On 21-22 October 2020, the first virtual SDS Community Forum took place with the active participation of international SDS customers and business partners. The concept of bundling expert and management rounds – previously organised on a product-specific basis – in a cross-portfolio event was realised in a completely digital form. This was on the one hand due to SDS’ promise of “Setting Digital Standards” and on the other hand, of course, due to the current pandemic framework conditions. The two virtual days of the forum were characterised by professional and exciting content. According to the motto of the event “Shaping the future together”, SDS also presented (additionally to the current highlights and future-oriented projects regarding the SDS product and service portfolio) a multitude of topics from the areas of securities processing with a focus on corporate actions and settlement, regulatory reporting, cost transparency as well as securities compliance and invited to regulatory focus sessions on SHRD, CSDR and ECMS. The programme was rounded off by cross-cutting issues such as process optimisation, project reporting, cloud readiness or testing innovations.
The number of participants surpassed the expectations and goals of SDS. The feedback of the customer community on the individual sessions – in terms of content as well as format – was thoroughly positive. The interactive exchange of lessons learned, expectations and new ideas via the digital event and interaction tool worked excellently and was well accepted by the participants.
Niv Graf, Head of SDS Service Delivery Management and organiser of the event, adds: “With the SDS Community Forum, we have successfully established a new interactive format for our customer community. We are very satisfied with the results regarding acceptance, dialogue and feedback quality. We will continue to use and enhance the SDS Community Forum as a platform for cooperation and exchange, but also for criticism, ideas and challenges. SHAPING THE FUTURE TOGETHER: Nomen est omen.”
