Why should banks adopt a multi-cloud approach to control related spending?

The rapid growth of digital avenues in recent years has led to banks generating enormous volumes of data each day. Banks also need to launch lightning-fast digital products and speed up the existing services. There is no better option than the cloud to accommodate these needs.

As financial businesses are increasing their reliance on the cloud, they are also coming under the scanner of regulatory agencies. They urge financial institutions to adopt a multi-cloud approach instead of relying on a single service. So, what does an IT leader from the financial services sector do?

The contention of regulatory bodies is to ensure financial businesses keep outages and security risks at bay. And it makes sense to adopt a multi-cloud tactic for several reasons. Let’s look at those reasons and the advantages on offer.

What the future holds for financial services and their relationship with the cloud?

According to an Accenture survey, banks currently have 12% of their tasks on the cloud. However, it will double up in the coming two years. According to another estimate, cloud computing spending will swell up to $77 billion by 2024, at a growth rate of 16% per year.

To meet the changing customer expectations in the coming decade, you need to create agile business models by leveraging the latest technologies. IT leaders and C-suite executives recognize that cloud computing is the future of banking. More than a data storage technology, the cloud is also an enabler of offering better services to clients.

The innovative public cloud service providers offer several products accessible through their platforms. These can help you create operating models that lead to better revenues, curtail costs, improve insights, and deliver personalized products. 

Besides the financial and customer-oriented benefits, there are several other operational advantages on offer. You can overcome silos that hamper enterprise-wide collaboration. By unifying disparate systems, you can use advanced analytics and insights for better decision-making.

Financial services industry and the cloud

Regulatory compliances, internal business requirements, and security issues have led to financial services lagging in adopting the cloud. These businesses had to keep computing on-premises and trail behind their peers from other industries. The legacy systems with severe complexities also meant it was challenging to move them to the cloud. 

However, the pandemic has changed everything as financial institutions can no longer afford to stay behind the curve. Banks had to rely on the cloud and open banking to offer improved digital services.

The modern cloud infrastructure also offers AI-enabled insights that lead to better prediction of business trends. The cloud infrastructure also gets an added layer of security against online vulnerabilities. It is much better than on-premises software that can often consume resources due to a need for regular updating and patching.

Why is a multi-cloud approach sensible for banks?

Having multiple clouds makes better business sense besides meeting the regulatory norms. Your bank can get the expertise of specialist service providers, get competitive rates, have scalable business models, and avoid dependency on a single service. Large corporations across the globe are already leveraging this tactic.

Related businesses from the financial services space use multiple clouds to shift their cash management, payment, lending, and other critical activities. Business-critical databases related to risk management and capital, for example, can stay on one cloud while less-important workloads can go on other clouds.

Similarly, you can also have your sales and marketing-related information segregated on other clouds if space management is an issue. The possibilities are endless, and you can customize options based on your business needs.

Ways to get started with a multi-cloud approach

Before getting started with a multi-cloud approach, it is critical to analyze the availability of adequate support to manage workloads. You can use open-source software and related containers that enable better management between clouds. It will simplify your operations and offer several business advantages that come along with it.

Bottom line

As banks become increasingly receptive to cloud computing technology, you must get started with it quickly. Besides saving costs, your IT teams can also perform tasks they cannot do because of the on-premises infrastructure. These include performing risk management tasks and adding real-time data to financial service models.

The advantages are several, and leveraging them now is critical to growing your business. It will also help you meet the ever-changing customer expectations. Retaining your existing customers is more critical than targeting new ones. Once that happens, attracting new clients will only be a matter of time.

If you want to get started with cloud computing for your bank, MiCORE solutions can help. We bring along with us decades of experience in the managed IT services space, serving leading global businesses. Contact us today to know more details about our services.