Helen Johnson writes, in The Network Forum Journal #11, about the continued need for tools to support the widening remit and responsibilities of the modern Network Management department.
Since TNF London in 2022, instability in the markets and the broader financial industry has again highlighted the continued need for powerful Network Management tools, no matter the size of your institution.
At MYRIAD Group Technologies Ltd, we have seen an increase in inbound enquiries with firms focusing on three main needs:
- Standardisation: how can we increase control and efficiency with our Due Diligence processes?
- Operational Resilience: what accounts do we have, where are they, and how do we ensure their security in the face of a crisis?
- Operational efficiencies: how can we reduce costs, impose control and oversight and reduce workload?
Naturally, we collaborate with our clients daily to overcome all these challenges, but that does not stop us striving for better, embracing new market initiatives and regulations working with industry bodies whilst ensuring we deliver all our solutions with the highest information security standards.
Standardisation: In partnership with AFME, the market’s due diligence technology providers have created the new excel AFME SDDQ, providing users with the long-awaited interoperability and standardisation needed by Responders, supporting the deployment of an ‘any platform’ data-readable format that all due diligence technology providers will accommodate. This means that at last, the SDDQ is fine-tuned for all its users to fullest effect.
Operational Resilience provides the theme for two of the main TNF panels in Athens – as it should in these turbulent times. The keynote of the first panel asks: ‘Should there be a better industry wide alignment and communication between Network Management teams in such crisis situations?’ Indeed, there should ideally be better alignment and communication. Co-chaired by DTCC’s Alejandra Glass and MGTL’s Simon Shepherd, the ISSA Operational Resilience Working Group is currently developing a standardised questionnaire so that firms can assess, mitigate and rapidly – but safely – recover from the impact of operational issues by leveraging a consistent methodology. Network Management departments will no doubt draw from its guidance to establish the alignment and communication this standardised approach can offer.
By extension, the Emergence of the Digital Operations Resilience Act (DORA) will be no less important in the journey towards standardisation. It imposes key requirements for ICT Risk Management Frameworks in Financial Institutions of all flavours, aiming to alleviate the risk associated with reliance upon Critical Third-Party Providers (CTPP). The Act has been in force since January this year, and will be enforced as law on 17th January 2025, not a long time in banking, so compliance with it should be a priority in the interests of increased cyber-security and resilience.
Finally, to Data Security, critical to all the above. ISO27001 accreditation is vital to all providers of data management. It means peace of mind for the Clients that rely on these providers for the security of their data, underpinning vital elements of their ICT Risk Management Frameworks. As banks are wrapped in increasingly demanding regulation, those Third Parties they employ that are certified to this standard will be an asset to their Business Continuity Management programs.
MYRIAD Group Technologies Ltd proactively supports and drives all these initiatives, dedicating itself to delivering a reliable and secure service as it assists the industry to deliver constructive and beneficial change.
