Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has announced that it has formed a strategic alliance with Finastra to deliver secure, flexible and cost effective financial services cloud solutions. As part of the alliance, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft’s enterprise-ready trusted cloud platform, will underpin FusionFabric.cloud as Finastra’s strategic cloud platform.
Finastra will also launch a selection of its global payments and retail banking products on Azure over the course of this year.
Simon Paris, Deputy CEO at Finastra, said:
As we change the way software is written, deployed, consumed and monetized with our FusionFabric.cloud open architecture, it makes sense to team up with a trusted technology powerhouse like Microsoft which shares our values in providing secure, accessible and modern technology in high performance environments. FusionFabric.cloud completely opens our software up to third parties, and our broad solution set is unparalleled, enabling us to revolutionize the traditional development model and pave the way for future generations to embrace a collaborative ecosystem approach. The Azure cloud ensures we are best placed to make this happen and offer our customers robust technology on a secure and proven platform.
The alliance aims to offer customers a choice of cost effective cloud-based technology solutions across the financial services landscape. Finastra cloud customers will be able to transform their business and become more agile, innovative and resilient, whilst remaining secure.
By harnessing the agility and sophistication of Azure solutions, Finastra will be able to deploy intelligent, value-added services to clients more efficiently, including new products and upgrades.
Technology is increasingly providing a competitive advantage to financial services businesses looking to thrive in the digital economy,” commented Toni Townes-Whitley, Corporate Vice President, Industry at Microsoft. “We are excited to collaborate with Finastra to deliver innovative financial services solutions powered by Microsoft Azure, underpinned by our investments in cloud security and regulatory compliance.
The security of the Finastra cloud is further bolstered by Microsoft’s investments in cloud security research, development and technology. Finastra has been offering reliable and flexible services for a number of years and will continue to help customers deploy solutions on-premises, in a hosted environment, and in the cloud – depending on customer preference.
Microsoft continues to see strong cloud adoption from the financial services industry, with more than 80 percent of the world’s largest banks and more than 85 percent of the global systemically important financial institutions using Azure. This represents the highest bar for legal, compliance, security and acquisitions teams.