The perennial global event for financial services professionals will again take place this June in London. With over 450 attendees joining media representatives and industry analysts, this year will mark the biggest event of its kind ever.
The theme for 2015 is “Building the Foundation for Digital Change.” The forum will include discussions on innovations in financial technology, global competition, and regional cooperation. 
Here are a few specific areas of focus:
Simple Finance
A hot topic of late as finance professionals are exploring what reducing complexity can mean to a modern finance organization. New possibilities around achieving an omnichannel business approach, simplifying and automating operations, and continuously managing risk and regulatory compliance will all be explored and discovered at the forum.
With simple finance in mind, SAP recently introduced its next-generation simplification business suite offered exclusively on the SAP HANA platform – SAP Business Suite 4 SAP HANA (SAP S/4HANA) – which includes features that promote greater innovation within very sensitive areas of finance and foundations for a leaner organization.
Digital Transformation
The digital current sea-change is forcing financial services organizations to recalibrate the way they position themselves to the new consumer across all channels- be it virtual or physical.
A keynote presentation entitled “The imperative for better data analytics to enable informed financial decisions,” will be delivered by Seth McGuire, Senior Business Development Manager at Twitter. Digital technologies play an ever-greater role in the way that banks and financial institutions interact with their customers and workforce. A panel of speakers at the forum will specifically address the challenges and opportunities presented by the next generation, and there will considerable focus on the “fintech” innovations and better data analytics needed to enable informed financial decisions.
Challenger Banks
“Challenger” banks are already shaking up the financial services industry. Challenger banks were the biggest net gainers of current account customers in the final quarter last year according to TNS, a switching market monitor. The word “challenger” is generally defined as one who challenges the current market leaders. Therefore, the forum will include strategic business streams that feature Anne Boden, CEO of Starling Bank and Alick Letts, Chief Executive of Ffrees. They will provide their insight on how and why challengers are currently disrupting the banking industry.
The SAP Financial Services Forum will also offer an opportunity for attendees to meet and network with high-level representatives from sponsoring partners to explore their innovative solutions and services. 2015 sponsors include Accenture, Deloitte and IBM.
The opening keynote presentation at the forum is entitled “How RBS is investing in innovation to drive digital change” and it will be delivered by Kevin Hanley, Director of Design at RBS.
Additionally, Stacey Allaster, CEO of the Women’s Tennis Association will deliver a presentation entitled, “Enhancing the fan experience with real-time data analytics from SAP.”
This is just some of what you can expect this year in London.
Additional information and complete agenda can be found here.
WHAT: SAP Financial Services Forum
WHEN: June 23 and 24, 2015
WHERE: Grange St. Paul’s Hotel, London
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