Businesses all over the globe are realizing the perks of moving to the cloud and the banking industry is no different. With customers today increasingly seeking privacy, flexibility, security and convenience in banking the industry has no option but to take steps to upgrade technology and services. Cloud solutions in the market today are tailored to address requirements of banks in all major arenas such as e-banking, core banking and mobile banking of various types of banks.
The cloud also offers convenience for bank customers. You can even now open a bank account online using your phone. Your data is securely transmitted – in the cloud.
The perks of cloud solutions for banking are many, pertinent among which are outlined below:
- Integrated and pre-configured solutions which automate all core banking processes irrespective of business product lines, entities and currencies.
- Lends support to a wide range of financial offerings such as savings accounts, checking accounts, term deposits trade finance, and lending products.
- Ensures automation of critical banking functions including important ones such as real-time transactional services, customer acquisition, multiple currency transactions across retail, corporate and trade finance sectors and regulatory reporting.
- Cloud solutions can be developed and tailor made to support and sustain high-volume transactions, across channels, with efficiency, speed and flexibility.
- Various cloud solutions for banking can also be integrated with the bank’s financial inclusion channels to extend services, on remote or handheld devices, to those sections of the populace who as of now do not have access to banking facilities or are at the receiving end of below par banking and financial facilities.
- Most solutions on offer are supported by light infrastructure and light application and hold the promise of operational gains for banks in terms of savings on the infrastructure and hardware front.
While the perks of cloud solutions for banking are many there are some pitfalls and concerns too. Banks are plagued by woes with regard to security and compliance concerns for banking which by nature is a sensitive industry. Undoubtedly, these concerns have to be addressed in the best possible manner. The hybrid, or shared, IT infrastructure is one model that offers banks the benefits of variable costs, scalability, flexibility and on-demand availability sold by public cloud computing, while taking care of the security, compliance and performance procedures concerns of banks, financial services companies and financial institutions.
To determine whether your bank is ready to embrace cloud solutions here is a checklist to help you determine exactly what part of your functions you want to move to the cloud and what decisions you can take in this regard:
- Define those business functions which might be suitable for the cloud and classify your information assets on the basis of sensitivity.
- Outline a comprehensive set of requirements specific to your lines of business and define clearly which specific business functions the bank will operate in cloud.
- You might want to consider secure private cloud and enter in to contractual agreement for cloud-based, low-cost solutions.
- Databases can be kept inside bank and only applications can be put in the private cloud and integrated with each other (which is a typical secure hybrid cloud model).
