By W.B. King
Billed as bringing together developers and leaders from fintechs, financial institutions (FIs), and technology companies, Jack Henry’s upcoming Developer Conference (Devcon) will cater to organizations building or planning to build on Jack Henry's developer platform.
"Jack Henry remains committed to fostering a collaborative ecosystem that offers financial institutions an open environment to innovate, along with access to hundreds of fintechs, ensuring they stay relevant and competitive both now and in the future," noted Chad Killingsworth, head of engineering with Jack Henry.
Centered on the company's ongoing development of a single, modern, open-banking platform that enables easy access to a broad ecosystem of Jack Henry solutions and third-party fintechs, Devcon was formulated to further support Jack Henry's technology modernization strategy, added Killingsworth. The company has integrated more than 1,000 fintechs into its ecosystem.
Amanda Horton, senior vice president and director of digital banking development at the Pine Bluff, Ark.-based Simmons Bank, is among FI executives looking forward to the event, which takes place on November 20, 2024, at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas.
"While many conferences take a broad, high-level approach, Jack Henry Devcon offers an invaluable opportunity for the technical teams at financial institutions and fintechs to delve into the details of new innovations and technology," said Horton. "We're excited for the opportunity to engage with this community and look forward to insightful conversations that will help us continue delivering modern banking experiences that better serve our accountholders."
Hitting Benchmarks
The impetus for Devcon, in part, was derived from Jack Henry's 2024 Benchmark Study, the sixth annual installment. In May 2024, Jack Henry’s Senior Director of Corporate Strategy Lee Wetherington was a guest on an episode the Finopotamus TechSolutions4CUs podcast and discussed report findings.
“There are two ways to affect that efficiency ratio, two parts to that equation. One is materially reducing expenses; the other is materially improving revenues. But expenses are where the fiercest focus is right now,” Wetherington told host John San Filippo. “And this is what segues us into a conversation about generative AI (artificial intelligence), the promise of generative AI, its applications in the back office, what it can do in terms of streamlining processes what are otherwise manually intensive and cost inefficient.”
Wetherington’s comments track with other findings in the Benchmark Study, including that 80% of all FIs plan to increase technology spending over the next two years. Only 37% of credit unions, however, plan to increase technology investments between 6% and 10%, while most banks (37%) plan to increase their investments between 1% and 5%.
Creating Space for Developers
Study responses were received from 127 bank and credit union CEOs, representing a diverse sample of Jack Henry clients across the U.S., with assets ranging from under $500 million to more than $10 billion. Other report findings include that 96% of FIs plan to add payment services within the next two years, with the FedNow Service being the top priority for both banks and credit unions – but other service offerings are also gaining interest.
“Public, cloud-native platforms will also be critical in handling the demands associated with real-time data analytics and data management en masse. Deploying and enhancing your cloud infrastructure effectively requires skills and expertise vastly different from those needed for legacy systems,” noted Jack Henry’s Lead Digital Analyst of Corporate Strategy Carlos Lopez. “As you strive to develop a modern technology stack, acquiring talent proficient in managing cloud native solutions and data cannot be overlooked.”
As Killingsworth looks forward to the inaugural thinktank fintech event later this month, which is geared toward developing a novel, interactive fintech network, he said: “Jack Henry's Devcon supports this strategy by creating a space for developers across the industry to collaborate, explore new possibilities, and uncover capabilities they may not have considered before."