Why financial firms are missing out by not embracing the cloud

The financial sector’s high security and compliance standards have traditionally made it something of a laggard in the adoption of cloud computing. Yet there are indications that momentum is shifting and finance institutions are beginning to benefit from the agility, flexibility, speed and innovation that is missing when running large, on-premise data centres.

But just how secure can customer data and commercial operations be when stored and running on someone else’s infrastructure? The short answer is: very secure. Indeed, cloud services should be at least as secure if not more secure than their in-house equivalents.

Financial organisations have large and complex IT infrastructures that rely on mission-critical legacy applications while conforming to strict compliance criteria and extremely high security requirements. These factors combined, it’s no wonder that cloud computing within finance has traditionally had slow uptake and been met with scepticism. The advancement of flexible cloud hosting options, including the hybrid cloud model, should help financial institutions overcome infrastructure barriers and ensure compliance and security requirements can be met.  All it takes is some careful planning to create a secure and reliable cloud solution that provides financial enterprises, and their customers and clients, peace of mind.

When planning a move to the cloud, confusing security regulations in the EU can be a major issue for financial organisations. A recent study by the European Union Agency for Network and Information found that nearly a quarter of survey respondents felt confusing cloud security regulations in the EU were the main obstacle for implementing a cloud solution. Take the EU Data Protection Directive for example.;