Fujitsu "Finplex" to Systematize Financial Solutions and Accelerate Digital Transformation in the Financial Sector

Fujitsu today announced the introduction of its new systematic approach to the financial solutions it offers through the FUJITSU Digital Business Platform MetaArc. The approach, known as "Finplex,"⁽¹⁾ will commence rolling out from today in the aim of future co-creation with its financial institution customers.

As one element of Finplex, Fujitsu will offer the APIs⁽²⁾ for finance-related services. These APIs will enable customers to create and quickly deploy new financial services. Going forward, Fujitsu plans to further build out Finplex to help financial institutions make their operations run more efficiently and to create innovative services by collaborating with companies in other industries, and to provide solutions that bring long-term business growth to its customers in the financial sector.

As a partner in the age of digital transformation, Fujitsu aims to help its customers develop better products and services and create new value. To that end, Fujitsu will offer its accumulated wide-ranging industry and business expertise as services over MetaArc, based on its FUJITSU Knowledge Integration concept. The financial IT solutions of Finplex represent the first example of this approach.

Background

Digital business has grown rapidly with the dramatic advance of digital technologies in recent years, such as mobile, cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence, and social networking.

Financial institutions are seeking to enhance the value of the role they play as indispensable partners in the economic activities and the everyday lives of their customers. To that end, they are stepping up efforts to create new value for their customers and to provide innovative services to attract new business, all while maintaining the safe and trustworthy financial services.

To date, Fujitsu has targeted the needs of financial institutions that offer financial services, mainly by providing solutions in the systems-of-record (SoR⁽³⁾) area. Presently, Fujitsu, while maintaining the high levels of reliability of its SoR solutions, will offer solutions in the systems-of-engagement (SoE⁽⁴⁾) area, responding to the needs of users of financial services. Furthermore, the company will help financial institutions create new value by creating connections between businesses using FUJITSU Knowledge Integration, which transcends the boundaries between businesses and sectors. The financial solutions designed for that purpose will now be offered as Finplex solutions.

Finplex Overview

Finplex is the name under which Fujitsu is systematizing its solutions for accelerating the digital transformation of financial institutions, and together with them, co-creation for the future. This will encompass the company's financial institution and financial service related SaaS, PaaS, solutions packages, and applications foundation, which will be provided via MetaArc, Fujitsu's digital business platform that integrates advanced technologies including the cloud, big data, IoT, mobile, and AI.

1. Offers range of APIs for finance-related services, streamlines system development and accelerates cross-industry collaboration

Finplex provides a variety of APIs for financial field businesses and services. Furthermore, customers can combine different APIs, and while quickly creating proofs of concept and proofs of business, can easily co-create innovative services, at low cost, in collaboration with fintech companies or companies in other industries.

2. Easy selection from MetaArc-based prepared solutions that fit goals and speed service

Finplex is built on MetaArc to provide a SaaS, PaaS, solutions packages, and applications foundation. This makes it easy for customers to assemble combinations of solutions that meet their needs in terms of business goals, business plans, budgets, and product and service offerings at any particular time. With only minimal system development, business processes are faster and more efficient for the implementation of new services.

3. Allows for hybrid operations that combine existing on-premise systems and cloud services

Customers are not obliged to implement their entire systems on MetaArc. They can also use hybrid operations that combine with their existing on-premise systems. So, for example, they could use their existing on-premise system for SoR operations, with their SoE operations running with Finplex on MetaArc. These two connect seamlessly for efficient, integrated operations.

Future Plans

Fujitsu plans to quickly expand the range of solutions being offered under Finplex, and by bringing together the knowledge of Fujitsu and customers in the financial sector with the creativity and original ideas of startups, particularly in the fintech area, Fujitsu is working to maximize the value created by its customers and the financial sector as a whole.

As part of this, Fujitsu will launch its own "Lean Startup Planning Program for Finance-related Services." Commencing in April 2016, this program aims to as quickly as possible bring Fujitsu's new financial services ideas to life, through expedited investment decisions, such as by putting in place flexible tie-ups and other relationships with fintech startups, and providing a wide degree of freedom.

In addition, Fujitsu will move forward with projects available to the nearly 160,000 employees in the Fujitsu Group that will provide financial services using the latest business ideas and digital technologies, to try out proofs of concept, and strive for a reference model in which the company itself takes the perspective of the user of the service. In addition to these efforts, Fujitsu is leading ideathons⁽⁵⁾ and hackathons⁽⁶⁾ to develop new finance-related services.

Under the slogan "Knowledge Integration for Big Change," Fujitsu is working with its customers and partners to use their collective knowledge to create new value.