Samsung Faces an Uphill Battle as it Looks to Overtake Wall Street

At its core, what is the point of a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) strategy in the capital markets space? I'd argue that, yes, it's about untethering traders, portfolio managers and sales from their desks.

But just as important ─ in my opinion, anyway ─ is to get the workforce to use devices that they're most comfortable with in order to improve production and usage.

The general premise of BYOD really developed around the fact that some users were tired of having a BlackBerry forced into their pockets when they wanted to use their iPhone for both work and for play. Since then, as mobile device management has improved and become more secure, with BYOD extended beyond phones to tablets.

Whenever I talk BYOD with chief information officers, it inevitably starts with them developing around Apple products, and then rolling out for Android or Microsoft, which is perhaps different than what you tend to see in the retail world. It would seem to me that Apple is the new BlackBerry (or, Research In Motion, the parent of BlackBerry), where you start there and then consider other options later.

That's why I was intrigued by my colleague Dan DeFrancesco's article from this week that looked at Samsung's push into the institutional investment space with the Galaxy Tab S2, which runs on Android's Lollipop operating system.

Investment banks ─ being naturally and notoriously conservative ─ tend not to jump on the "latest and greatest". Change often comes at a glacial pace, as the banks' BlackBerry persistence, well past its prime, demonstrated.

A Numbers Game

I've been reporting here at Waters for six years and have watched the evolution of the tablet craze unfold since its basic beginnings. While this might not be true for other industries or even retail finance, on Wall Street, Apple products tend to be the most seen when you go into meetings, and when heads of tech talk about development, they start with the iOS, Apple's operating system.

But from a retail perspective, Apple's tablet sales have been flagging. Hence, why Apple, with its most recent rollout, made the iPad Pro come equipped with a detachable keyboard and a stylus (and a hefty pricetag). It also has a nearly 13-inch screen and 10-hour battery life.

John Finneran, financial services lead of solutions and business development for Samsung, told Dan that he expects to see the most success with institutional investors when it comes to two factors: security and developer interest.

In an age where cyber security is an imperative, Finneran boasted that research firm Gartner named Android, when paired with Samsung Knox, the firm's built-in security platform, as being more secure than Apple iOS.

He also claimed that developers are more interested in working on the Android OS rather than Apple's. "It's become almost like a developer fashion, going to Android more. It's improved a lot," he said.

If I'm being honest, when it comes to the CIOs and CTOs and various other technologists that I deal with at the major sell sides, this is not what I'm hearing. Maybe I'm talking to the wrong people, but investment banks ─ being naturally and notoriously conservative ─ tend not to jump on the "latest and greatest". Change often comes at a glacial pace, as the banks' BlackBerry persistence, well past its prime, demonstrated.

The Right Audience?

Samsung's Finneran said that they're in "a volume business," as they look to make inroads. As my colleague Tim Murray expertly lays out in his own opinion piece on this topic, banks have the volume.

In the world of smartphones and tablets, "revolutions" happen on a near-yearly basis. It's a constant game of one-upmanship; copying and bettering. At the major investment banks, people change and the rules they're governed by change. But for tech, the devil that you know is often better than the one you don't.

Apple is ahead of the game when it comes to moving into the investment banking world from the retail world. Whereas in the retail space, Android is hugely popular, there's a bit more cache to rocking an Apple product, whether in phone, tablet or watch form. It's pseudo-religious, in a way.

But, it also must be noted that demand for iPads is waning. And back to my original question at the top, the point of BYOD is to get the workforce to use devices that they're most comfortable with. So I can't help but think that it's better to start a grassroots campaign (which, in a way, Apple did), rather than shooting right for the bulk sales.

I tend to agree with Tim: I think that Samsung would be better served reaching out to smaller firms, getting ingrained at those institutions, and then building upwards.

Can Samsung establish itself as the "must have" on Wall Street? I have my doubts, but going forward, I will start to query my contacts more as to what platforms they're looking at and whether Samsung is on their radar and report back to you. Have an opinion, shoot me an email or give me a call (646-490-3973).