Wells Fargo is opting for a hybrid multi-cloud strategy, building its own private cloud while continuing to tap Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud for infrastructure modernization and AI innovation.

The $1.7 trillion bank is in the early days of the project, which includes modernizing infrastructure, Swarup Pogular, managing director and chief technology officer of digital banking and AI engineering, told Bank Automation News. The private cloud will host data and drive efficiency while ensuring security.

The addition of the private cloud builds on Wells Fargo’s multi-cloud strategy, Pogular said. “We announced our multi-cloud strategy years ago and have seen massive operational efficiency gains since,” he said.

Microsoft Azure is the bank’s preferred cloud host for enterprise applications and Google Cloud is used for data and AI services, Pogular said. Forty percent of the bank’s data is split between Azure and Google Cloud, while the remaining 60% resides on-premises.

“Most regulated entities like banks have scaled on-premises and gone to one of the cloud providers as a differentiator to scale and modernize,” Pogular said.

“We have chosen each of the cloud vendors for their unique ability,” he said.  

Google’s AI, for example, is better suited for the bank’s core foundational operations. “You can use the AI model in the environment where your data resides,” Pogular said. “We are using [Google Cloud] for core foundational services like data analytics and productivity models.” 

The bank is using these Google tools: 

• AI-driven DialogFlow is used in the bank’s chatbot Fargo. 

• Native AI models are used for back-end operations including documentation and compliance.  

Rise of multi-cloud strategy 

Financial institutions are opting for multi-cloud and multi-AI modal approaches because they don’t want to be restricted by just one offering, Rohit Bhat, managing director of financial services and capital markets at Google Cloud, told BAN. 

“We have developed our cloud platform so that our clients can easily communicate with other cloud providers to manage their data and applications,” Bhat said, adding that Google Cloud has invested in API infrastructure that helps FIs working with a multi-cloud strategy. 

Even the U.S. Department of the Treasury has chosen a hybrid multi-cloud plan while developing a strong API network to modernize its infrastructure, according to a report from the agency in February 2023. 

Currently, the Treasury’s operations reside on-premises, on Amazon Web Services and Azure, the report stated, adding that the agency aims to expand to other cloud providers 

Other FIs that have adopted multi-cloud strategies include: 

• $3.4 trillion JPMorgan; 

• $1.7 trillion Citi; 

• $1.1 trillion BMO; 

• $1.1 trillion ING Bank; and 

• $196 billion Ally Financial.