How finance firms can stay ahead as AI, regulation and cyber threats evolve

The last year has brought major shifts across financial services, hedge funds and insurance. AI is advancing at pace, regulators are becoming more involved and cyber threats continue to rise. For many firms this is an opportunity, not a setback. It’s a chance to modernise systems, strengthen resilience and improve the way they operate.

Here’s a quick look at what’s happening right now and how the right technology partner can help.

AI is moving from experimentation to operations

AI is growing fast across trading, customer services, underwriting and risk modelling. The FCA has even launched an AI “sandbox” in partnership with Nvidia, which they describe here. It’s designed to let firms test AI tools in a controlled environment while staying compliant.

For hedge funds this can support new strategy development. For insurers it helps with faster claims handling and more accurate risk scoring. But these gains only work when the underlying infrastructure is secure, scalable and properly governed.

Cyber resilience is becoming a board-level priority

Cyber threats are increasing across the sector. Financial institutions rely heavily on digital services, large data sets and automated systems, which creates more exposure. The UK government has outlined its upcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill. The draft plans point to stricter reporting requirements and stronger expectations around operational resilience.

For firms, this means investing in secure networks, well-tested backups and reliable disaster recovery plans. It also means treating AI systems and data pipelines with the same level of scrutiny as core financial platforms.

Fintech partnerships and consolidation continue to rise

Many financial institutions are moving faster by partnering with or acquiring fintech providers. Areas like identity verification, KYC, payments and risk analytics are seeing the most activity. PwC highlights this trend in their financial services insights page.

This shift increases the need for reliable integrations, API-first architecture and secure cloud setups. When firms bring in multiple fintech tools quickly, technical debt and security gaps can build up unless managed properly.

Climate risk is reshaping insurance and investment

Insurers and asset managers are placing far more emphasis on climate-related risk. The Bank of England’s climate insights page gives a good overview of how regulators are thinking about the issue.

This push requires better data, stronger analytics tools and platforms that can handle large volumes of climate information. Insurers are updating underwriting models and investment teams are embedding climate data into portfolio decisions.

How Maple supports firms across finance

As a London-based MSP focused on financial services, we see many of these trends up close. A few common needs stand out:

1. Strong, modern infrastructure
Firms need secure cloud environments, reliable networking and good governance to support AI, automation and fintech integrations.

2. A real focus on resilience
We help clients put proper backups, recovery planning and monitoring in place so they can innovate without unnecessary risk.

3. Compliance built into everyday operations
Access controls, audit trails and cloud governance should support regulatory expectations rather than slow teams down.

4. Environments that are ready for AI
We help firms create safe test environments, manage data pipelines and build cloud setups that can scale as AI usage grows.

If you’d like to explore how Maple can support your firm with secure infrastructure, AI readiness or ongoing managed services, we’re always happy to talk, get in touch.