The financial services industry (FSI) operates in an environment defined by rapid change and increasing complexity. From mitigating cybersecurity risks to navigating economic volatility, organisations must adapt quickly while maintaining efficiency. Content is the heart of business operations in the FSI sector — from product information and policies, to compliance guidelines and training. Strategic content management systems, built on structured content patterns and well-defined rules, enable companies to address these challenges by improving operational workflows, ensuring compliance and staying agile in the face of industry shifts.

7 key business challenges for FSI organisations.

FSI organisations face numerous challenges with far-reaching content management implications. Organisations worldwide are realising that addressing these seven challenges often begins with uncovering and resolving underlying content issues.

1. Regulatory compliance.

The regulatory landscape is constantly evolving, with stringent requirements across multiple jurisdictions. Compliance means more than just “track changes.” Ensuring compliance is often costly, but the cost of non-compliance is even higher with the risk of punitive lawsuits, regulatory fines and reputational damage.

Structured content systems serve as a single source of truth for compliance-critical materials, simplifying the management of regulatory updates across jurisdictions. This reduces the likelihood of human errors, allows quick responses to new compliance requirements and simplifies audits by maintaining consistent version control and clear documentation trails. This ensures accurate version control, enables quick updates to meet new regulatory demands and facilitates the tracking of changes across multiple jurisdictions.

Mashell Cox, who oversees personal investing content as vice president of product management with Fidelity Investments, said that whenever they create content, a new version is created in the system. That way they can always see the full version history of the content, including who created it, the complete review workflow and formal sign-off and all related comments. If necessary, they can always roll back to one version earlier. “It’s not just change tracking; it’s also version management where you can manage multiple versions of the same information units.” Compliance is all about managing risk. And if an issue does arise, the organisation needs to be able to resolve it quickly and correctly in every instance, in every language.

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2. Fraud and financial crime.

The industry is grappling with increasingly sophisticated fraud schemes. As a result, financial losses and regulatory scrutiny threaten profitability and customer trust.

Structured content lets organisations deploy updates quickly, ensuring that frontline teams have immediate access to the latest information about fraud patterns and mitigation strategies. Organising vetted content into consistent, reusable components allows these systems to enhance the effectiveness of AI-powered fraud detection tools. By proactively identifying threats and maintaining compliance, structured content systems enable financial institutions to safeguard customers and adapt to evolving risks.

J.P. Morgan’s use of AI-powered large language models for payment validation screening speeds up processing by reducing false positives and creating better queue management. The result has been lower levels of fraud and better customer experience, with account validation rejection rates cut by 15% to 20%. This approach aligns with the benefits of structured content — where timely updates and consistent communication can be shared with front-line teams and even directly with customers, empowering them with accurate information to detect and address fraud swiftly.

3. Personalised content at scale.

Customers demand seamless, personalised digital experiences that adapt to their unique preferences and contexts, whether based on geography, regulatory requirements or individual behaviours. Failure to meet these expectations leads to customer dissatisfaction and churn.

A structured component content management system (CCMS) can use AI to create personalised customer experiences. By using metadata and taxonomy effectively, systems can parse thousands or even millions of approved topics and then deliver a tailored message so customers receive relevant and approved content aligned with their preferences.

Brian Scordinsky, client technical director with EY, adds that highly tailored responses may vary by audience. There may be differences between countries, as well as the type of client audited. Audits for publicly traded companies are vastly different than government audits. This means that content varies greatly between readers. EY’s generative AI tools can deliver a better solution, personalised to the reader and do so with filtering and prompt engineering based on rich metadata. Scordinsky confirms that structured content means software tools now do “all the heavy lifting for our content operations. It also maintains all the metadata that goes downstream to power our search experience. Eventually, it will feed into large language models to enable generative AI chat experiences.” This means that from millions of topics in dozens of languages, it’s possible to dynamically create and deliver the right information, to the right customer, in the right format, at the right time.

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4. Cybersecurity threats and data security compliance.

Cyberattacks targeting sensitive financial data are becoming more sophisticated, demanding more stringent security measures. Compliance with regulations like Europe’s General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) or the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) adds further complexity to interactions with millions of people.

A structured CCMS offers robust, centralised data governance capabilities that allow financial institutions to enforce uniform security protocols across all content assets. Encryption, role-based access and audit trails ensure sensitive data is protected while meeting regulatory requirements.

Bernard Aschwanden, Adobe Experience Manager Guides technologist with CCMS Kickstart said, “Organisations frequently face the question of how to protect sensitive customer data and maintain compliance with agencies around the world.” Beyond the immediate need for encryption, role-based access and audit trails — any workable solution requires a cultural shift towards proactive content governance. This includes reviewing and streamlining workflows so sensitive data is correctly tagged and monitored, establishing clear ownership of content across departments and implementing robust processes for identifying and addressing vulnerabilities before they escalate. Aschwanden continues, “By embedding security and compliance into every stage of the content lifecycle, organisations can not only reduce risk but also build trust with regulators and customers alike.”

To learn more, check out the on-demand recording of this Adobe webinar.

5. Talent acquisition and employee retention.

Finding and retaining skilled employees and fostering global collaboration are key challenges. A lack of efficient tools and insufficient team communication can lead to dissatisfaction and high turnover. Without effective collaboration mechanisms, up to date information and a sense of ownership and inclusion employees may feel disconnected, which reduces engagement and increases turnover. The absence of integrated systems also creates inefficiencies, frustrating employees and stifling innovation.

A structured CCMS fosters collaboration and supports employee engagement by streamlining communication across teams. Centralised content platforms enhance efficiency and foster stronger connections to organisational objectives. Automation of repetitive tasks enables teams to prioritise high-value initiatives, enhancing engagement and reducing employee turnover.

Sam Azarello, head of content strategy with J.P. Morgan Global Research, highlights the transformation in employee engagement through effective tools. Organisationally, J.P. Morgan moved to empower teams to collaborate more seamlessly, in part by enabling them to access and interact with the most up to date content dynamically. Azarello added, “I found that there’d be questions around information. I told the team that we want to be ultra-responsive.” This approach fostered a culture of responsiveness and effective communication, making employees feel supported. This improves efficiency by automating routine processes and creates opportunities for employees to focus on more strategic tasks, leading to a sense of fulfilment. “We were the information switchboard,” Azarello said, emphasising how their team’s role in connecting people and ensuring access to the right resources was pivotal. This cohesive approach contributes in part to reducing turnover by ensuring employees are supported, connected and engaged in their work.

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6. Technological advancements and legacy integration.

Financial services organisations struggle to maintain their content operations with outdated and fragmented legacy systems. These systems can include unsupported mainframe libraries, spreadsheets, customised databases and obsolete publishing tools. Such systems often become inefficient, can be prone to software and hardware issues and are unable to keep up with the demands of a modern content management approach.

Reliance on legacy systems leads to significant inefficiencies and creates silos across the content lifecycle. Authors may have to perform redundant manual tasks, such as updating metadata in multiple places, which increases the risk of human errors and inconsistencies. The lack of automation and consolidated content management makes it difficult to deliver timely updates, limits content reuse opportunities and makes reporting cumbersome — hindering business agility.

Modern content management systems provide unified cloud-based authoring and publishing environments, streamlined workflows with consolidated metadata management and automated review and approval processes. By transitioning from disparate desktop tools to an integrated cloud platform, organisations can significantly improve content reuse, reduce manual tasks and ensure that all stakeholders have access to accurate and up to date content. This shift allows companies to focus more on innovation and strategic content delivery.

Valerie Stafford, knowledge management department manager at Erie Insurance, shared that the move to structured content with Adobe Experience Manager Guides revolutionised how the business manages and publishes content. “We no longer rely on unsupported systems or manual tracking. Everything is integrated into one platform.” This change has not only enhanced the efficiency of processes but also provided the capability to deliver consistent and high-quality content to users, all while preparing Erie for future innovations in content personalisation and generative AI. They have also been able to significantly improve their content reuse strategy. The platform’s robust metadata management tools allow teams to identify and reuse content effectively, reducing redundancy and ensuring consistency across all publications. Additionally, “The automated review and approval workflows have reduced bottlenecks, making it easier for us to collaborate and meet tight deadlines. We are now well-positioned to scale content operations and meet the evolving needs of clients, while also exploring new ways to leverage AI for enhanced customer experiences.”

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7. Economic challenges and scalability of responses.

Economic volatility, geopolitical change and global reactions to inflation create challenges for FSI companies in maintaining profitability while managing customer expectations. International pressures are placed on profit margins and they need to quickly react to change.

Scalable content management systems help FSI organisations adapt quickly during economic volatility. By enabling the efficient repurpose of existing content, these systems minimise response times and reduce operational costs. For example, during periods of high inflation, pre-approved customer communication templates can be quickly updated and deployed to ensure consistent messaging without extensive rework.

Keshav Rao, GM digital, martech and branding at HDFC Ltd., explains, "We recognised the importance of adaptability and progress. Our decision to migrate was born from the desire to not only overcome challenges but to actively embrace growth.” This showcases how rapid adaptation to economic volatility can empower organisations to meet shifting market demands efficiently while maintaining customer trust and operational excellence. Rao concludes, “We are enhancing website performance, scalability and operational efficiency to position ourselves as leaders in our industry. This strategic move signifies not just a technological upgrade but a transformation, setting the stage for our continued success in the digital realm.”

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Top content management challenges in FSI.

The content management challenges in the FSI industry are multifaceted and the impact can be felt in all areas of a business. Clear communication is central to navigating challenges such as compliance updates, customer engagement and internal collaboration. Well-designed workflows mitigate delays, foster departmental alignment and support rapid responses to pressing issues like regulatory changes and fraud alerts. Ideally this is streamlined into unified workflows, centralised content control and efficient publishing tools. Content planning, creation, review, versioning, translation, publishing, tracking and reuse needs to happen in a single integrated solution. Together, these features reduce redundancies, standardise workflows and enable faster delivery of accurate, compliant content — ultimately decreasing overhead while improving operational efficiency in FSI organisations.

1. Managing large volumes of data: Structured content and metadata tagging can efficiently organise vast amounts of data, such as customer information and regulatory documents. By breaking content into reusable components, institutions can significantly reduce redundancy, ensuring consistency and accuracy across all customer touchpoints.
2. Integration with legacy systems: Integration remains one of the biggest hurdles for many FSI organisations. A flexible architecture allows for seamless integration with legacy systems, eliminating data silos and creating a unified view of content.
3. Real-time data access and analytics: Real-time access to accurate information is crucial. Metadata, taxonomies and related content analytics allow for advanced tagging and search capabilities, ensuring that content consumers can quickly find the information they need, so they can make informed decisions faster.
4. Collaboration and content consistency: With dispersed teams, users and customers across different locations, collaboration is key. Collaborative editing features allow multiple stakeholders to work on content simultaneously, ensuring faster review cycles and reducing bottlenecks.

Managed, structured content is advanced content.

Structured content is no longer just a tool for efficiency; it’s becoming the cornerstone of transformation in the FSI industry. Structured content positions organisations not just to adapt to change but to take the lead in a competitive, fast-evolving market. Structured content equips FSI companies to overcome present-day challenges and seize future opportunities through agility and collaboration.

Looking ahead, the transformative potential of structured content lies in its ability to drive innovation. By using AI to predict market trends, driving proactive risk management and enhancing regulatory transparency organisations can unlock new ways to engage customers. With advanced content workflows, FSI companies can turn their ecosystems into engines of foresight — anticipating customer needs and adapting to market shifts before they arise. In doing so, they’ll go beyond navigating the complexities of today and define the future of the FSI industry.

Interested in learning more? Visit the Adobe Experience Manager Guides website.

Saibal Bhattacharjee is the director of product marketing for the Digital Advertising, Learning & Publishing Business Unit at Adobe.

Saibal has been with Adobe for 15 years and is currently in charge of global GTM and business strategy for a diverse product portfolio in Adobe — ranging from market-leading cloud-native component content management system (Adobe Experience Manager Guides), advertising & subscription monetisation products for connected multiscreen TV platforms (Adobe Pass), to content authoring and publishing desktop apps (Adobe FrameMaker, Adobe RoboHelp).

With more than 21 years of experience in the technology sector, Saibal is a high impact marketing, strategy and product executive with a passion for tackling the most complex challenges in enterprise software and turning solutions into scalable works of enterprise-grade art. He has successfully built, mentored and managed global GTM teams spanning India, US, UK, Germany and Japan for more than a decade. Saibal holds a B.E. degree from Jadavpur University, Kolkata and an M.B.A. degree from the Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi.