NEEDHAM, MA, December 10, 2007 – As the global financial services industry becomes increasingly interconnected and complex, professionals working with – and within – financial institutions and technology providers face challenges in building the depth of knowledge needed for their sectors, and in keeping up with the rapid pace of change.
These factors are driving many organizations to turn to an innovative training program created by leading research and advisory services firm, TowerGroup: Financial Services Industry Training, or “FIT” (www.towergroup.com/FIT).
“Working either with or within the financial services context demands a great deal of specialized knowledge, as well as continuous learning to keep up with the constant, dynamic change impacting every sector of the industry,” said Kimberly Morton, global product manager at TowerGroup. “We developed the FIT program to help companies gain the industry knowledge and strategic insights they need to differentiate themselves from the competition, and create a powerful value proposition in the financial services marketplace.”
The overarching goal of FIT is to explore and explain the connections between financial services industry pain points, key business drivers, and IT spending patterns. The FIT program has been gaining momentum, with client engagements growing each quarter of 2007 to date. This aligns with the growth trajectory for the overall corporate training market, as organizations struggle to elevate valuable insights above the information overload that typifies today’s business culture.
The FIT Program also deliberately offers organizations a “blended” approach to training – leveraging a mix of online courses (e-learning), in-person sessions and ongoing access to resources – to be flexible to each organization’s training preferences.
“We expect the global market for education and training content to exceed US$50 billion in revenues by the close of 2010, increasing at a healthy 5.7 percent compound annual growth rate from 2007 through 2010,” said Leigh Watson Healy, chief analyst at Outsell, a market research and consulting company specializing in intelligence on publishers and information providers. “Today, corporate training accounts for 33 percent of the overall revenues in education and training. The most popular option for corporate training is blended learning, which combines e-learning with instructor-led, in-person sessions. Offerings like TowerGroup’s FIT program effectively strike this balance, with a suite of e-learning courses serving as the foundation for more customized, in-depth industry training.”
Those interested in learning more about the FIT program may contact TowerGroup at +1.781.292.5200 or email FIT[at]towergroup.com.
Companies Gaining Measurable Benefits from Program
Organizations that have leveraged FIT training include a mix of both financial institutions and the technology or service providers that support them. On the financial institution side, a global securities and investments firm had an ongoing need to quickly and cost-effectively train members of its consulting organization. TowerGroup’s FIT program allowed the organization to ramp up quickly on client projects and, as a result, drive more revenue.
Two leading technology providers that have deployed FIT had this to say:
“Computer Associates turned to the TowerGroup for its industry-leading techniques for training salespeople quickly and efficiently,” said Mark Bubar, worldwide vice-president of sales for financial services at Computer Associates. “Specifically, we needed to better educate our sales teams on the financial services industry. And the team from TowerGroup delivered. The education provided by TowerGroup has been instrumental in our efforts to better partner with our financial services customers around the world.”
“Microsoft was in need of an education program to provide key Financial Services industry trends to their customer facing associates, especially their Consulting and Pre-Sales teams,” said William Hoffman, development manager for Central Region Financial Services. “Microsoft turned to TowerGroup for assistance. TowerGroup provided Microsoft their Financial Services Industry Training Program. Within this program, Microsoft participated in e-Learning, as well as in-depth customized education workshops.”
About TowerGroup:
TowerGroup is the leading research and advisory services firm focused exclusively on the financial services industry. A respected source for trusted information and advice, TowerGroup brings many of the world’s leading financial institutions, technology companies, and professional services firms a deeper understanding of the business and technology issues impacting their organizations. Headquartered near Boston in Needham, Massachusetts, and with offices in North America and Europe, TowerGroup serves a global client base. Visit www.towergroup.com for more information.