Digitalisation of services and globalisation have led to significant changes in methods of data collection, access and use. Especially in the banking industry.
This has recently contributed to an increased interest in cloud computing as a means to support the digitalisation of financial services. It is not only about storing data in the cloud but outsourcing your computing power meeting the business needs. By doing so, cloud-based infrastructures can be a driving force behind better software performance, data analytics, and emerging technologies such as distributed ledgers and artificial intelligence.

However, banks have been slower in their uptake of cloud services when compared to other industries due to the strict regulatory environment where banks operate in. Correspondingly, legal and regulatory constraints limit cloud adoption in banking, but also the lack of harmonised regulatory approaches across different jurisdictions and between regulators contributes to a high threshold. Moreover, using, managing and storing customer information faces higher compliance risks, especially in an international environment and in the light of data and security guidelines (e.g. GDPR).

The contractual negotiations between banks and cloud service providers (CSPs) are facing significant frictions.

Cloud computing in many forms (private, public, hybrid). Public cloud solutions let service providers make resources like apps and storage available via an accessible network where multiple clients can share the same resources.  A hybrid cloud is an integrated cloud service utilising both private and public clouds to perform distinct functions within the same organisation.
These forms can be deployed through different service models.

Moving beyond legacy infrastructure, the journey to cloud-driven organisation knows several phases. As banks are keen to use the innovative potential of cloud technology they take into account risk management and organisational structure.