that have so far been relatively slow to adopt the streamlined platforms – because they have been unsure of the technologies’ benefits – will turn to them as the gains they offer are realised, according to expert panellists in A-Team Group’s most recent LIVE Data Management Insight webinar.

The webinar on September 4, which was entitled “Unlocking value: Harnessing MDPs for data integration”, brought together Christina Schack, Head Data Solutions at Bank Vontobel; Rickie Glasgow, Global Head of Data Governance – Chief Operating Office and Asset Servicing at Northern Trust Asset Servicing; and Dave Byrne, Head of Data Platforms at LSEG, Microsoft Partnership-LSEG Data and Analytics.

Setup Differentiation

In a wide-ranging discussion, the panellists, moderated by Data Management Insight Editor Mark McCord, took on topics that touched on the mechanics of MDPs and the capabilities that differentiate them from existing setups, to the specific benefits it offers a multiplicity of use cases.

A poll of the capital market participants who tuned into the event found that more than half said their companies were at a moderately advanced stage of implementation. They had been slowed by a combination of legacy systems, poor data quality and cost of adoption, another poll showed.

However, a further survey revealed that a large proportion of respondents were already benefitting from the boost that MDPs were giving their data integrate and accessibility processes, as well as giving them operational efficiencies and faster times to markets and innovation rollout.

Considering the innovations’ novelty, it is to be expected that firms would take a cautious approach to adoption (they are just “dipping their toes in the water”, as one panellist remarked), the webinar heard. But it was felt among speakers that once the capabilities of MDPs were more widely understood, then implementation would be quick and widespread.

Data Silos

That maturity will also see firms further eliminate the fragmented technology and data setups that hamper operations more broadly.

As one expert from a technology provider highlighted, the core pillars include a shift towards cloud-native or cloud-first architectures, leveraging the elastic capabilities of cloud storage and compute. This move is complemented by a “stampede towards open data formats” like Parquet and Iceberg, moving away from proprietary lock-ins.

These formats, widely adopted by hyperscalers and the open-source community, offer broad access for diverse tools, from business intelligence to data management, fostering a more flexible ecosystem. Data quality, previously a secondary consideration, now emerges as a primary objective, especially as MDPs serve advanced AI and Machine Learning (ML) use cases.

Commercial Outcomes

They replace disparate, legacy platforms, enhancing organisational agility and scalability, while fostering data democratisation. The unified nature of MDPs also allows for more streamlined and cost-efficient data quality and governance, tackling issues once rather than in multiple silos.

Implementation isn’t easy, the panel heard. Implementation is not merely a technology upgrade but a “cultural change of how we do things,” requiring a “team sport” approach across all teams and an upskilling of personnel, the panel was told.

Securing senior management buy-in and funding for these multi-year, transformative journeys is also critical.

MDPs benefit many parts of an institution’s operations:

• Data Integration – Open data formats like Parquet and Iceberg, combined with data catalogues, significantly enhance data discoverability and facilitate a common semantic layer, allowing end-users to derive greater value.
• Investment analytics and visualisation – MDPs enable “sharper insights and faster decision-making” by ensuring a single source of truth for data quality.
• Reporting – A unified platform acts as a single source of truth, leading to faster report generation and improved accuracy for regulators and customers.
• Front-office: MDPs facilitate a comprehensive 360-degree customer view, integrating diverse information beyond traditional CRM systems – from marketing materials and product development to financial aspects – enabling more informed client interactions.

The move to MDPs is an ongoing journey, the panel heard, because”the goalposts are constantly moving” as technology rapidly advances, meaning what is considered “advanced” today will evolve tomorrow.