Other parts of this series:
At the beginning of 2020, the mindset around cloud adoption in banking and capital markets was very different. Much of the industry had settled into a steady but slow migration path to the cloud that was often cautious and incremental. But with the arrival of the global pandemic, all of that changed.
Almost overnight, the industry was turned on its head. Organizations around the world moved their workforce off-site, while at the same time scrambling to determine which cloud services could be employed to keep operations functioning. Within a few short weeks, the scalability, resiliency, flexibility and accessibility of public cloud services became a lot more attractive as firms sought to manage uncertainty.
While public cloud services do have great appeal, what many in banking and capital markets realized as we moved deeper into the new is that a hybrid cloud model—a combination of public and in-house cloud initiatives—can also be a driver of growth.
Hybrid cloud can support new ways of working and have the capacity to meet shifting consumer and employee expectations. It also allows the organization to retain a certain level of control over capabilities, security and compliance for the applications that remain on premises.
Enabling the new
More than halfway into 2021, we have seen a maturation of our clients’ cloud philosophies when it comes to adoption. But there is still a huge opportunity ahead.
Our Banking Cloud Rotation Index profiled 100 banks globally to see where they are in their journey to the cloud. We found that across four key functional areas—enterprise, data and analytics, surrounds, and core—just 8% of the surveyed banks have migrated their workloads to the cloud.
Drivers such as workforce productivity, the customer experience, new product offerings and customer acquisition have all been factors in faster cloud adoption. And there is a huge opportunity ahead.
Although public cloud adoption can still be considered moderate in banking and capital markets, we expect that to change—particularly given the increasing commitment and investments of cloud service providers (CSPs), who are pumping millions of dollars a day into development. Strong performance results across an expanding suite of business use cases, as well as a demanding and digitally savvy customer base and increasing competitive pressures, are also helping accelerate cloud adoption in banking.
To see this momentum in action, we can look to MONETA. The Czech bank recently partnered with Accenture to define a new, comprehensive IT strategy rooted in the belief that cloud computing could enable the agility required to deliver a flexible, cost-effective IT infrastructure. The company chose Amazon Web Services for its cloud ecosystem to meet its digital agenda. This partnership allows the bank to innovate more quickly, with a flexible and secure infrastructure that supports the sustainable growth of its services. Its developers are more agile and can develop new products and services as needed.
Banking Cloud Altimeter | Volume 6: Banks need a flight plan to navigate the cloud.
LEARN MOREIn the U.S., Accenture developed a comprehensive, cloud-based Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan application and forgiveness solution built on Salesforce technology for Regions Bank—in just eight weeks. This program not only makes the process simpler, it’s also designed to help process PPP loan and forgiveness requests more efficiently—helping small businesses spend less time on applications and requests and more time moving their companies forward. To do this, we built a hybrid model that used Salesforce Experience Cloud for application intake, the nCino Bank Operating System® for middle-office processing, and Salesforce Service Cloud for case management.
The cloud value story also includes more expansive impacts, such as allowing banks to design more flexible business models and revenue streams, and leveraging the cloud’s ability to democratize experimentation and innovation. Integrating third-party services such as those of fintechs—and adopting new out-of-the-box capabilities and products from CSPs—are key to keeping pace.
In my next post in this series, I will explore strategies on how companies can accelerate growth and cloud adoption. To learn more about Accenture’s capabilities, our Banking Cloud Services site offers a host of resources and case studies—and Banking Cloud Altimeter, our new interactive digital magazine, provides research, ideas and insights affecting the big strategic decisions for banks navigating to the cloud.
To discuss in more detail about how Accenture can help you navigate and implement meaningful cloud adoption, please contact me here.
