Summary of findings:
- More than three quarters of advisers believe good technology
plays a role in improving business image
- Back-office automation will be essential within five years
- Compliance and book-keeping are the key appeals of technology,
and benefits seem to outweigh cost
- Poor technical support from providers remains a bug-bear
The IFA portal claims that a clear picture is emerging that the advice community now views technology as aiding efficient book-keeping, presenting a better client image and is essential in automating back office systems.
The findings herald a new vision for the technology sector as the adviser community no longer views e-business as often unreliable, another complication to business and too expensive.
The research, part of the Sesame IFA Barometer, also found that it's the benefit technology contributes to back office administration processes that most impressed advisers, with more than three quarters (79%) saying this will be essential within the next five years.
Advisers felt that technology could bring a number of benefits to their business in a particularly testing environment with nearly two thirds (60%) saying that technology allowed for greater compliance within their business and 68 per cent saying that it aided efficient book keeping. More than three quarters of advisers (77%) said good technology helped to create a better image for a business.
With the combination of depolarisation and expanding regulation bringing with it a requirement for an ever-increasing paper trail, nearly half (49%) of advisers surveyed by Assureweb said technology played a vital role in reducing the administration burden. Advisers reported that good technology was also advantageous in cementing strong adviser client
relationships with a third (33%) saying that good technology gave customers reassurance.
The findings move on the e-biz debate and contrasts with similar research conducted by Assureweb last year which found that only 56 per cent of advisers regularly used the internet.
But more work does still need to be done. Over a quarter (29%) of advisers continued to find technology a complication and added burden. In addition just over one in ten (13%) said that modern technology was an added cost without a major benefit.
Poor technical support continued to be the main bug-bear for advisers with nearly half (43%) saying that a lack of support often left them isolated and took them away from their main business.
Other findings:
- 55 per cent of IFAs in the Midlands and in the South are convinced by the compliance benefits that improved technology can bring compared to 68% in the North.
- Female advisers are most likely to be of the opinion that technology provides reassurance to the customer (42%) compared to 32% of male counterparts (32%).
- Nearly one in ten (9%) male advisers disagree that technology provides a better business image while all female advisers agree with the statement.
- One in seven (15%) advisers in the Midlands believe that modern technology is just an extra cost without an added benefit, compared to 12 per cent in the North and South.
- Female (42%) and male (43%) advisers are more or less united in their feelings of isolation as a result of technical problems.
Stephen Wynne-Jones, Assureweb Director of Strategy said: "Amidst the background of tighter FSA regulation and depolarisation, advisers face a number of important challenges to ensure they are equipped for operating in testing conditions. Advisers must ensure they
are able to cope with the increased amount of administration and paperwork that they will have to deal with in a newly regulated environment. They also must ensure that the manner in which they deal with administration is fully compliant and will stand up to scrutiny in an audit.
"Clearly advisers are embracing technology and using it to their advantage, and, as we would expect, they are impressed with the positive impact good technology can have on their business. There is however still work to be done. Advisers fully acknowledge that automating their back office processes and integrating disjointed systems will be essential within the coming five years if they are to remain profitable and in many cases survive.
"Technology suppliers must also do their part. Gone are the days where they could sell a software package and fail to offer adequate support and training. Advisers are becoming more demanding and will increasingly look for a complete solution of technology and ongoing support."
