Industry Spotlight: Sustaining Digital Transformation Value in Financial Services

The Post-Implementation Challenge in Financial Services

Banks, insurers, and investment firms are at the forefront of digital transformation, driven by evolving customer expectations, regulatory demands, and the imperative to innovate. Yet, the true test of transformation comes after the initial go-live. Research shows that up to 95% of digital transformation initiatives fail to achieve their full objectives, with the steepest decline in value occurring during the maintenance and operations phase. For financial services organizations, this post-implementation value erosion is often driven by:

Loss of critical knowledge as transformation teams hand over to internal IT or third-party support
Siloed operations between business, product, and support teams, leading to slower issue resolution and missed opportunities for optimization
Stringent regulatory and security requirements that demand continuous vigilance
Pressure to innovate while maintaining uptime and customer trust

Publicis Sapient’s Application and Infrastructure Management Services (AIMS): Purpose-Built for Financial Services

Publicis Sapient’s Application and Infrastructure Management Services (AIMS) are designed to address the sector-specific challenges faced by financial institutions in the post-implementation phase. AIMS is not just about keeping systems running—it’s about ensuring that digital transformation investments continue to deliver value, adapt to new demands, and fuel continuous innovation.

Key Pillars of AIMS for Financial Services

1. Knowledge Retention and Seamless Handover

AIMS embeds support engineers and sustainment experts during the transformation phase, ensuring they gain a deep, hands-on understanding of the digital platform. By maintaining continuity with the original transformation team post-launch, AIMS prevents the costly loss of tacit knowledge and enables:

Faster, more effective issue resolution
Lower mean time to resolve (MTTR)
Higher system reliability and user adoption

2. Proactive Monitoring, Security, and Compliance

Financial services organizations cannot afford downtime or security lapses. AIMS leverages advanced monitoring tools, such as the Sustain Engineering Platform (StEP), layered on top of IT service management systems. This provides:

Real-time, end-to-end visibility across the IT estate
Automated bots for self-healing, cloud provisioning, and business process monitoring
Proactive identification and resolution of issues before they impact customers
Continuous compliance tracking and reporting to meet regulatory requirements

3. Automation and Continuous Improvement

AIMS teams regularly track service level agreements (SLAs), key performance indicators (KPIs), and business processes. This enables:

Ongoing identification of optimization opportunities
Implementation of enhancements that drive efficiency, cost savings, and innovation
Rapid adaptation to new regulatory requirements and market trends

4. Enabling Rapid Innovation and Customer Trust

With AIMS, financial institutions can ensure that digital platforms—whether powering online banking, insurance claims, or investment portals—are always available, performant, and secure. This is critical for delivering the frictionless, reliable experiences that today’s customers expect and regulators demand.

Sector-Specific Examples and Measurable Outcomes

Leading Investment Firm: Charting a Path to Digital Business Transformation

Business Impact: Personalized content for customers, actionable insights to increase engagement, and a scalable cloud platform that frees teams to focus on innovation.
Outcomes: Actionable insights, faster innovation cycles, and the ability to expand to new markets with confidence.

Multinational Insurance Company: Scaling to Expand to New Geographic Markets

Business Impact: Cloud-based CMS enables rapid market expansion and content refreshes as customer expectations evolve. Reliable connections and fast page loads encourage prospects and customers to linger longer.
Outcomes: 105% increase in session duration, 35% faster page loads, 48% decrease in bounce rate.

Nationwide Building Society: Enriching Customers’ Digital Journeys on a Secure, Resilient Cloud Platform

Business Impact: Migration to the enterprise cloud platform was accomplished with zero downtime and in half the expected time. Knowledge transfer and governance frameworks ensure ongoing improvement and compliance.
Outcomes: 50% faster migration than expected, 0 downtime, and robust knowledge transfer to internal teams.

Leading Wealth Management Firm: Connecting Advisors to the Data They Need—in a Fraction of the Time

Business Impact: Advisors have near-real-time access to data, enabling more efficient, personalized service and improved client loyalty.
Outcomes: 20,000+ advisors using the platform, 80% faster search response, 90% of advisors prefer search navigation.

Best Practices for Knowledge Retention and Automation

Involve support teams early: Integrate sustainment experts during the transformation phase to ensure deep system understanding and a smooth transition.
Prioritize structured knowledge transfer: Use documentation, shadowing, and ongoing collaboration to prevent knowledge loss.
Leverage automation: Implement self-healing bots, automated monitoring, and cloud provisioning to reduce manual effort and increase reliability.
Monitor and optimize continuously: Track SLAs, KPIs, and business processes to identify improvement opportunities and act on them swiftly.
Maintain a partnership mindset: Treat post-implementation as an ongoing journey, not a handoff. Continuous collaboration drives sustained value.

The Value of AIMS: Measurable Outcomes

Organizations that partner with Publicis Sapient for AIMS experience tangible, measurable benefits, including:

Reduced operational risk through the retention of critical system knowledge
Lower support costs by resolving issues faster and automating routine maintenance
Faster time-to-market for new digital products and features
Improved customer experience through seamless, reliable digital services
Continuous innovation as new features and improvements are implemented proactively

Why Publicis Sapient?

With over 30 years of digital engineering expertise and a proven track record in financial services, Publicis Sapient is uniquely positioned to help organizations not only transform, but sustain and grow the value of their digital investments. Our holistic approach—combining strategy, engineering, data, and AI—ensures that your platforms remain robust, secure, and ready to meet the demands of tomorrow’s customer and regulator.

Take the Next Step

Maximizing the value of your digital transformation requires more than a successful launch—it demands a commitment to ongoing excellence. Publicis Sapient’s Application and Infrastructure Management Services are your assurance that the momentum, knowledge, and value created during transformation are not only preserved but continuously enhanced.

Ready to sustain and grow the value of your digital transformation? Connect with Publicis Sapient to discover how AIMS can help you maintain digital momentum, maximize ROI, and deliver lasting impact in financial services.