The Future of Banks and Insurers: Open Ecosystems, AI and Curiosity

As host of a recent Databricks banking and insurance webinar, I brought together some of the industry’s sharpest minds—from global banks, insurers, and Databricks itself—to probe the hard questions: What does resilience really take in financial services today? Where does data and AI move the needle—not just for efficiency, but client trust and top-line growth? The answer: Growth in 2025 demands openness, agility, and a new operational playbook.

Building for Longevity, Not Just Survival

Disruption is relentless. In banking and insurance, legacy models are giving way to platforms that can learn, adapt, and serve every function. As Roshni Joshi, AVP, Field Engineering at Databricks, challenged us: “We must have a platform that adapts to our use cases, that learns from our data and that is available to all our users.” Lasting success is not about weathering change—it’s about engineering for perpetual reinvention and democratizing data throughout the enterprise.

The Agent Mesh: Real Intelligence, Not Black Boxes

The winning formula is no longer monolithic, opaque AI, but flexible architectures of interoperable agents and specialized automation. As Mimi Park, Senior Technical Advisor for Financial Services at Databricks, put it, “The biggest growth opportunity isn’t one giant AI model. It’s a dynamic ecosystem of specialized but connected agents working together to win customers and close deals faster.” These agent meshes, fueled by enterprise data and governed by robust controls, cut campaign time, enable hyper-personalization, and make AI truly actionable.

Personalization as a Growth Engine

Mandar Purohit, Director, Client Data Modernization, Thrivent, reminded us that customer relevance is everything. “By deeply embedding data and AI, we are making personalized and meaningful guidance as a norm, not as an exception, ensuring our clients always feel heard, valued, and prepared.” Personalized outreach isn’t just good CX—it’s driving double-digit gains in satisfaction and revenue across households, all at scale, through real-time insights.

Why No One Wins Alone: Ecosystem is Strategy

"Financial services cannot live without sharing information from one organization to another, from one business to another." Antoine Amend, Sr. Director, Industry Solutions, spoke to the power of open, frictionless data partnerships and governed collaboration. The fastest movers in the industry are dismantling silos, blending internal intelligence with external feeds, and co-creating value with vendors.

Relentless Innovation: Faster, Smarter, Safer

Will Turner, Global Head of Global Payments Solutions, HSBC Innovation Banking, captured the cultural heartbeat: “It’s about everybody in the business looking at something, not walking by something that’s not quite right. How do we make something quicker, better, faster…?” Today’s innovation happens at every level—from advanced analytics for cybersecurity to rapid iteration in mobile apps, all anchored in trust and security.

My Takeaway: Stay Curious—And Stay Unscripted

If there’s one lesson, it’s to be relentless in asking hard questions and welcoming cross-functional dialogue. Bringing together practitioners from insurance, banking, analytics, and AI revealed real lessons: Openness and curiosity are as essential as technology itself. As I opened the webinar, “We’re excited to bring together industry experts to share actual insights on how banks and insurers are using data and AI to drive real business growth.” And as I closed, “The conversation doesn’t stop here. Stay curious. Stay cool… and keep the momentum going.”

Ready to turn these insights into action?

• Explore the full Unscripted webinar on demand for deeper stories and operational details.
• Contact the Databricks team to discuss your organization’s next growth steps.
• Discover related resources on AI-powered personalization, secure data sharing, and ecosystem partnerships.

Watch Unscripted: Real Stories from Leaders on Driving Growth with Data + AI