support@stormitfinancial.com 
FinTech Trends Newsletter Week 1st May-5th May 2017
Why there is a clearing in the cloud for financial services
The financial services sector is one of the prime markets that stands to gain many benefits from MSP’s (Managed Service Providers) and cloud computing but, to date, this has proved a little challenging. This is hardly surprising when you consider the heavy regulation with- in this industry. On top of this there is also a lot of fear from Firms relating to potential security risks with the control of data still very much a primary concern. Barely a day goes by without news story about a cyber attack or data breach.
The potential benefits that come from the growth of cloud computing in this sector are vast, allowing for real-time execution of business critical activities such as fraud detection, Cyber security and Data capture, moni- toring and storage. Cloud computing has also been a key driver in helping alternative investment managers like hedge funds, wealth managers, Pri- vate equity and start-up’s achieve scalability quickly while also helping low- er IT costs. When implemented properly, moving to the cloud can drastical- ly reduce the operations and maintenance cost of IT, whilst ensuring that organisational agility is not slowed down by infrastructure or beholden to legacy technology.
The dynamic nature of fully managed services and the cloud however re- quires security and compliance controls that can be daunting. Issues around mobility and multi-tenancy, identity and access management, data protection and incident response and assessment all need to be addressed. And with multiple modes – SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, public, private, hybrid – creating added complexity in how security and compliance is carried out and by whom, I can certainly understand why IT leaders in the financial services sector may initially think twice about leveraging cloud & MSP solutions.
MSP’s, like Storm IT Financial, are working within in a framework that sets out requirements and best practices for a comprehensive approach to managing company and customer information. As all companies, including those in the financial sector, race to combat security threats and address evolving compliance requirements, they often struggle to implement and demonstrate consistent security management. Proving IT security practices is also key to satisfying the new European Union General Data Protection Regulation before it goes into effect in 2018.
To exemplify the importance of regulation when trying to implement a cloud computing strategy, Firms should leverage Disaster- Recovery-as-a-Service (DRaaS) with advanced security to ensure IT resiliency as it transitions towards a ‘cloud-first’ strategy. Having a cloud-based disaster recovery solution that helps Financial Firms meet FCA regulation requirements is essential. MSP’s should support Financial Firms with advanced security and compliance reporting that speeds up and significantly simplifies Firms compliance processes. The fact of the matter is, in today’s world, compliance isn’t just about satisfying regulations – it’s about staying ahead of threats and assuring end-customers that their data is safe. And this is never more important than when money is at stake.
As well as simplifying industry compliance, MSP’s such as Storm IT Financial, provide cloud services to provide Financial Firms with a number of other tangible business benefits that include:
*The avoidance of downtime and simplified DR management *The protection of customer data with integrated advanced security
*Reduction in IT resiliency costs
Managed & Cloud services clearly have the potential to help alternative investment firms within the financial services sector to protect essential IT systems and innovate in the digital age. However, it is often the case that these companies simply don’t have the resources to be experts in all things IT. The key is in choosing a strong and trusted service provider, like Storm IT Financial, that will be able to work in partnership, alongside the firm to ensure its needs are being met, whether that is in relation to security, compliance, backup or
costs, so that it may focus on continuing to please customers with innovative financial services.
For further advice and assistance on cloud, disaster recovery, data management and managed solutions or if you have any Hedge Fund/ Alternative Investment technology query, call Storm IT Financial.
Storm IT Financial FinTech News & Trends picks: Week 1st May – 5th May 2017
Reacting to Azure maintenance events … before they happen
Introducing Azure Scheduled Events which may impact the availability of your VM:
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/get-started-with-scheduled-events/
Cowen expands international prime services team
Cowen Group expands international prime services team with director and head of risk management:
http://www.hedgeweek.com/2017/05/05/251389/cowen-expands-international-prime-services-team
Apex partners with data privacy firm
Fund Administrator partners with Data Co to enhance data protection and data privacy programme:
http://www.institutionalassetmanager.co.uk/2017/05/03/251266/apex-partners-data-privacy-firm
Microsoft Ventures backs AI with new investments in Agolo and Bonsai
Startup is developing a program that summarizes large amounts of information using artificial intelligence:
https://www.geekwire.com/2017/microsoft-ventures-doubles-ai-new-investments-agolo-bonsai/
Cloud and the IoT in practice
How to exploit cloud services to make use of the IOT
http ://www.zdnet.com/article/cloud-and-theiot-in-practice/
Dell plots Microsoft Azure Stack system for second half 2017
Dell and Microsoft Azure integrated systems with plans for general availa- bility in the second half of 2017:
http://www.zdnet.com/article/dell-emc-plots-microsoft-azure-stack-system-for-second-half-2017/
Verizon Sells Cloud Services to IBM
Telecom giant Verizon recently sold their public cloud services to IBM:
https://solutionsreview.com/cloud-platforms/verizon-sells-cloud-services-to-ibm/
Google’s Eric Schmidt: I’m a ‘job elimination denier’ on the risk of robots stealing jobs
Google’s chairman on the risk of technology, robots & AI stealing human job:
Barclays ramps up fintech ambitions with the launch of Europe’s largest co-working space for financial technologies in Shoreditch
Europe’s largest co-working space for FinTech opens:
Old Mutual ditches IT provider to keep a lid on £450m transformation costs
Old Mutual signs up fintech firm to cut costs:
Microsoft now hosts Dynamics 365 in its UK data centres
Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 runs out of the company’s UK data centres, in bid to woo financial firms:
3 Reasons Banks Are Collaborating With Fintech Startups
How technology is impacting every sector imaginable, financial services included:
