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How Financial Institutions Should Evaluate a Software Development Partner in 2026

Dhruvil Joshi on July 21, 2026

Two numbers should decide how your next vendor conversation goes. The Verizon 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report found that third-party involve...
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Piya

The contrast between structural domain knowledge and a memorised case study is spot on. You can hear the difference in one call.

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lara Jean

Asking for ADRs as an engineering maturity signal is a sharp tip. A team that documents its decisions can explain itself to an auditor.

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emilia

Great breakdown of DORA Articles 28–30. Most articles mention DORA in passing — this one actually explains what changes in the contract.

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Kira Wilson

Appreciate the honesty on the EU AI Act timeline; "plan against the earlier date anyway" is the right call. Regulatory delays are not a strategy.

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maitri

The idempotency question for payment gateway timeouts is such a good filter. Any team that's actually shipped a ledger will have a war story ready.

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Mindy Collins

Nice touch requiring an artefact behind every scorecard rating. That's what turns gut feel into a defensible due diligence file.

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Ananya Amin

This should be required reading for any bank CTO running an RFP this year. Clear, practical, and grounded in actual regulation.

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Sejal Bhavsar

The sub-processor list test is underrated. You learn more from how fast a vendor produces it than from anything in the pitch deck.

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Jay Mahyavansh

Good insights on why building an AI-ready data foundation is critical for modern healthcare applications.

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Aislin Keir

Loved the point about asking vendors what went wrong on a project. Real builds always have an answer; polished case studies never do.

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Devang

Finally, a vendor evaluation guide that doesn't open with hourly rates. The compliance-first framing is exactly right for 2026.