Gary Norcross
Analyst · Cowen.
Yes. I think it's a great question, George. I mean what we're -- what we've consistently seen, obviously, we've actually seen a slowdown during the pandemic with M&A activity across our various clients. But I'll just go back to historically and remind you, especially in the banking business, we tend to be in the larger side of the market, right? So the largest regionals, super regionals, national and global institutions. And because of that, our customers tend to be the acquirers. And over the last several years, what we've really seen, even when they're not, most of the time when our customers being acquired, given our scale in the large side of the market, we've been very fortunate in not only being able to retain the business but actually grow the business through moving the acquirer onto our platforms.
And so we think that trend is going to continue. We do see continued -- the strength in the sales channel frankly is based on some comments I've made in prior calls. I think a number of the larger global institutions and a number of the larger institutions frankly have just held on too long to make technology investments, especially around core banking, especially around modernization, digital enablement, openness, et cetera. And I think you're seeing that now translate just into a really strong not only pipeline, sales success and obviously increasing backlog.
I want to thank you for your questions, for your participation in today's call. We'll conclude with Slide 15. While we are excited about the momentum that's building within our business and the growth prospects for FIS, I do want to reinforce our continued commitment to helping our colleagues, clients and communities thrive by advancing the way the world pays, banks and invests. We continue to invest in innovation to drive top and bottom line benefits for FIS and our clients, but we haven't achieved success through investments alone.
Our colleagues remain key stakeholders in our business, and we are becoming the fintech employer of choice by maintaining an inclusive and diverse environment while fostering a culture of innovation and growth. I sincerely want to thank each of you for your continued efforts. We would not be where we are without you. For our clients, we will continue to deliver tailored end-to-end experiences by leveraging differentiated technology and unique expertise. Together, we will exceed consumers' rising expectations with solutions that are fast, flexible and frictionless. And lastly, for our communities, we will continue to get back, not only during these challenging times but always in order to have a positive impact on the places where we live and work. Together, we will continue to win as one team and deliver on our commitments.
In closing, I'd like to thank you for your investment in FIS. We appreciate your support. Thank you, stay safe, and goodbye.