Strategy for working with Banking and Financial Markets Companies in China for Information Technology firms

• Take the help of local players for system integration- Most local services providers participate in the systems integration market based on their implementation capabilities, and skilled & low-cost labor
• Partner with local ISVs- Trend in China is for multinational services providers to cooperate actively with local players to supplement their advantages to target one deal (Source: Gartner).
• Combination of re-usable package solutions and customized solutions will be required-  China has different types of universal banks, which result in highly customized demands. The challenge for foreign vendors, therefore, is to balance profit between reusable package solutions and customized solutions.
• Understanding and collaborating with the ‘Financial Market’ firms will be required- Compared with Western banks, Chinese Financial Markets firms have several special characteristics that require IT services providers not only to sell IT products and solutions, but also to fully understand their clients' business operations. The challenges for IT services providers are daunting — especially for entry-level providers that may lack the talent to fully understand Chinese banks' characteristics
• Replicating the western management best practices is high on agenda for the Chinese ‘Financial Market’ firms- Most Chinese banks have made foreign financial partners their equity owners, and these partners often bring with them more-mature Western management best practices to bank operations, including IT system operations. This situation tends to prompt local service providers to develop their capability to match the demands of Western management best practices.
• Expected road-blocks- 1) Less-innovative business models and not enough data analysis to support the new business delivery, 2) At times, CIOs and CTOs, who are responsible for coordinating solutions between the business operation and the IT system lack the understanding of the systems and processes
• Opening local COE and training programs-  Opening of the COE and training programs for the employees in China could help a long way in establishing a brand name. Further, the CIOs and CTOs need to be educated about the advantages of solutions and applications; thought leadership on the same will help us build a market for our products