The year 2017 will be a year where cloud computing companies will target the financial services industry aggressively. Cloud-based services can increase operational efficiency and significantly decrease costs for players of any industry. However, through strategic partnerships and aggressive growth strategies, many cloud computing players are focusing on the FinTech sector to take advantage of coming regulations such as the Revised Payment Service Directive (PSD2). PSD2 is expected to open up the FinTech market to new players and lead to the emergence of innovative digital technologies as it will force banks to open up access to third-party providers, such as Facebook or Google to build financial services on top of their data and infrastructure.
Amazon Web Services (AWS), has partnered with numerous players offering a wide variety of services. For example, it has partnered with Singapore’s DBS bank to help them with their accelerating digitization. Spanish bank Bankinter is using AWS to run credit simulations and reduce the computing time for these simulations from 23 hours to 20 minutes. The French startup eFront provides solutions in 21 international markets for the FinTech sector. It also uses AWS to host a virtual private cloud for its customers, reducing costs and improving time to market, and has plans to further use AWS to expand its services globally. Additionally, AWS has recently launched its Financial Services Competency Program, aiming to certify technology and consulting partners in the financial services sector. Through these partnerships and programs, AWS is shaping up to be an important resource for FinTech organizations globally.
Microsoft’s Azure platform is also making use of strategic partnerships to grow. It has partnered with Bank of America Merrill Lynch to help them develop blockchain technology. It has partnered with new players as well, such as Cross River bank, a pioneer in banking digitization. Temenos, a global banking software provider, has developed its new version of software on the Microsoft Azure platform, which allows the company to offer cloud banking capabilities to companies that have traditionally used on-premises solutions. To accelerate its growth in the FinTech sector even more, Azure is also opening up new data centers in the UK to target the financial service markets there.
These are just a few of the many partnerships and initiatives taking place right now in the FinTech industry, and speaks to the immense value and flexibility that cloud-computing services can bring to any sector. Although the rate of adoption of this technology in FinTech has been slower than other sectors due to cybersecurity concerns, 2017 will see this trend reverse greatly.
At PreScouter, we help companies find the most innovative solutions to any challenge. Contact us today and challenge us with yours!
