After a year of turbulence in the banking and financial services industry, the survivors are looking for innovative ways to stay competitive. Web 2.0 applications are the answer for many of them.

Our survey found that 82% of these companies are using wikis, blogs, and other social networking tools for internal collaboration and knowledge sharing, putting banking and financial services among the top five industries in terms of adoption.

Scottrade, the online investment house, has made it possible for its subject matter experts to quickly share information by posting content online. The system provides a 300% increase in the speed at which documents can be disseminated throughout the company, Scottrade says.

The brokerage also has created an online community of more than 25,000 customers, says CIO Ian Patterson. It gives customers the ability to connect and discuss trading and investing strategies, he says.

Achieving IT efficiencies is crucial since many banking and financial services firms are having to do more with less. Almost 60% of industry respondents say their companies are on pace to lower IT and business costs this year--though Patterson says his 2009 IT budget exceeds last year's.

Offshore outsourcing is a solution for many financial firms: 76% are sending some IT functions abroad, compared with 57% for all industries surveyed.

Industry Snapshot: Banking & Financial Services