How Are You Navigating the 2012 Banking IT Budget Process?

Whether they are bigger or smaller than in 2011, banks' 2012 IT budgets will have to address everything from compliance to core systems to customer experience. Tell us how your budget is shaping up by participating in a Bank Systems & Technology survey.

It's IT budgeting season in banking, and no doubt the process this year will be more stressful than ever at many financial institutions. With the economy slumping amid concerns about unemployment, deficits, sovereign debt and political discord, banks are under more pressure than ever to control costs (as evidenced by recent announcements of layoffs on Wall Street). But the 2012 budget challenges won't all be about cutbacks. IT executives also will need to make some savvy decisions about investing in emerging digital channels, replacing core systems and improving decision-making capabilities -- all of which relate to driving growth and improving customer loyalty.

What's the budget outlook at your organization? How are you managing the perpetual balancing act between efficiency and cost controls on the one hand, and service, customer experience and growth initiatives on the other? You can tell us about your priorities and concerns by participating in a brief Bank Systems & Technology survey, available at this link. We'll be discussing the research at next week's BS&T Executive Summit in Phoenix, and post-event we'll report in-depth on how the 2012 IT budgets are shaping up. If you think there's more to the story, let me know at [email protected] or on Twitter at @kathyburger. And good luck!

Katherine Burger is Editorial Director of Bank Systems & Technology and Insurance & Technology, members of UBM TechWeb's InformationWeek Financial Services. She assumed leadership of Bank Systems & Technology in 2003 and of Insurance & Technology in 1991. In addition to ... View Full Bio