Midway through 2021, working considerations for businesses in every industry look very different than they did two years ago. The global pandemic forced organisations to adopt remote work for over a year, and as a result, expectations about ways of working have changed for good. Hybrid remote work is here to stay, and businesses are facing new large-scale cultural and systemic challenges.
Fortunately, technology offers compelling solutions to these challenges.
In an effort to understand how private equity firms are coping with these changes (and the resulting pressure points), we partnered with The Drawdown to survey key players in the industry. We received responses from a number of C-Suite professionals, with over half of those surveyed managing more than $1bn AUM.
Our main objective was to determine which technologies and services private equity firms are utilising across various functions, including fund administration, HR, and deal origination.
Our findings were encouraging. The industry has become increasingly tech-savvy, challenging its previous reputation for sluggish adoption. Outsourced and in-house systems are in broad use and adoption is increasing, allowing fund managers to focus on investment and allocation strategies.
We also considered other critical challenges faced by private equity firms, including cybersecurity and data management. PE firms hold a massive amount of sensitive client and market data, which presents a considerable risk of cyber-attack. The need for robust cybersecurity practices and policies is clear, though firms are not always clear on the proper path to achieve that level of security. And as cloud-based technologies become increasingly convenient and cost-effective, adjusting data management practices is also a priority.
Overall, as firms determine how they should adapt to the “new normal” of hybrid remote work, we believe that the emphasis on implementing robust technology systems will only grow.
Here’s a look at where the industry is now—and where it’s headed.
