FinTech is the sum of financial and technology, and it’s one of the fastest growing tech industries. Total global investments in FinTech almost reached $50 billion last year, but there is still a great deal of confusion over what it is and what it means – especially as it applies to retirement.
Building financial startups is not simple, but with the right team, technology and an innovative approach it can be an extremely interesting domain to disrupt. FinTech heralds a financial revolution that is for everyone. Ideally, it’s cloud-based, consumer friendly and offers education in a consumable manner with mobility and portability.

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Application Delivery got its start in the form of network-based load balancing hardware. It is the essential foundation on which Application Delivery Controllers (ADCs) operate. The second iteration of purpose-built load balancing (following application-based proprietary systems) materialized in the form of network-based appliances. These are the true founding fathers of today’s ADCs. Because these devices were application-neutral and resided outside of the application servers themselves, they could load balance using straightforward network techniques. In essence, these devices would present a “virtual server” address to the outside world, and when users attempted to connect, they would forward the connection to the most appropriate real server doing bi-directional network address translation (NAT).

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(c)iStock.com/CatLane

It’s that time again; another quarter passes by and with it comes a variety of financial reports from the big hitters. Alphabet, the parent company of Google, IBM, and Microsoft have all filed within the past week – so what do the figures all mean?

Top line highlights:

• IBM’s cloud revenue was at $13.7 billion for the full year of 2016, up 35%, while fourth quarter cloud revenues increased 33% to $4.2bn
• Microsoft’s commercial cloud annualised revenue run rate hit $14 billion, with Azure revenue up 95% in constant currency and compute usage more than doubling year on year
• Alphabet does not disclose specifics but ‘other revenue’ – which includes cloud computing – went up 62% to $3.4 billion in the most recent quarter

In terms of wider figures, IBM’s overall Q416 revenue was $21.8bn, down 1% year over year and with cloud representing almost 20% of the total. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue total was $24.1bn GAAP, seeing an uptick of 1%, while Alphabet reported $26.1bn in total for the fourth quarter.

Naturally, all the quotes were around similar themes. “I am pleased with our results this quarter,” said Microsoft EVP and chief financial officer Amy Hood. “We see strong demand for our cloud-based services and are executing well on our long-term growth strategy.”

“We have established ourselves as the industry’s leading cognitive solutions and cloud platform company,” said IBM CEO Ginni Rometty. “More and more clients are choosing the IBM Cloud because of its differentiated capabilities, which are helping to transform industries such as financial services, airlines and retail.” “We’re seeing great momentum in Google’s newer investment areas and ongoing strong progress in ‘other bets,’” said Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat.

One big name is absent from this list, of course. Amazon will report its earnings in the coming week; for comparison, its third quarter figures in October saw revenue for AWS at $3.2 billion and $11.1bn over the last four quarters. The profit on the overall business for the third quarter, of $252 million, was a comparative disappointment for the analysts; so much so that a Quartz story headlined that AWS was the “financial life preserver that Amazon desperately needs.”

In a note published earlier this month, Synergy Research, a long-time observer of the cloud infrastructure marketplace, posited that infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS) remain the quickest growing markets at 53% year on year, ahead of hosted private cloud infrastructure (35%) and enterprise software as a service (34%). AWS and Microsoft were the leaders in IaaS and PaaS, while IBM and Rackspace were on top for hosted private cloud, with operator and vendor revenues for the overall cloud services and infrastructure market hitting $148bn in 2016.

Previous analysis from the firm continues to put AWS well ahead of the competition, with Microsoft relatively secure in second place. Sangara Narayanan, writing for GuruFocus.com earlier this week, said: “For now and for the foreseeable future, Amazon’s AWS gets to keep the IaaS crown despite aggressive moves from Microsoft and IBM to expand their own cloud revenues in their own unique ways.”

It will of course be interesting to see what AWS rustles up; for the meantime, however, the cloud arms at Alphabet, IBM and Microsoft continue to shine if perhaps the overall business hasn’t. A recent Bloomberg report summed it up best – the companies “reinforced what’s become a truism in technology: the biggest growth is in businesses that deliver computing over the internet.”

You can read the full statements for Alphabet, IBM, and Microsoft here.

(c)iStock.com/CatLane

It’s that time again; another quarter passes by and with it comes a variety of financial reports from the big hitters. Alphabet, the parent company of Google, IBM, and Microsoft have all filed within the past week – so what do the figures all mean?

Top line highlights:

• IBM’s cloud revenue was at $13.7 billion for the full year of 2016, up 35%, while fourth quarter cloud revenues increased 33% to $4.2bn
• Microsoft’s commercial cloud annualised revenue run rate hit $14 billion, with Azure revenue up 95% in constant currency and compute usage more than doubling year on year
• Alphabet does not disclose specifics but ‘other revenue’ – which includes cloud computing – went up 62% to $3.4 billion in the most recent quarter

In terms of wider figures, IBM’s overall Q416 revenue was $21.8bn, down 1% year over year and with cloud representing almost 20% of the total. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue total was $24.1bn GAAP, seeing an uptick of 1%, while Alphabet reported $26.1bn in total for the fourth quarter.

Naturally, all the quotes were around similar themes. “I am pleased with our results this quarter,” said Microsoft EVP and chief financial officer Amy Hood. “We see strong demand for our cloud-based services and are executing well on our long-term growth strategy.”

“We have established ourselves as the industry’s leading cognitive solutions and cloud platform company,” said IBM CEO Ginni Rometty. “More and more clients are choosing the IBM Cloud because of its differentiated capabilities, which are helping to transform industries such as financial services, airlines and retail.” “We’re seeing great momentum in Google’s newer investment areas and ongoing strong progress in ‘other bets,’” said Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat.

One big name is absent from this list, of course. Amazon will report its earnings in the coming week; for comparison, its third quarter figures in October saw revenue for AWS at $3.2 billion and $11.1bn over the last four quarters. The profit on the overall business for the third quarter, of $252 million, was a comparative disappointment for the analysts; so much so that a Quartz story headlined that AWS was the “financial life preserver that Amazon desperately needs.”

In a note published earlier this month, Synergy Research, a long-time observer of the cloud infrastructure marketplace, posited that infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS) remain the quickest growing markets at 53% year on year, ahead of hosted private cloud infrastructure (35%) and enterprise software as a service (34%). AWS and Microsoft were the leaders in IaaS and PaaS, while IBM and Rackspace were on top for hosted private cloud, with operator and vendor revenues for the overall cloud services and infrastructure market hitting $148bn in 2016.

Previous analysis from the firm continues to put AWS well ahead of the competition, with Microsoft relatively secure in second place. Sangara Narayanan, writing for GuruFocus.com earlier this week, said: “For now and for the foreseeable future, Amazon’s AWS gets to keep the IaaS crown despite aggressive moves from Microsoft and IBM to expand their own cloud revenues in their own unique ways.”

It will of course be interesting to see what AWS rustles up; for the meantime, however, the cloud arms at Alphabet, IBM and Microsoft continue to shine if perhaps the overall business hasn’t. A recent Bloomberg report summed it up best – the companies “reinforced what’s become a truism in technology: the biggest growth is in businesses that deliver computing over the internet.”

You can read the full statements for Alphabet, IBM, and Microsoft here.

If it weren’t for digital technology, today’s business transformations would look quite different – but that doesn’t mean that the transformations are inherently digital. The digital appellation is a poor fit to begin with, and now it’s growing long in the tooth. 2017 may very well be the year it becomes passé, and we move onto the Next Big Thing. In times of disruption, buzzwords play an important role. As new technologies, approaches, and priorities spring up, we need a common vocabulary so that we can cogently discuss such innovations. Never forget, however, that digital transformation was never more than an oversimplification of a complex, multifaceted transformational process that impacts every organization differently.

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The word—or rather, the contraction—is simple: DevOps. But DevOps, which refers to the increased communication and collaboration between development and IT operations, is an ever-changing, sometimes complicated term. While “dev” and “ops” used to be siloed into separate philosophies, practices, tools, and work flows, they’re merging into one. The result? A more efficient, reliable process and product.

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(c)iStock.com/xijian

I read an interesting article recently that outlined the way in which cloud adoption has changed the business landscape, causing a seismic shift in how organisations operate. Depending on your source, UK cloud adoption rates are currently anywhere between 78% and 84%, and whilst cloud is no longer a new phenomenon, its importance to not only the CIO but also the full c-suite of decision makers such as CEOs, CMOs and CFOs, is paramount as they jostle to gain a competitive advantage over competitors.

It has been argued that cloud adoption heralds the largest disruption in enterprise computing since the advent of the PC, with many industries embracing cloud-based platforms to not only cut costs but also drive efficiency. Despite this, there has been a certain amount of trepidation from the financial services sector to make the transition and fully embrace cloud and its many advantages.

At the mere utterance of the word ‘cloud’ we used to hear a plethora of reasons why financial services organisations could not make the leap. There were concerns over regulatory compliance as well as the complexity of functional replacement, security and control. And, in an era where financial institutions are more highly regulated than ever before, one could forgive these organisations for a tentative approach to change – especially when it came to new technologies that cloud put compliance at risk. To further validate this hesitance, financial services firms are reportedly hit with security incidents 300 percent more frequently than other industries.

However, over the past year, the UK financial services sector has taken a more confident and proactive approach to cloud computing. In mid-2016, following the publishing of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) final guidance for UK regulated firms outsourcing to the cloud, it was made clear that there is no fundamental reason why financial services firms cannot use public cloud services, so long as they comply with the FCA’s rules. 

This statement and the guidance provided will certainly be welcomed by those UK financial institutions that have been hesitant to embrace cloud due to the lack of regulatory certainty over its use. This also serves as good news for the cloud sector too, providing a boost in the uptake of cloud services in the sector. Certainly, there are many examples of financial services firms using cloud while remaining in compliance with FCA regulations.

Regulatory compliance and managing cyber risk do not need to be the enemy of innovation. In fact, taking a risk-avoidant approach to experimenting with new business models, technologies or user experiences will be a fast path to obscurity in today’s business landscape, where innovation and competition can come from anywhere. Banks, hedge funds, asset managers, insurance firms and other players in the financial services ecosystem should seek out technologies that meet compliance and security needs but also enable agility and flexibility.

Here are three quick benefits that cloud can provide for the financial services sector:

Enhanced security

Contrary to popular belief, businesses who take advantage of cloud computing may actually enjoy stronger security than those who try to go it alone or rely on their on-premise security technologies. The cloud is certainly more secure than many legacy platforms, so if financial organisations choose the right cloud service provider, they can actually experience a higher level of security than they would via legacy solutions.

Reduced infrastructure

As your financial services firm grows, so does its information technology hardware and software needs. By migrating to the cloud, your company can reduce the amount of infrastructure stored onsite, share liability with qualified technology partners, eliminate much of the hassle associated with procuring hardware and software, and reduce costs in the process by moving IT CAPEX to OPEX. There is no longer a need to purchase multiple servers and supporting equipment, store it on-site and pay for the space and utilities to support the operation of that infrastructure.

Increased business agility

Cloud computing brings with it a number of benefits related to agility. First and foremost, cloud computing is all about scalability and flexibility on demand and financial services firms benefit from being able to roll out new applications very quickly or use the cloud for dev/test to drive innovation. Additionally, cloud computing is built with mobile productivity in mind. Employees need no longer be tethered to their desks. Applications and information can be accessed from virtually any device with Internet connectivity, allowing your staff the access needed to be effective, without being tied to the office.

By embracing cloud computing services, companies in the financial sector are able to add vast efficiency to their operations. As long as the risks can be managed, and with the right cloud service provider they can, there are many benefits. Cloud services – ranging from production to dev/test to disaster recovery and backup – can help financial firms reduce setup and operating costs related to installing new IT infrastructure and negate the need to invest in more data centre space by making the necessary infrastructure resources available on demand. Perhaps most importantly for such a regulated industry, cloud services can help financial services firms gain IT innovation while protecting them against cyber-attacks, ransomware as well as maintaining compliance.

If your financial services firm has been hesitant about a migration to cloud computing, it may be time to reconsider. Enjoy stronger security, lower your maintenance costs and unleash the productivity potential of employees by migrating to the cloud.

Read more: Why financial firms are missing out by not embracing the cloud

(c)iStock.com/xijian

I read an interesting article recently that outlined the way in which cloud adoption has changed the business landscape, causing a seismic shift in how organisations operate. Depending on your source, UK cloud adoption rates are currently anywhere between 78% and 84%, and whilst cloud is no longer a new phenomenon, its importance to not only the CIO but also the full c-suite of decision makers such as CEOs, CMOs and CFOs, is paramount as they jostle to gain a competitive advantage over competitors.

It has been argued that cloud adoption heralds the largest disruption in enterprise computing since the advent of the PC, with many industries embracing cloud-based platforms to not only cut costs but also drive efficiency. Despite this, there has been a certain amount of trepidation from the financial services sector to make the transition and fully embrace cloud and its many advantages.

At the mere utterance of the word ‘cloud’ we used to hear a plethora of reasons why financial services organisations could not make the leap. There were concerns over regulatory compliance as well as the complexity of functional replacement, security and control. And, in an era where financial institutions are more highly regulated than ever before, one could forgive these organisations for a tentative approach to change – especially when it came to new technologies that cloud put compliance at risk. To further validate this hesitance, financial services firms are reportedly hit with security incidents 300 percent more frequently than other industries.

However, over the past year, the UK financial services sector has taken a more confident and proactive approach to cloud computing. In mid-2016, following the publishing of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) final guidance for UK regulated firms outsourcing to the cloud, it was made clear that there is no fundamental reason why financial services firms cannot use public cloud services, so long as they comply with the FCA’s rules. 

This statement and the guidance provided will certainly be welcomed by those UK financial institutions that have been hesitant to embrace cloud due to the lack of regulatory certainty over its use. This also serves as good news for the cloud sector too, providing a boost in the uptake of cloud services in the sector. Certainly, there are many examples of financial services firms using cloud while remaining in compliance with FCA regulations.

Regulatory compliance and managing cyber risk do not need to be the enemy of innovation. In fact, taking a risk-avoidant approach to experimenting with new business models, technologies or user experiences will be a fast path to obscurity in today’s business landscape, where innovation and competition can come from anywhere. Banks, hedge funds, asset managers, insurance firms and other players in the financial services ecosystem should seek out technologies that meet compliance and security needs but also enable agility and flexibility.

Here are three quick benefits that cloud can provide for the financial services sector:

Enhanced security

Contrary to popular belief, businesses who take advantage of cloud computing may actually enjoy stronger security than those who try to go it alone or rely on their on-premise security technologies. The cloud is certainly more secure than many legacy platforms, so if financial organisations choose the right cloud service provider, they can actually experience a higher level of security than they would via legacy solutions.

Reduced infrastructure

As your financial services firm grows, so does its information technology hardware and software needs. By migrating to the cloud, your company can reduce the amount of infrastructure stored onsite, share liability with qualified technology partners, eliminate much of the hassle associated with procuring hardware and software, and reduce costs in the process by moving IT CAPEX to OPEX. There is no longer a need to purchase multiple servers and supporting equipment, store it on-site and pay for the space and utilities to support the operation of that infrastructure.

Increased business agility

Cloud computing brings with it a number of benefits related to agility. First and foremost, cloud computing is all about scalability and flexibility on demand and financial services firms benefit from being able to roll out new applications very quickly or use the cloud for dev/test to drive innovation. Additionally, cloud computing is built with mobile productivity in mind. Employees need no longer be tethered to their desks. Applications and information can be accessed from virtually any device with Internet connectivity, allowing your staff the access needed to be effective, without being tied to the office.

By embracing cloud computing services, companies in the financial sector are able to add vast efficiency to their operations. As long as the risks can be managed, and with the right cloud service provider they can, there are many benefits. Cloud services – ranging from production to dev/test to disaster recovery and backup – can help financial firms reduce setup and operating costs related to installing new IT infrastructure and negate the need to invest in more data centre space by making the necessary infrastructure resources available on demand. Perhaps most importantly for such a regulated industry, cloud services can help financial services firms gain IT innovation while protecting them against cyber-attacks, ransomware as well as maintaining compliance.

If your financial services firm has been hesitant about a migration to cloud computing, it may be time to reconsider. Enjoy stronger security, lower your maintenance costs and unleash the productivity potential of employees by migrating to the cloud.

Read more: Why financial firms are missing out by not embracing the cloud