Financial organizations are some of the most risk averse and regulated businesses in the world. They are also some of the most complex, often burdened with an enormous array of legacy systems and processes. Aron Brand, CTO at CTERA, discusses why these organizations are now realizing that the cloud can help them to be more agile and responsive to the needs of their customers.
Until the 1990s, the mainframe was the engine room of banks and financial institutions. It was the ‘be all and end all’ for these organizations. All client information and associated transactions were processed and stored on these mammoth systems. Mainframes are not going away anytime soon, and companies like IBM are doing a lot of work to modernize these systems and make them more cloud friendly. But we are now at a tipping point.
The cost and effort required to keep mainframes running is becoming prohibitive. At the same time, the cloud is becoming more and more appealing. It is now possible to run all of the same mission critical applications in the cloud that were previously only possible on mainframes.
Why Cloud Transformation Is Necessary
This is why, today, financial institutions are looking to the cloud to provide the agility and flexibility that they need to compete in the digital age. Cloud transformation is essential for these organizations if they are to survive and thrive. There are a number of reasons for this.
Firstly, the cloud provides the elasticity that these organizations need. They can scale up or down as required, without having to make significant capital investments in new hardware. This is particularly important given the volatile and uncertain economic conditions that we are currently facing.
Second, the cloud provides these organizations with the ability to innovate and experiment with game changing technologies, such as big data analytics and machine learning, quickly and cheaply. This is essential if they are to keep up with the pace of change set by fintech startups.
Finally, the cloud enables organizations to offer their customers new and innovative digital experiences that are personalized and convenient. This is something that customers have come to expect and demand.