“Innovation provides that ‘cool-factor’ for the modern smart consumer,” comments Bill Livezey, Director, Financial Services for Intelligent Cloud at Microsoft. “Aside from being bound by regulation and compliance, the one thing all of these organisations share is savvy and demanding customers. Financial health is top of mind for everyone. It competes with and often impacts your physical and mental health. We saw the COVID-19 crisis make this worry infinitely worse for millions of people…”
Intelligent Cloud
“I believe most consumers are more informed than ever and it’s a challenge for the employees of the financial services industry to meet their expectations,” says Livezey.
“Those employees have access to online tools and enormous quantities of data but the trick is making that data work for you. Whether it’s an insurance policy or retirement portfolio, your value is in providing insights to your customers and doing that in a safe and compliant manner. That is where our Intelligent Cloud offering comes in.”
A broad set of data models and tools in Microsoft’s Intelligent Cloud work together and allows for its partners to join in providing specialised solutions. “This orchestration means you can build differentiated experiences quickly,” adds Livezey. “And you are doing that inside an industry-compliant and secure public cloud.”
Continuous Improvement
Since Satya Nadella took the helm to lead Microsoft as its CEO, Livezey notes the company culture has shifted into a higher gear when it comes to learning. “The tone and timbre is not that ‘Microsoft has all the answers’… There is no shame in not knowing all the answers. Which is a blessing for me because I don’t!” jokes this humble IT leader when contemplating what continuous improvement looks like in 2022.
“My style reflects what Microsoft is trying to do when supporting its customers – listen and learn. If you want to grow as a person, as a professional and as a member of society, it’s important to contribute to the conversation when it makes sense, but not just because there’s a spot to jump in and say something. That’s my aim, and the goal for Microsoft, when we’re collaborating with our employees and customers around the globe.”
