As 2026 gets underway, operational resilience and regulatory pressure continue to shape the priorities of financial institutions. To understand how Smartstream is responding, we caught up with Nick Smith, Chief Customer Officer, to talk about customer success, global engagement, and how Smartstream is evolving its approach for the year ahead.
“We’re a very customer‑centric organisation. We’ve focused on listening and staying engaged so as we invest in our products, our customers’ input guides what we do.” — Nick Smith, Chief Customer Officer
We’re starting 2026 under major regulatory frameworks like DORA and CPS 230. How is that influencing your focus this year?
Nick: These regulations have really pushed operational resilience to the forefront. What we’re hearing from customers is that they need steadier operations and better visibility, especially as expectations tighten. At Smartstream, we’re approaching this year with a strong customer-centric mindset. That means deeper engagement, clearer communication, and proactive support. We want every customer to feel confident that they can meet regulatory expectations with the help of our solutions.
You’ve spoken often about Smartstream being a customer-centric organisation. What does that look like in practice?
Nick: It starts with listening; we make sure our customers’ input directly shapes how we invest in our products and services. Everything we do, whether it’s enhancing managed services, improving communication, or developing new capabilities, is grounded in real, ongoing conversations with the people who use our products every day. Staying engaged is the only way to move forward meaningfully.
We see the impact of this approach most clearly in our Customer Connect programme. Over the past year, we’ve held sessions in South Africa, Strasbourg, Cape Town, India, Toronto, and New York. These discussions help us validate priorities and identify where immediate action is needed. We’re expanding the programme through 2026 across EMEA, APAC and the Americas, with more product deep‑dives, roadmap sessions, and peer-to-peer roundtables.
How have your engagement methods evolved over the past year?
Nick: Quite significantly. We’ve shifted towards more regular and transparent communication. Customers now hear from us through consistent webinars where we share product updates and best practices. We’ve expanded our newsletters to include roadmap insights and service improvements. And importantly, the cadence of business reviews is customer-led; some prefer weekly, others monthly or quarterly. The key is staying accountable and keeping that feedback loop tight as we continue to make enhancements.
A standout success is the continued growth of Smartstream Air, our AI‑enabled reconciliation solution. From early users in Papua New Guinea to teams in Singapore, India, the UK, and the US, we’re seeing rapid adoption driven by direct customer input. We translate that feedback into targeted enhancements that simplify workflows, reduce manual effort, and shorten time‑to‑resolution for operations teams.
What is the focus of the Customer Success team in 2026?
We formalised a dedicated Customer Success team at the end of last year. In 2026, we’re doubling down on proactive enablement. We’re reaching out before issues arise, asking how we can help customers get more from their Smartstream solutions today. We’re adding more learning content, playbooks, and guides to help teams adopt features faster. And we’re running structured onboarding, health checks, and outcome-focused reviews so value is realised early and sustained. Our mission is to help every customer get the most out of Smartstream in a. way that genuinely supports their goals.
Take a look at our upcoming events and customer success stories.
FAQs
- What are the top priorities for Smartstream’s managed services right now?
Helping customers strengthen operational resilience, increase transparency, and realise value faster through proactive engagement and regular business reviews. - How has customer success evolved at Smartstream?
We’ve established a dedicated, global team focused on proactive enablement outreach, learning content, and structured value realisation so customers get more from our solutions, sooner. - What is Smartstream Air, and why is adoption growing?
Smartstream Air is our AI‑enabled reconciliation solution. Adoption is rising globally as customer feedback informs product enhancements that improve consistency and shorten time-to-resolution.
