The Growing Role of Managed Services in Financial IT
by: Piotr Warszawa
The financial sector is evolving at an unprecedented pace, with banks and fintechs increasingly relying on technology to enhance or improve the productivity, flexibility, security and scalability of their operations. The rapid adoption of cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and automation has made IT infrastructure more complex than ever before. As a result, almost all financial institutions are facing operational or investment challenges to meet ever-increasing demands to streamline operations, reduce or avoid costs and improve time-to-market, etc. To address these challenges, many financial institutions are turning to Managed Services. But what exactly are Managed Services, and how do they revolutionize IT operations in the financial sector? Let’s explore this topic with real-world examples and expert insights.
The Challenge: IT Complexity and the Need for Specialized Support
Financial institutions operate in a highly regulated and fast-changing environment. They face critical challenges such as:
- Managing IT environments efficiently without overburdening internal teams
- Achieving required or expected operational efficiency while avoiding or reducing potential costs
- Scaling operations rapidly in response to market demands
Financial institutions that already have IT departments and processes in place are trying to keep up with new IT challenges with the resources they have – but do we always have enough space, skills and knowledge, or enough time and money to acquire them?
For fintech startups and smaller banks, these challenges are even more pronounced. Many lack the in-house expertise to handle complex IT systems or the financial resources to build a dedicated IT department.
The dependency triangle
Delivered, deployed and then used IT services are the set of IT processes, technology and IT staff that create an IT Environment that works for a given business and delivers business value to that business. These three elements are: processes, technology and people, and form a kind of ‘dependency triangle’. For many modern businesses, the IT Environment can be a competitive advantage and/or make the business run very efficiently and seamlessly. On the other hand, an inefficient, mismanaged, unstable IT Environment can be the cause of many business failures and high operating costs.
To better understand the concept of Managed Services, let’s take a closer look at what is behind the terms: people, processes, and technology.
Processes implement business objectives and describe how business and technical (IT) services are delivered. They represent an ordered set of operations (a series of interrelated activities or tasks) designed to achieve a specific business result, solve a specific problem or lead to the achievement of a specific business or technical objective.
Technology is the sum of the IT resources (software / hardware), methods, means and activities related to the processing of information and the provision of technical services that support or perform business services, tasks and activities. Technology in the financial sector includes IT hardware (computers, servers, disk arrays and other tools) and software related to the collection, processing, transmission, storage, security and presentation of information.
People who carry out specific activities, tasks, work within specific organizational structures. A specific group of people are those who carry out activities in the field of IT – implementing or participating in business and technical processes, developing existing platforms and IT systems or IT services, implementing new ones, and carrying out maintenance and repair activities.
What Are Managed Services? A Strategic IT Approach
Managed Services involve the management of IT infrastructure, applications, and operations to a specialized third-party provider. This model allows banks and fintechs to delegate complex IT tasks while focusing on their core business activities.
Typical Managed Services include:
- Infrastructure management (servers, networks, cloud environments, Kubernetes clusters)
- Management of services (based on the SaaS, PaaS or IaaS model)
- Application maintenance and monitoring (IT platforms, middleware)
- Process automation (automating IT workflows, DevOps integration)
- Helpdesk and support services (24/7 technical assistance, troubleshooting)
Case Study: How INCAT Managed Services Transformed a Bank’s IT Operations
INCAT Managed Services (INCAT MS) as technical operational services have been provided by a specialized INCAT team that managed and executed the list of tasks specified in the Service Catalogue. This approach allowed our client to minimize its involvement in technical monitoring and environmental management. All activities, actions taken, observations and recommendations related to the dedicated IT environment were summarized by the INCAT team in a monthly report to the Client.
1)Scope – INCAT MS have been delivered as a service that provides a management service for a dedicated Kubernetes cluster, the entire BOS (designed by INCAT) microservices installation, as well as the management and execution of day-to-day and periodic technical activities and tasks on infrastructure components.
2) Tools – INCAT MS have been delivered using the following tools based on open-source solutions and commercial solutions such as:
- Kafka
- Postgres
- OpenSearch
- Fluent Bit
- Prometheus
- Grafana
- Kong
3) Deployment and Configuration – INCAT MS has made the deployment and configuration of a dedicated IT environment very efficient and seamless. This has been achieved through the use of:
- Helm Charts
- Gitlab compatible CD scripts
- Terraform scripts
- Grafana dashboards
- Grafana alerts
- Vault configuration as a code
- Logging configuration as a code
- Database configuration as a code
- Monitoring configuration as a code
- Networking configuration as a code
4) Activities – INCAT MS have been provided for management and execution of day-to-day and periodic technical activities and tasks on infrastructure components in the following areas:
- Check list (daily/weekly/monthly)
- Monitoring (permanent or periodic)
- Capacity & Performance
- Logging
- Backup/Restore
- IT DRP
- Management of infrastructure components
- and the like (based on client requirements)
Worth knowing!
Whether or not managed services qualify as IT outsourcing depends on the scope and importance of the services to the company’s business. Not every managed service will be treated as outsourcing under the law. The key criterion is the degree of relevance of the service in question to the company’s operations. If the services involve critical processes or the processing of sensitive data, they will be considered outsourcing and will require the application of the relevant regulations and the approval of the Financial Regulator.
By leveraging INCAT Managed Services, they:
- Reduced time-to-market
- Achieved cost savings or avoidance in IT operations
- Enhanced availability of business services through proactive monitoring
Our services included:
- Managing a dedicated Kubernetes cluster
- Automating deployments using Terraform and Helm Charts
- Implementing real-time monitoring with Grafana and Prometheus
The result? A fully optimized IT environment that allowed the bank to scale without IT bottlenecks.
The Pros and Cons of Managed Services in Banking
However, these challenges can be mitigated by choosing a provider with a proven track record in banking solutions and regulatory compliance.
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About the Author
Piotr Warszawa is a highly experienced IT and banking professional with over 25 years of expertise in the financial sector. He has held key leadership positions, including Head of IT Operations in Eurobank SA and Country Chief Technology Officer in Poland within Societe Generale GTS (Global Technical Services) Western Europe, IT Regional Director of IT Office in Bank PKO BP SA, Senior Consultant in INCAT sp. z o.o. and Interim IT Manager at Digital Bank D360 from Saudi Arabia, where he played a pivotal role in driving IT operation processes, digital transformation and IT strategy. Piotr specializes in IT Processes and IT Governances IT Infrastructure Management, and cloud solutions, with a strong focus on IT Operations including Managed Services—helping financial institutions optimize operations, enhance security, and improve scalability. His deep understanding of banking IT ecosystems allows him to design and implement highly resilient, scalable, and compliant IT environments.
Contact the Author: piotr.warszawa@incat.com.pl