Managed Cloud Services On The Horizon For Forward-looking Financial Institutions

In an increasingly competitive market for financial institutions, banks can no longer risk letting their business models become outdated. Cloud technology is central to digital innovation. But before moving to a cloud-based platform, banks must consider issues around operating costs, business agility, and scalability.

In many cases, leveraging the cloud allows banks and credit unions to significantly decrease capital expenditures. Utilizing managed cloud services means that banks do not have to invest heavily in the on-premises datacenter infrastructure, nor the manpower to maintain it. Instead, cloud migration allows financial institutions the choice of a consumption-based pricing model. Since the clients only pay for what they use, banks are free to employ their infrastructures more cost-effectively, e.g., focus on proactive measures that drive money into their business.

Then, as more customers opt into digital banking technology, financial institutions must look ahead to their next hurdle: updating their digital offerings to keep pace with ever-evolving expectations. Fortunately, the use of managed cloud services also promises considerable advantages in terms of operational efficiency and scalability.

In particular, cloud technology offers financial institutions an ability to deploy new features at a fraction of the time needed in traditional operating models. Even better, an agile cloud-native technology allows banks to adjust business decisions based on customer reactions in real-time, keeping the bank one step ahead of its competition. Financial institutions that utilize the power of the cloud can grow or, if necessary, downsize infrastructure needs with ease, while being economical and compliant. For middle market companies, this can mean that managed private cloud services can help them to meet customers’ business needs and regulatory requirements with single-tenant or multi-tenant models.

Naturally, the cost and effort to migrate workloads to the cloud may be a major concern for businesses contemplating cloud strategies. But whether they realize it or not, slow-moving financial services organizations that ignore this unprecedented opportunity to develop systems that are highly customized to their customers’ expectations may pay the price. They may find that they lose business to better-equipped competitors that are already satisfying the needs of fast-moving customers who expect highly personalized digital banking options. Since many smaller companies may not have the IT infrastructure in place to handle the transition, working with a managed IT services provider can be crucial in the move to the cloud.

Change is inevitable, and never easy. But banks that can harness the power of the cloud, and efficiently do so with a cloud services provider, can reduce operating costs, deliver market-relevant services quickly, and increase scalability, thus establishing a foundation for tomorrow's innovations.