Sean Farrell + Financial Services Technology

04/06/22 • 38 min

IT Matters | Tech Solutions and Strategies for Every Industry

In this episode, host Aaron Bock interviews Sean Farrell, CEO of financial services technology company QDS.

Conversation Highlights:

The cause for QDS's technology evolution (5:24)
Considering IT in the organization vs. as part of the solutions provided (8:46)
Communicating effectively internally as a team set up across 12 states and growing (11:32)
Cool ways people connected through technology during COVID (13:18)
Where local community banks and credit unions are struggling with technology (16:28)
Who is getting most involved in IT decisions from the financial services side, and where QDS is seeing the most objections (18:28)
What differentiates the technologically advanced financial services organizations (20:39)
The difference between ITMs and ATMs (23:25)
Why managed services is one of the trends financial services organizations need to be paying attention to (24:19)
And why Bitcoin, cryptocurrency and blockchain are other trends to keep up with (26:42)
Predicting where QDS will be in 5 years, how that will be different than today, and what it means to have a shortening technology cycle (29:06)
How prioritizing technology is even more important with COVID-induced supply chain issues (32:13)
Sean's favorite technology that he uses day to day (33:15)
Why making sure people understand "why" is Sean's overall best piece of advice related to technology (34:43)

Technologies Mentioned:

About QDS
Founded in 1983, QDS is proud to be a family-owned cash automation company that specializes in helping financial Institutions and retailers use the latest technology to automate cash handling. Their decades of experience and variety of products allow them to serve their customers by providing the best solutions to solve their specific needs. They are committed to helping their banking and credit union clients identify and deliver their Branch of the Future strategy. Their goal is to demonstrate how technology can impact their bottom line and deliver a better customer experience. QDS works with retail clients to create efficient cash handling processes and reduce the risk of theft with automation tools and technology.

In this episode, host Aaron Bock interviews Sean Farrell, CEO of financial services technology company QDS.

Conversation Highlights:

The cause for QDS's technology evolution (5:24)
Considering IT in the organization vs. as part of the solutions provided (8:46)
Communicating effectively internally as a team set up across 12 states and growing (11:32)
Cool ways people connected through technology during COVID (13:18)
Where local community banks and credit unions are struggling with technology (16:28)
Who is getting most involved in IT decisions from the financial services side, and where QDS is seeing the most objections (18:28)
What differentiates the technologically advanced financial services organizations (20:39)
The difference between ITMs and ATMs (23:25)
Why managed services is one of the trends financial services organizations need to be paying attention to (24:19)
And why Bitcoin, cryptocurrency and blockchain are other trends to keep up with (26:42)
Predicting where QDS will be in 5 years, how that will be different than today, and what it means to have a shortening technology cycle (29:06)
How prioritizing technology is even more important with COVID-induced supply chain issues (32:13)
Sean's favorite technology that he uses day to day (33:15)
Why making sure people understand "why" is Sean's overall best piece of advice related to technology (34:43)

Technologies Mentioned:

Previous Episode

Tanner Fritz + Accounting Industry Technology

In this episode, host Aaron Bock interviews Tanner Fritz, cofounder and VP of Customer Success at accounting firm software company Anduin.AI.

Conversation Highlights:

Challenges in the accounting and professional services industry from a technology perspective. (3:09)
What he sees varying decision makers at accounting and professional services firms view IT as. (6:28)
One of the biggest myths about what IT does in the accounting world. (10:17)
Whether IT is seen as a subset of technology, and how Tanner defines IT, both professionally and personally. (13:42)
How to better position IT as an investment. (16:27)
IT trends people need to start paying attention to, as well as technology game changers for Anduin. (22:02)
A technology many accounting firms aren't using now, but should within the next five years. (28:54)
Advice for someone getting into IT. (32:52)
Overall best piece of advice related to technology. (36:42)

Technologies Mentioned:

About Tanner Fritz:
Tanner is cofounder and VP of Customer Success at Anduin. A former college basketball player, Tanner's career in tech and product management began in Charlotte — first in product leadership roles at Mood Media and Tykoon, leading to the Chief Technology Officer role at Speed Digital (motorsports-focused platform). Tanner then became Chief Technology Officer of Sona MedSpa, a private equity–backed network of dermatology practices, where he oversaw digital transformation and tech-enabled growth. Outside of work, Tanner enjoys playing basketball, fly fishing, volunteering at his church, and watching his three kids grow up with his wife Jenny.

About Anduin.AI:
AI for an EASIER | FASTER | SMARTER work-to-cash cycle.
Anduin helps accounting firms fix their billing process, speed up their cash flow, and delight their clients (without replacing their PM system). Their Intelligence-Based BillingTM solution automates and improves time-consuming back-office finance processes such as invoice prep, collections, and payments, and liberates high-value partners and staff to focus on delivering value to clients. Intelligence-Based BillingTM also integrates data from across firm systems to centralize best-practices and deliver predictive insights to firm leaders. Benefits to clients include a superior, delightful, and easy billing and payment experience. Benefits to firms include saving partners time and shedding administrative headaches, reducing firm costs and fees for finance leaders, and gaining insights and controls for executive leaders to better protect their firm's financial health.

Next Episode

Cybersecurity Considerations and Trends from Passport CISO Mike Privette

In this episode, host Aaron Bock interviews Mike Privette, CISO (Chief Information Security Officer) of mobility management platform Passport.

Conversation Highlights:

How Mike got into security on accident (4:25)
What Mike recommends to people wanting to shift their career into security, and why thoughts on degrees are changing (7:57)
Mike's thoughts on going deep vs. broad on a topic (10:38)
Mike's thoughts on the responsibility an organization holds in training their workforce (11:05)
What it really means to be a CISO, and how Mike's experiences have differed across being in security at tech firm and in the financial sector (12:41)
Challenges with security being a necessary business component but not having an ROI (17:06)
Misconceptions people have related to IT and security, and why open communication across business departments is so important (21:13)
What security basics need to be covered to make sure majority of risks are mitigated (24:47)
What to do first in instances where you walk into an organization as CISO and everything is a vulnerable mess (hint: it begins with a general maturity assessment and incident response plan) (27:27)
The value in iterating and assessing an organization's security posture to understand capabilities and gaps (31:05)
The security mantra you should always say in a job interview (35:31)
Upcoming IoT technology trends and vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure and public works that inspire them (35:49)
Supply chain security as another big trend (39:18)
Urging companies to use SaaS instead of running software themselves (41:35)
How impending recession/depression influences cyber attacks (44:44)
How impending recession/depression influences funding and investor decisions (45:21)
The #1 piece of advice Mike would give to millions of people in a technology state of the union address (47:02)

Publications and Technologies Mentioned:

Security, Funded Newsletter of Return on Security, written by Mike himself

About Mike Privette

Mike is a cybersecurity practitioner and entrepreneur with over 16 years of experience growing and leading cybersecurity organizations in the Financial Services and Insurance industries. Mike is currently the CISO of Passport, a Charlotte, NC-based mobile parking, ticketing, and enforcement SaaS platform. Prior to joining Passport, Mike founded and sold his cybersecurity consulting business, Fraction Consulting, and operated as a Divisional CISO for Truist Financial.

IT Matters | Tech Solutions and Strategies for Every Industry - Sean Farrell + Financial Services Technology

Transcript

Narrator00:00:07.530

Welcome to the IT Matters podcast, where we explore why IT matters, and matters pertaining to IT. Here's your host, Aaron Bock.

Aaron Bock00:00:17.219

Welcome to the IT Matters podcast. Thank you for joining us today. We're excited to have you all on this lovely spring day here in Charlotte, North Carolina. Joined today by Sean Farrell from QDS, Quality Data Systems, based here in Charlotte, North Carolina. We'll ge