The Paradoxes of Progress
in Financial Services
Find out how IT leaders in banking and finance are managing the competing pressures of innovation, regulation, resilience, and ESG
The pressures behind modern financial services infrastructure
The financial services sector is undergoing a significant shift. AI is accelerating change, while regulation and resilience demands continue to rise.
To explore how IT leaders are responding, we surveyed 105 UK-based decision makers from enterprise-size banking and finance firms. Our new report, The Paradoxes of Progress in Financial Services, explores the trade-offs, real-world decisions, and infrastructure patterns helping teams stay in control as complexity increases.
Download the Report
AI acceleration vs ESG delivery
As AI adoption accelerates in financial services, the sector must balance the need for innovation with the increasing energy consumption of data-heavy operations.
Our findings revealed:
91%
91% of respondents agree that AI is accelerating their organisation’s ability to hit net zero and wider ESG targets
87%
87% have set a budget for AI
38%
However only 38% say sustainability is a priority for AI spend
Innovation urgency vs regulatory drag
From privacy requirements to operational resilience expectations, banking and finance teams are innovating inside increasingly defined boundaries.
We found:
100%
100% feel at least some confidence they can innovate while remaining compliant
98%
However, 98% say approvals and sign-offs delay rollout timelines
Sovereignty requirements vs always-on resilience
Rising geopolitical tensions are reshaping decisions about where critical workloads are hosted.
Respondents highlighted:
97%
say data sovereignty is a key factor when selecting cloud or data centre providers
48%
prioritise ISO 27001/22301 for sovereignty-sensitive workloads
48%
also rank UK ownership and governance as top requirements