Financial services businesses are accelerating the development of digital transformation initiatives and migrating towards the cloud. With rising demands from customers and an increase in stricter compliance and regulatory standards, the financial services industry will only benefit more but utilising the potential of cloud data platforms.

The businesses that have taken the steps towards implementing cloud strategies have seen major improvements in efficiency, cost reductions and a decrease in downtime. The recent disruptions and implications of large-scale lockdown measures related to the pandemic have been alleviated by the mobility, security and scalability of cloud data platforms. While we are yet to truly understand the economic impacts of Covid-19, businesses are aware of the need to increase digital transformation strategies and prepare their organisation for other disruptive times in the future. 

According to reports by the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), the cloud industry is expected to exceed $7 billion by 2022. Being one of the initial industries to adopt the technology, businesses within finance have been reaping the benefits associated with cloud migration. The latest report from NASSCOM explains that the financial industry has the potential to offer real-time, high volume and high-performance transaction within a range of channels by adopting cloud.  The added benefit of migrating to the cloud for the financial industry relates to customer security. Migrating to a secure cloud data platform enables smoother and efficient monitoring of vital data channels and allows for simultaneous analysis.

From online transactions to insurance claims, financial services generate considerable volumes of data. The information that can be collected from this data can enhance efficiency, security and improve the overall customer experience.

There are several key ways financial services organisations can benefit from a cloud data platform:

Improved Customer Experience

Customers today are actively seeking a unique and personalised customer experience. For many, personalisation is a critical factor in determining whether the business relationship will continue. With access to significant data, banks and financial services businesses have the opportunity to create this desired personal experience. For this to be a success, complete visibility into customer interactions in real-time is vital. With the support of cloud platforms, businesses can gather a range of data in a single secure system. Cloud platforms can also measure various sources of structured and unstructured data collected on CRM systems, customer transactions and IoT. 

Generate New Revenue Streams

Cloud data platforms provide a direct and secure way of sharing data without complicating the process or adding further cost or risk concerns as associated with legacy data systems. An individual data product to data consumers can generate new revenue streams. Financial services businesses that gather stock market data is a good example of this in action. By using cloud data platforms, financial data vendors can develop data projects that can then be sold to hedge funds.

Manage potential fraud and risk

Financial services businesses are under regular attacks from cyber threats and other cases of fraud. With a significant cost attached, financial businesses need to ensure they are well prepared. Cloud data platforms gather and assess data and can act as the initial defence line against potential cyber-attacks. Financial organisations can effectively store data and manage cybersecurity, anti-fraud and other data sources. With the added use of analytics, financial services organisations can apply detection rules and detailed visualisations to detect any anomalies with transactions. The combination of high volume data storage with detailed financial analytics can enable rapid risk detection. The result is a cost-effective higher level of data security.

A cloud data platform offers the necessary steps for a business to enable a business to deliver agility and growth. For financial services businesses looking to create a unique, personalised customer experience, increase potential profits and enhance their security measures, implementing the most effective data infrastructure is the vital step to take.