The amount of data produced and consumed by the financial sector is growing at an exponential rate. Cloud computing is the answer when it comes to a better scalable solution for data storage.
Cloud computing in the finance industry can greatly improve operations across the board and positively impact the way financial institutions serve their customers. The problem? A lot of financial institutions and related services are still playing catchup when it comes to deploying modern technology.
This article aims to highlight the benefits of cloud computing in finance, and why – now more than ever – financial institutions should focus on migrating the cloud into their infrastructure to better deliver quality service.
What is cloud computing?
Cloud computing plays an important role in business. It’s a technology that allows the on-demand delivery of IT resources over the Internet – making it especially useful for storing Big Data.
Businesses that deploy cloud computing are able to store all their company data and computer system resources remotely, allowing them to scale their computer infrastructure and data storage to meet their needs.
If you’re considering a career in financial planning, you should be looking to understand how to improve efficiency and reduce costs using the cloud.
Why does the finance sector need cloud computing?
In this day and age, banks require modern technology to handle day-to-day operations and to keep ahead of the competition. Until financial institutions become comfortable with adopting modern technology, they will be unable to keep pace with competitors who have adopted more responsive and innovative technologies. This will result in higher operating costs, greater inefficiency, and an increased risk of customer dissatisfaction.
Benefits of Cloud Computing in Finance
The following are some crucial benefits that come with using cloud computing in the finance industry:
- Improved customer service
The cloud offers financial institutions the chance to personalize services for their customers. This is due to the fact that cloud technology reduces wait times and increases direct customer interaction. The cloud also offers financial institutions such as banks increased visibility into the customer journey and they can use this to track consumer behavior shifts. Banks can also offer anytime, anywhere access to banking services.
- Improved data security
The fallout of a data breach can be detrimental to financial institutions. Despite data breaches and cyberattacks being on the rise, some financial institutions still rely upon on-premise systems to store their data. Cloud computing makes it easier to prevent data tampering and is armed with excellent security protocols to safeguard business and customer data.
- Cost-effectiveness
While cost optimization may not be a priority in this industry, one can’t deny the collateral benefits cloud technology brings. By implementing the cloud, finance professionals can reduce the expenses related to their servers and data centers along with IT maintenance. On top of that, the Cloud’s pick-and-choose models mean you can get what you need when you need it for a price point that suits you. Most cloud vendors let businesses pay for only the features they need, further reducing costs while increasing overall efficiency.
- Storage and Big Data
Arguably one of the biggest advantages of cloud computing is the ability to store heavy volumes of data. The finance industry generates an incredible amount of data daily; from card transactions to stock market transactions, loans, insurance, payments, and customer data. The cloud provides unlimited data storage meaning financial businesses never have to worry about running out of room to store their important information and can scale to size when needed.
- Compliance tracking
Banks need to meet regulatory compliance requirements, and cloud computing helps them to meet these by using cloud vendors/platforms that are compliant with financial industry regulations. Cloud vendors take stringent measures to ensure that no compliances are violated by either party. The best cloud vendors, including major cloud vendors like Microsoft or Salesforce, work with compliance bodies to monitor cloud governance. This means that everything from collection, storing, processing, and reporting is compliance tracked.
- Mobility
Cloud computing enables employees in the finance sector to work on the go. They can use their own personal smartphones, tablets, or laptop to access CRM tools and real-time monitoring and analysis outside of work hours. This, in turn, can improve customer experience and work efficiency.
Summary
Embracing cloud computing in finance ensures greater efficiency and the ability to meet customer needs and expectations. The use of clouds also allows banks and other related financial institutions to deploy applications quickly and to store big wads of data without having to worry about storage space or the need for hardware maintenance and software updates. Finally, with customers becoming more tech-literate and digitally mobile, providing fintech solutions like the cloud will enable financial firms to attract more clients. As Big Data gets even bigger, the pressure to store data, remain compliant and reduce threats like cyber security breaches become more vital.