Reinventing financial sector services with cloud use 

Increased competition, growing customer demands, and rising regulations are forcing financial institutions to transform into more agile, secure, and innovative organizations. 

This change requires the implementation of technologies that provide greater efficiency, facilitate rapid information management, and allow quick adaptation to market changes. One such solution is undoubtedly cloud platforms. 

With cloud platforms, the financial industry gains access to scalable and flexible infrastructure that allows for the efficient implementation of applications, data storage, and online services without worrying about managing physical servers and other IT resources. 

Despite its many advantages, cloud implementation among financial service providers is slower compared to other sectors. This is due to the higher regulatory requirements they must meet, as well as the significant economic risks posed by failures or operational interruptions. 

For example, in Mexico and other countries, financial services must receive authorization from government agencies (National Banking and Securities Commission) to use cloud platforms abroad. Additionally, they are required to have data residency, meaning all stored and processed information must remain within their own infrastructure in the national territory. 

Despite these bureaucratic procedures, financial organization leaders are convinced that cloud adoption is essential for global growth, enhancing data security, and providing a better user experience. 

In fact, a study by Snowflake, a cloud computing company, showed that in the past year, financial companies are increasing the urgency to adopt the cloud due to these three factors: strengthening cybersecurity (50.5%), fraud detection (38.6%), and claims management (33.8%). 

The same study also highlighted that 37% of financial companies are opting for a multi-cloud strategy compared to those adopting hybrid cloud (34%), single cloud (14%), or private cloud (14%). 

Benefits of Cloud Use for Financial Services 

Financial services are using the cloud to change the way they operate and respond to changes. While each organization has specific needs and adopts technology according to its business strategies, cloud platforms can provide the following benefits: 

• Greater Flexibility and Scalability: Financial services can quickly and efficiently scale their resources when using cloud platforms. This is essential during demand peaks when more transactions need to be processed or more requests need to be handled. 

• Incorporation of Innovative Technologies: The cloud is a platform that allows for the quick, secure, and efficient integration of new technologies without risking operational continuity. Its use enables experimentation with new solutions and services to achieve higher levels of innovation, optimization, and profitability. 

• Cost Reduction and Operational Efficiency: By not requiring physical servers or data centers, financial services can save on infrastructure and energy consumption costs, as well as reduce maintenance and hardware upgrade expenses. 

• Enhanced Data Security: The cloud facilitates the use of advanced security and compliance solutions, such as data encryption, multi-factor authentication, and real-time monitoring. Additionally, cloud service providers ensure compliance with security standards and industry-specific regulations, guaranteeing the protection of financial assets against new threats. 

• Agility to Evolve According to Market Needs: Cloud platforms typically offer a wide range of development tools that allow IT teams to build and create applications more efficiently and with less effort. 

• High Availability: With cloud use, financial services can distribute their applications and data across different geographic locations within their provider’s cloud infrastructure, ensuring operational continuity in case of failure or unforeseen contingency. 

• Rapid Disaster Recovery: The cloud enables the creation of disaster recovery plans that can be implemented easily and efficiently, such as restoring systems and backups stored in secure and remote locations. 

More Reasons to Migrate to the Cloud 

• In 2022, there were 3.5 times more attacks against financial services applications and APIs worldwide. (SOTI Report “Enemy at the Gates: Analysis of Attacks on Financial Services Companies”) 

• Data breaches in financial services have an average cost of $5.97 million. (IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2022) 

• Harassment of financial services customers is increasing, with over 80% of attackers targeting customer accounts rather than the organizations themselves. (SOTI Report “Enemy at the Gates: Analysis of Attacks on Financial Services Companies”) 

How to Implement the Cloud? 

Before taking the first step towards the cloud, it is important for financial institutions to have a strategy based on their needs, current digital environment, and business objectives. 

At Ikusi, we specialize in designing cloud migration strategies and supporting financial companies in their administration and maintenance. 

Our services include implementation, support and change control, fault resolution, infrastructure monitoring, management of physical and/or virtualized devices, and network or computing infrastructure. 

Additionally, Ikusi’s cloud service is designed under the best operational practices and the highest industry quality standards. 

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