According to a study by IBM and Broadridge, financial market firms are experiencing a “1-2 punch” of regulatory compliance and customer demands that are forcing the companies to change the way they manage digital information.

According to the study, the companies that are excelling in these times of change are focusing externally. They’re looking at how they can differentiate from competitors, improve “marketplace agility,” and expand their companies geographically, allowing for increased worker flexibility and supporting local industries.

“Based on regulatory, competitive and margin pressures facing financial services firms today, current operational systems are challenged to deliver the needed scale and cost efficiencies,” said Charles Marchesani, corporate vice president of securities processing solutions as Broadridge, in a press release. “Increasingly, financial firms are looking externally to adopt more flexible and scalable operating models to quickly respond to new growth opportunities and the continuous regulatory changes.”

In addition, the source states that the current leaders are at least three times more client-focused than those falling behind and 2.5 times more collaborative across departments than industry laggards. These essential characteristics can be improved by investing in custom database software.

By consulting FileMaker developers, companies can create custom applications that can be used across all departments to store and share information. Customer relationship software can hold necessary details about demographics, which can then be shared throughout the company, allowing for greater collaboration as all departments will have a greater understanding of their clients.

Furthermore, by using custom database software to mold the program to their specific needs, companies will be able to comply to the regulations while still maintaining a close watch on consumer demands and trends.