Strategy Projects
Within Celent's Strategy Consulting practice, we regularly
assist senior executives in better defining their strategies and maximizing
their market impact. Some of the areas in which Celent is active are outlined
below.
Competitive intelligence, benchmarking, &
analysis
Celent provides its clients with detailed
information and analysis on the competitive landscape, whether the client is
a financial institution looking to gauge its positioning vis-à-vis other
financial institutions or a technology vendor looking to compare its
solutions to competitors. Celent evaluates:
- Technologies used
- Functionality supported
- Products supported
- Performance metrics
- Future plans and strategies
Recent projects include:
- Benchmarking study for a top-25 life
insurer on advisor workstations. Celent performed in-depth primary
research of competitors' offerings and presented recommendations based on
client's current position, goals, and capabilities.
- Detailed benchmarking study of teller and
platform technology for a top-five US bank. Celent obtained the
participation of ten top banks for which we collected detailed data on the
technologies used in the branch, functionality and products supported,
performance metrics, and future plans of these peer banks.
Market sizing & market positioning
Celent is available to analyze the overall
size of various markets, today and looking ahead several years, along a
variety of criteria, including:
- Overall spending estimates
- Adoption rates
- By country, by region
- By size of financial institution
- By technology platform
Celent evaluates how firms can best position
their products/solutions to compete in various markets going forward. Celent
suggests product enhancements and modifications, identifies tiers of target
clients, and outlines the strengths to emphasize in sales conversations and
how to address weaknesses. Celent also develops detailed market entry
strategies for firms considering new markets.
Recent projects include:
- Analysis of online personal lines
insurance market for top-50 US insurer, including projected
adoption rates, detailed competitive information, and best practices.
Results presented to CMO were key to determining strategy for online unit.
- Review of the market for global equities
trading for one of the largest investment banks in the world.
Celent analyzed volumes of institutional order flow, determined source of
orders, and helped the investment bank revamp their equities trading
offering and target new markets.
- Market analysis of P/C technology
market for spin-off technology unit of top 10 international P/C insurer.
Celent's analysis and assessment of market potential, which were presented to
the CEO, were instrumental in determining launch strategy and target market.
- Preparation of a market study for a
capital markets vendor providing portfolio optimization and monitoring
tools to buy-side firms in the managed account space. Celent conducted
extensive interviews with buy-side firms in order to assess interest
levels, uncover the most promising customer segments, determine an optimal
pricing strategy, and help position the product against competitors in the
market.
Product Feature Requirements/Gap
Analysis
Celent identifies gaps in product and service
offerings that should be addressed in order to compete more effectively in
the market, whether the client is an established player that would like to
enhance its competitive edge or a firm seeking to enter a new market with an
existing solution or service. Celent extensively reviews features,
functionality, technology, connectivity, ease of use, and other aspects of
the solution that affect its effectiveness and perception in the market. We
compare solutions and services to competitors in order to identify areas of
strength and weakness and identify new market opportunities.
Recent projects include:
- Gap analysis and product positioning for a
leading French software vendor of transaction processing solutions for the
capital markets industry that had not met with success in the US market
since its entrance several years ago. Celent identified technical areas of
weakness in the solution that should be addressed in order to compete more
effectively in the US market, suggested which tiers of broker-dealers the
firm should target with its solution, and suggested an approach for
molding its market perception.
Strategy Review
Celent works with financial institutions and
other clients to review and advise on strategies for product development,
product or service introduction, customer acquisition, and operations. In
addition to strategic thinking, Celent provides market context and
independent perspective.
Recent projects include:
- E-business strategy review and consulting
for specialty liability insurance unit of top-10 international
insurance group. Celent advised the e-business team on relevant trends
and competitive activities, facilitated strategy development, and gave
them the tools they needed to present to senior management.
- Financial services go-to-market strategy
for top-five international IT hardware vendor. Celent reviewed
strategy, plans, and organization, and provided market data and guidance
on focusing resources and messaging to position horizontal technology
offerings to vertical financial services markets. Celent’s advice helped
shape vendor’s positioning.
- Development of a business strategy for a
major hardware vendor in the financial services industry. Celent
identified the areas of greatest opportunity for the vendor’s offering on
a global basis, including Europe, North American and Asia-Pacific. In
addition, Celent determined the best way to penetrate these markets and
evaluated independent software vendors to act as partners.
- Creation of a business strategy for
electronic trading for one of the largest securities brokerages in
Japan. The project analyzed the potential market, segmented both the
customer base and competitors, and assessed the technical architectures of
competing firms.
New Market Entry
For clients seeking to enter new markets, be
it a new geographic region or with a new product, Celent is available to
help in a variety of ways:
- Market overview (size, composition, key
trends)
- Competitive analysis
- Discuss and obtain feedback from financial
institutions and/or prospective clients
- Product positioning
- Recommendations
Recent projects include:
- A thorough market entrance strategy for a
leading Indian software vendor looking to enter the market with
both a retail Internet banking solution as well as a Web-based cash
management solution. Celent reviewed the current market opportunities for
these applications, provided an exhaustive competitive analysis,
recommended the best approach for entering the market according to the
parameters of the client, discussed upcoming trends to address in these
markets, and gave recommendations.
- Market analysis and product positioning
for a large international payments processor looking to enter the
business-to-employee (B2E) market. Celent analyzed the size of the
potential market on a global basis, payment options available to enter the
market, and current competitors. Celent recommended the best products and
positioning for the client to enter the markets of interest.
Vendor
Selection for Financial Institutions
Celent provides its insight, assistance, and
project management skills to financial institutions seeking to select a new
vendor solution. We are available to help in a variety of phases:
- Requirements gathering and generating a
short-list of vendors
- Preparation and distribution of a Request
for Information (RFI) and/or Request for Proposal (RFP)
- RFI/RFP process management, including
analysis of responses
- Vendor selection assistance, including
participation in vendor meetings and due diligence efforts
- Final discussions and recommendation
Recent projects include:
- Vendor selection project for a top-five
US life insurer. Celent assisted in identifying and evaluating vendors
for an outsourced business process, enabling faster decision-making by
client.
- Vendor selection assistance for a top-25 global bank in the market for a replacement solution for its
Web-based corporate banking/small business banking application. The bank
had narrowed its search down to three vendor solutions and engaged Celent
to review the information they collected, supplement it with our own
insight, and provide a recommendation given their requirements.
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