With research showing that more than two thirds of FS firms are moving workloads and applications away from Public Cloud, we speak with industry expert Kevin Lash on what’s driving this change.
A Cloud Strategy is More than Just Public Cloud
Financial services firms have been under huge pressure to drive digital transformation so they can compete with the new digital disruptors and meet ever increasing customer expectations.
But for many FS firms, creating a cloud-first strategy has simply meant moving to the Public Cloud. As businesses have been challenged to move as many workloads as reasonably possible within a specific timeframe it has ultimately led them to default to a Public Cloud approach, when by definition a Hybrid Cloud environment has been required.
Now, as firms are realising that Public Cloud isn’t the one-stop solution they thought it was, we are seeing work moved back on-prem. This coincides with huge modernisation in the capability of datacentres which makes them more fit for purpose.
Another factor that’s shining the spotlight on the suitability of Public Cloud has been a series of high-profile data breaches, such as the one with Capital One and AWS. As a result of these breaches, legacy FS firms are subject to a great deal more regulatory and security measures and consequently turning back to the safer option of on-prem.
There’s also the issue of liability – if you’re using Public Cloud who has liability when there’s a breach?
Hybrid is the #1 Choice for FS
With Public Cloud not always providing an adequate solution on its own, research shows that FS believe that the majority of their IT deployment will be in Hybrid Cloud within the next 3-5 years.
There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, FS firms are a major threat for cyber security and are constantly under attack. The major priority for FS has to be risk management and research shows that Hybrid Cloud is seen as the most secure form of IT deployment by FS businesses.
Secondly, FS firms need to innovate and create better customer experiences so need the flexibility offered by a Hybrid Cloud approach.
Finally, they need to be able to control their costs. Public cloud is great for highly elastic applications but can equally be hugely expensive. Research from a 1000 use cases by Nutanix’s Cloud Economists shows that Public Cloud can be three times more expensive than a Hybrid approach.
So, when you take these factors into consideration, businesses are now realising that a Hybrid Cloud approach allows them to take the best elements of on-prem, Private Cloud and Public Cloud. This enables them to create the ultimate solution which balances the need to meet security and regulatory compliance while having the flexibility to drive business innovation.
We’re now at a phase where we’re seeing the whole IT infrastructure being looked at more holistically, which is really exciting.
Why CISOs and CIOs Need a Seat at the Executive Table
The roles of the CIO and CISO are becoming a lot more complex as they are now charged with how they can secure data while also driving innovation.
It’s therefore essential that they get a seat at the table for driving the business strategy. They need to be working with the executive and business leadership.
The business team needs to define the business problem and identify the strategy, while the IT organisation needs to be able to feed into what is possible and have the confidence that they can successfully enable the strategy.
It’s critical that when developing the business strategy, businesses take into full consideration what can be done from a security or compliance perspective as well as workload mobility.
If IT and the executive leadership work together then the business is going to be a huge step closer to fighting off the threat of digital disruptors by providing an enhanced customer experience, while secure in the knowledge that they have a cost effective solution that is operationally resilient.
Kevin Lash is Director of Global Financial Services Strategy and Solutions at Cloud Transformation specialists, Nutanix. Lash has over 25 years’ experience in driving the successful adoption of emerging enterprise technology across Financial Services.
*Figures are taken from the Enterprise Cloud Index, a survey of over 2,650 IT decision makers from around the world. The research, which was published in February 2020 was conducted by independent research experts, Vanson Bourne