Why are financial firms adopting cloud technology?

Why are financial firms adopting cloud technology?

Some observers have noted that banks have begun showing more confidence in cloud technology in recent years. In a study, B2B research firm MarketsandMarkets predicted that the finance cloud market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.4 percent, from $9.89 billion in 2016 to $29.47 billion by 2021. The trend is attributed to constant improvements that allow the technology to provide a number of key benefits to finance companies.

#1 Lower costs

Cloud technology is neither free nor cheap, but its benefits ultimately make it a less pricey investment than existing alternatives. Take hardware, for instance. Traditionally, financial companies kept their data on in-house servers. These machines need specific operational conditions for optimal performance and require specially trained technicians to operate and maintain them.

Alternatively, financial companies can work with dedicated cloud service providers (CSPs) that offer a secure and established cloud infrastructure. Instead of buying machines and paying people to maintain them, the company can focus its attention on growing its business.

#2 Improved collaboration and efficiency

With the emphasis on mobility nowadays, it’s no longer uncommon for people to work away from the office or for companies to work with counterparts in other parts of the globe. By storing their data in the cloud, financial companies can collaborate with other people or businesses regardless of the physical distance between them — as long as they’re connected online, of course. Cloud technology also allows them to serve customers abroad.

Furthermore, the cloud seamlessly integrates with other technologies meant to streamline a company’s process and crunch their data. For example, workers no longer have to manually export customer data into the company’s CRM servers when the system can readily retrieve the needed figures from cloud storage.

#3 Augmented security

Finance companies hold sensitive client information that hackers find irresistible. Failure to protect their data can have immense repercussions, not just to the companies themselves, but also to their clients. Keeping such sensitive information strictly in-house is no longer practical and may actually be more dangerous.

Cloud storage facilities are built with the express goal of keeping their contents safe from external attack. They are equipped with redundant virtual and physical protection against multiple threats, including hackers and viruses, making them among the most secure repositories of information available today.

#4 Expanded scalability

Traditionally, financial companies who wanted to accommodate more data needed to buy more servers, invest in a larger room for storage, and even hire more people to maintain their machines. This approach was expensive, inflexible, and impractical.

Cloud technology allows financial institutions to quickly scale their capabilities up or down at little to no additional costs. This is crucial when even small events within the country and abroad can trigger significant shifts in the market. With the current emphasis on customer experience, the cloud also allows companies to quickly respond and adjust to their clients’ demands.

#5 Disaster recovery

Financial institutions must be able to resume serving their customers as soon as possible in case of calamities. One of the best benefits of cloud storage is that it allows companies to create virtual duplicates of sensitive data, ensuring that information cannot be erased or corrupted easily. This cannot be said of in-house servers that are at high risk of damage from both natural and man-made disasters.

#6 Speedy development

The finance sector was not as quick as others in adopting cloud technology because of perceived inadequacies in security and other fields. In recent years, the cloud has transformed into one of the most secure and versatile innovations, becoming integral to various technologies that improve the way people live and do business. It continues to evolve, bulking up its security and other features, as well as expanding its capabilities to better serve its users.

Cloud technology allows financial companies to become more agile and flexible in the way they serve their clients, all while keeping costs low and their internal processes streamlined. Its benefits are not just for banks and other financial institutions though. Learn more about the cloud and how adopting it can change your business for the better by contacting us today!