Banks have yet to capitalize on cloud technology but agree that automation is the most compelling argument for doing so.

The ability to automate processes was voted as the No. 1 benefit for transitioning to the cloud among 44% of 250 global retail and commercial bank executives, according to a recent survey by Publicis Sapient and Google Cloud. Coming in at No. 2 was enhancing data analytics with AI and machine learning (ML), with 41.6 % of executives listing this as the key benefit. 

However, 52% of those surveyed agreed they had so far failed to maximize the benefits of cloud technology, and 40% said their organization’s progress toward cloud implementation was too slow. 

Among the bank executives surveyed: 

• 68% said they’d like to have more than 30% of their applications in the cloud in three years’ time, compared with the 27% currently have their applications in the cloud; and  
• 69% said they’d like to see their bank’s data in the cloud, whereas 31% currently keep their data in the cloud. 

Placing value on cloud adoption 

The survey also segmented respondents into groups based on how much they have already transitioned to the cloud. These groups consisted of banks that had more than 30% of applications in the cloud, those with between 11% and 30% of applications in the cloud, and those with 10% or fewer of their applications in the cloud. 

When it came to the benefits of the cloud, those who have already adopted it and those yet to transition differed by only 4% as to the importance of automation. However, that gap grew when it came to the possibility of enhanced data analytics using AI and ML; the leaders in cloud adoption valued it at more than 11% higher than those yet to transition to cloud technology. 

Geographic differences 

Enthusiasm for the benefits of automation and the cloud varies by location. Most bank executives from the Asia- Pacific region viewed enhanced analytics — at 58% — and automation — at 55% — as the key benefits of the cloud, according to the survey. In contrast, only 29% of North American bank executives listed enhanced analytics as a primary benefit, while 35% considered automation as a benefit.  

Bank size also matters: Execs at larger banks gave enhanced analytics more importance than those at smaller banks. In fact, executives at more than 50% of banks with at least $100 billion in assets considered enhanced analytics a key benefit while only 32% of banks with between $25 billion and $99 billion in assets and 28% of banks with between $1 billion and $25 billion in assets agreed. 

However, smaller banks saw more promise in the cloud’s ability to enhance automation than did larger banks. Automating processes was considered a leading benefit by 47% of the smallest banks and 48% of the banks with at least $25 billion in assets; 42% percent of banks with between $100 billion and $499 billion in assets agreed. Among the banks with more than $500 billion assets, only 38% listed automation as a main benefit of adopting the cloud. 

Access to real-time data becomes a priority 

Financial business leaders overwhelmingly don’t believe their data is accurate enough to guide decision-making, according to a survey by data management solutions provider InterSystems. 

Eighty-six percent of the 550 financial business leaders surveyed said they are not confident in their data and 34% said their data was not updated in real time, leaving them often to make decisions based on assumptions rather than up-to-the-minute data. Sixty-three percent said they use data that is more than one day old when making decisions, 25% use data between one and three days old, and 17% said their data was between four days to a week old.  

Thirty-seven percent of business leaders cited this delay in real-time data as their biggest data challenge, while 51% listed gaining access to real-time data across their entire operations as their technology priority.