Standard Chartered Bank and Microsoft Corp. have announced a three-year partnership to speed up the bank’s digitisation, using a cloud-first strategy.
Standard Chartered aims to use the partnership to work towards goals in next-generation payments, open banking, banking-as-a-service and virtual banking.
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Cloud-first strategy
As technological aspects of banking become increasingly important, Standard Chartered has opted for a cloud-first strategy. The aim is to make banking quicker and easier, meeting the customer need for accessibility and convenience.
Speaking on this, Michael Gorriz, Group Chief Information Officer of Standard Chartered, said: “Cloud is a cornerstone of Standard Chartered’s strategy to meet the present and future banking needs of our clients.”
“Using cloud services improves our ability to be agile and innovative, while increasing our operational efficiency and resilience. To realise our digital ambitions, Standard Chartered has chosen Microsoft as a strategic partner and this partnership marks a major milestone for the bank in adopting a cloud-first approach.”
Microsoft Azure
Additionally, the companies plan to use Azure as a preferred cloud platform. Standard Chartered aims to move its trade finance systems to Microsoft Azure first. Its goal is to make trade across borders smoother for corporate and institutional clients.
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By GlobalDataBhupendra Warathe, Chief Technology Officer, Cloud Transformation at Standard Chartered, commented: “The speed and scale of continuous innovation offered by Azure allows us to innovate with the latest AI services to meet evolving client needs.”
Co-innovation
Standard Chartered has also decided to use Microsoft Azure artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics. This is in the objective of automating and improving banking processes and personalising the client experience.
Bill Borden, Corporate Vice President of Worldwide Financial Services at Microsoft, said: “Cloud computing is an enabler for financial institutions to modernise their infrastructure and systems, to gain the agility they need to respond to competitive pressures, regulatory environments and customer demand.
“We are committed to helping Standard Chartered Bank in its ongoing digital transformation journey. Standard Chartered strives to address evolving customer needs and build the next generation of banking experiences.”
The strategic partnership also involves the two Standard Chartered and Microsoft’s exploration of sustainable finance and business initiatives.
