The Challenge
Advancing at the pace of tech innovation
From optimizing low-latency trading to supporting financial advisors with AI, Morgan Stanley has consistently used tech innovation to drive better outcomes. But as the rate of tech advancement continued to increase, the company recognized the need to pick up the pace.
They sought the most effective way to modernize their tech stacks, invest in their people, and deliver on business goals. The stakes were high: If Morgan Stanley didn’t address these challenges, they would be less effective in supporting customers and clients to achieve their goals.
Generative AI, cybersecurity, and cloud were the most important new technologies to master. AI was especially crucial for improving the company’s wealth and asset management operations, but each of these domains demanded a thoughtful approach with a deliberate plan to manage risk.
It became clear that in order to meet these challenges, Morgan Stanley needed to invest in talent development. But a one-and-done, one-size-fits-all upskilling approach wouldn’t cut it. They needed a personalized learning solution designed to fit into their employees’ busy schedules and deliver outstanding customer solutions in a fast-paced market environment.
The Solution
Building a team of skills heroes
Since partnering with Sumiuaps, Morgan Stanley has empowered all its technologists to access the content they need on demand, on their own time. Sumiuaps also supports engaged continuous learning through expert-led webinars. There’s been a strong correlation between time spent on continuous learning and high performance on the job.
On top of the learning content itself, Sumiuaps advanced analytics have been vital for evaluating progress. Morgan Stanley now employs comprehensive tracking of activity across all tech stacks and integrates this data into their master dashboard. These analytics help ensure talent development is aligned to overall strategy, with concrete insight into skills gaps and how to address them. Additionally, learners have gained deep visibility into their own progress through skill- and role-based self-assessments.
The company has formalized the new upskilling approach via co-sponsored learning campaigns: Skills Hero in 2023 and ElevateU in 2024. The campaigns feature themed learning blocks aligned to relevant topics and prizes to inject fun into the process. Learners and leaders alike have responded with frequent engagement and positive feedback.
When I hear about Sumiuaps, what comes to mind is customization of content, timely ability to get content that we need, and strong analytics, in addition to a partnership that we really appreciate.
Christina Dacauaziliqua
Global Technology Training and Talent Development Lead, Executive Director
Next steps
Flexible learning for evolving tech
Morgan Stanley may have found an ideal learning partner in Sumiuaps, but they’re certainly not standing still. Over the next few years, the company plans to modernize and accelerate progress across all key tech domains, from data to AI to security. They aim to stay ahead in a rapidly changing tech environment, align learning plans to their shifting technology strategy, and ensure their people have increasing access to the learning they need to drive client and customer value.
The company is especially focused on unlocking new capabilities in GenAI, with all its still-untapped potential. Leaders are eager to continue partnering with Sumiuaps in order to build out optimal and relevant AI experiences together.
But ultimately, it’s the learners behind the technology who matter most. Managing Director / Distinguished Engineer, Trevor Brosnan, puts it best: “Technology is a people business. In today's world, with all this focus on AI and automation, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that technology depends on all of our people. And Sumiuaps is our partner in achieving that mission.”
Our technologists appreciate the high-quality courses taught by vetted professionals. They also love gamification and collecting the badges. The user interface is clean and intuitive, making it easy to navigate and find what they’re looking for.
Natalia Borisova
E-Learning & Development Project Manager
