Banks, other institutions can tap cloud computing

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine financial services industry, particularly its local banking sector, can seamlessly serve customers by adopting the latest capabilities in information and communications technologies (ICT), most particularly through cloud computing.

Globe Telecommunications executive vice president and chief operations officer for International and Business Markets Gil Genio said all current customer experience through a mobile phone, or what one does over the Internet, is facilitated because there is a cloud infrastructure behind it.

“For instance, we as bank customers are placing information through various cloud infrastructures. However, we need to place necessary platforms in order to properly secure those bits of data,” Genio said.

Banks can start adopting cloud computing with basic steps such as considering colocation in the Globe data centers.

Another alternative is to subscribe to Globe IT Enabled Services’ Infrastructure-as-a-Service, both of which are “evidently better options than buying new equipment.

Forward-thinking banks can also maximize their cloud by harnessing the practice of harvesting information through big data and processing those through analytics, which can be used to study and understand customers.

Speaking at a recent banking convention, Genio that the cost of infrastructure goes up every year, thus the need to keep on investing.

From a cost perspective, it is a matter of transitioning from trying to do everything by yourself and changing the cost model, from a capital expenditure-driven one to something like ‘pay-as-you-go.’

As an example, smaller financial institutions such as rural banks are more open to use the cloud.

In considering the cloud, a group of 10 rural banks can save on costs from 20- to 25 percent if they employ what is called a “community cloud,” a shared infrastructure among several organizations where some of the cost savings potential of cloud computing are realized. 

In terms of security levels, it requires a member organization to impose additional security measures as necessary.

This is in contrast with a cheaper public cloud where there are more users but limited control over the cloud environment, or with a private cloud for individual organizations or group of companies where owners have complete jurisdiction, but can be more expensive to put up.

A cloud provider such as Globe can help IT companies invest in necessary secure infrastructure.

“At the end of the day, he said, it is all about pursuing opportunities while simultaneously trying to limit risks, and getting up to scale and rationalizing operations,” Genio said.