How Cloud Will Transform the Retail Banking Industry
Stella Gatziu Grivas, Ruven Schürch and Claudio Giovanoli
School of Business, University of Applied Sciences Northwestern, Olten, Switzerland
Keywords: Banking Trends, Cloud Computing, Banking Processes, Customer Centricity, Branches,
Cloud for Enterprise Business Transformation, Cloud Scenarios.
Abstract: This paper focusses on current trends in the banking industry and on illustrating how these trends can be
supported by cloud computing. The main characteristics of cloud computing that could support
transformation are facilitated data accessibility, enabled processing of data from various sources and the
opportunity of an easier integration of functions or data. Trends in the banking industry are increasing
customer centricity, redesigning of branches and deployment of new communication and distribution
channels. For each trend we report quotes general information to provide an overview of the transformation
caused by this trend. We identify which business processes are influenced, how they are affected and we
explain how cloud computing could support the identified changes.
1 INTRODUCTION
The banking industry today is seemingly facing
many challenges and is undergoing various changes.
After the financial crisis in 2008 several things
changed in the banking industry. The crisis came to
show how fragile the entire banking system was
(Hellmich, et al., 2014b). Thus, new and more
restrictive regulations were passed in the banking
industry to enable the system to survive an even
stronger crisis. Nonetheless the crisis also led to a
continuingly low interest rate level and shrinking
margins in the lending-business, as well as lower
overall profits (Bain & Company Inc., 2012).
Furthermore the customer’s trust in the banking
industry has decreased, which affected their loyalty
towards certain banks and further increased pressure
on them.
The decreasing trust in their banks was not the
only thing that changed in the relationship between
banks and their clients. Control began to shift
towards the customer (IBM Corporation, 2013).
Banks were urged to increasingly adapt their
business models, processes, products and services to
clients and their specific needs. If these needs could
not be fulfilled in a satisfying way, banks risked
losing their customers to the competition.
All these challenges and changes led to growing
pressure in the banking industry. In reaction to this,
banks started to implement new business models or
new ways of interaction with customers to thereby
increase their satisfaction and loyalty.
On the other hand, today in the digitalization era
various surveys manifest that cloud comes of age
and many companies follow a cloud first strategy.
Moving to the cloud means dealing with a
company's processes, roles, governance and strategy
and preparing for digital transformation. In the era of
digital transformation where companies need to
address radical changes, cloud can be a valuable
enabler. New approaches of interconnectivity, big
amount of new data and automation are coming up
with new challenges, but also new opportunities.
Companies capable of increasing their digital
maturity will identify new possibilities faster and
react appropriately to emerge as winners and stand
out in their industries. Cloud is an important pillar of
digital transformation and expenditures are still
expected to increase in the next years (IDG
Enterprise, 2014; IDC, 2015).
Nevertheless, cloud computing provides various
opportunities and approaches to deal with exactly
these challenges. In this paper we discuss how Cloud
Computing will transform the retail banking sector
where entire banking process get transformed. In
Chapter 2 we discuss the key drivers which lead to
the various trends in the banking industry. In chapter
3, 4 and 5 we discuss three of the major banking
trends introducing the affected processes and
illustrating how cloud will transform the processes.
302
Grivas, S., Schürch, R. and Giovanoli, C.
How Cloud Will Transform the Retail Banking Industry.
In Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Cloud Computing and Services Science (CLOSER 2016) - Volume 1, pages 302-309
ISBN: 978-989-758-182-3
Copyright
c
 2016 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved

2 KEY DRIVERS
We have identified three major drivers that lead to
various trends in the banking industry: The changing
behaviour of customers, the technological progress
in IT and the changing regulations in the banking
industry caused by the financial crises.
2.1 Changing Customer Behaviour
Even though the core of banking industry remains
the same, the behaviour of customers seems to be
changing in different matters. One main reason is the
increasing usage of mobile devices and social media.
This could have an impact on different levels for a
bank. Customers like to use social media to share
their customer experiences, which means that banks
and other clients may get an immediate feedback on
how they were treated. Furthermore, customers
could use social media to compare banks and their
products in order to figure out which ones suit them
best (Hellmich et al., 2014a). Thus, social media
may turn into a vital tool to shape the brand of a
bank because customer’s propensity to consult social
media for the offer that suits best might increase.
Besides that, the ever-growing use of mobile devices
by people could lead to the emergence of new
distribution channels (Vater et al., 2012).
2.2 Changing Regulations
There are main changes in regulations that influence
the banking industry like new regulations for
financial market infrastructure or e.g. in Switzerland
the Basel III Framework. The new rules for financial
market infrastructure in Switzerland were brought
together under the Financial Market Infrastructure
Act. It emerged from the lack of transparency in the
markets that became obvious during the financial
crisis. Its aim is to strengthen the existing
international standards for payment systems (PS)
which are systemically important, central securities
depositories (CSDs), securities settlement systems
(SSSs), and central counterparties (CCPs).
Additional instructions for over-the-counter
derivatives are also provided. These regulations are
formulated as broad guidelines in order to take the
distinct nature of financial market infrastructure into
account (BIS and IOSCO, 2012).
Basel III is an international regulation framework
with the goal to improve risk management and
governance in the banking sector (Bank for
International Settlement (BIS), 2010). It also aims
towards increased transparency in the industry.
Basel III framework has two main objectives,
namely to achieve a higher resilience of the banking
industry through stronger capital and liquidity
regulations and also to improve the ability of the
banking sector to absorb shocks and hence to reduce
the risk of financial crisis affecting the real
economy. To implement these objectives, three
generic measures have been provided: reforms in
capital standards, reforms in liquidity standards and
other elements that generally relate to an
improvement in the stability of the financial system.
The objectives of these measures are the
strengthening of the capital base, the improvement
of liquidity and the averting of general risks that
threaten the financial system (KPMG LLP, 2011).
To comply with these new regulations, banks
may need to adapt their business processes and make
sure that they have the necessary tools to fulfil these
guidelines. These regulatory changes could in turn
lead to changes in the banking industry itself.
2.3 Technological Progress
In today’s banking business, information technology
seems to have a very high significance. It may be
essential for banks to apply these technologies in an
effective way, since it could be a core component in
creating a competitive advantage. This competitive
advantage could be achieved in different ways.
Technological progress may have an impact on
various fields of a bank. A major one is the
interaction with customers. Information technology
and new distribution channels could significantly
increase customer satisfaction and allow banks to
target new markets and lead to a competitive
advantage.
By analysing and managing real time data, IT-
Systems could provide a fast and accurate
information flow. This could be very useful to fulfil
regulations. Process automation or suitable sourcing
models will allow to improve process efficiency and
simultaneously to cut costs. This will allow banks to
focus on their core business and on the interaction
with the customers.
Summarizing, technological progress is one of
the key drivers for innovation and trends in the
banking sector. Banks should be open minded
towards technological change. This could be
essential for a sustainable banking business and
supports competitive advantage.
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3 BANKING TREND I:
INCREASING CUSTOMER
CENTRICITY
Contemporary customers may be less loyal and tend
to switch their banks more quickly. On top of that,
technological progress could lead to a higher focus
on customers and therefore to a shift in bank’s
business models from internal orientation to external
orientation (Nicoletti, 2013), (Ernst & Young,
2012).
An internal or product oriented focus may no
longer match the complexity of customers’ daily
life. Customers may demand greater flexibility,
higher involvement, as well as products and services
which suit their requirements. To avoid losing
customers in the long term, banks have started to
consider changes in customer behaviour and move
their business models towards a customer centric
view. Seemingly, it is essential that each customer is
viewed as an individual and the relationship between
customer and bank is built around the specific needs
of this individual. Banks may hence adjust their
offerings to fit customer demands. Furthermore, all
interaction should aim at adding value for the
customer.
In order to achieve customer centricity three
aspects might be vital; knowing the customer,
understanding business processes and how they
create value for customers. Knowing customers and
understanding their personal desires and needs may
prove to be the foundation of shifting towards a
customer centric approach. It could enable a bank to
offer products and services that satisfy the needs of a
specific customer. The goal of understanding such
processes might be awareness of how additional
value is brought to each customer and thus how
changes in products or services affect individual
customer satisfaction.
3.1 Affected Processes
To examine the changes in business processes
caused by an increasing customer centricity we
focus on processes at the front end involving direct
customer interaction and processes in product and
service development.
3.1.1 Front-end Process
Front-end activities and processes increasingly focus
upon specific customer demands and their
satisfaction (Nicoletti, 2013). Therefore, a holistic
view of customers may be taken into account for
consulting and the selling of products. As a result,
the client would only get products and services that
fully match its needs. Interactions between
customers and bank employees should entirely focus
on the wishes of the customer and not on the
standards of the bank, its costs or its capabilities.
Thus each transaction would target an increasing
individual value for the client.
To enable processes that fulfil such
requirements, decision-making based on real-time
information could be applied so that the consultant
or bank teller may be provided with integrated data
regarding the individual customer. This would allow
unique offerings based on the individual customers’
requirements.
3.1.2 Product- and Service Development
In a customer centric approach, banks could design
products that completely suit the needs of customers
(Nicoletti, 2013). They would therefore need to see
the customer as the main actor in product and
service development and fully understand their
needs, whether they are implicit or explicit. This
would allow the bank to develop services and
products that are demanded by customers and not
just pushed into the market.
To achieve this degree of customer centricity,
banks may need to listen to the feedback given by
their clients (Hellmich, et al., 2014a). This new
communication channel as well as intensified
communication could provide valuable instruments
in achieving customer centricity. Customers may use
the Internet to gather information and reviews about
banks and their products. By listening to individual
feedback, banks could profit in terms of additional
information they get from and about their clients in
order to sharpen the image of their customers.
3.2 How Does Cloud Computing
Support This Change?
A key requirement for the implementation of a
customer centric approach could be a comprehensive
foundation of data regarding a bank’s customers.
Cloud based CRM systems can deliver a foundation
by providing an integrated view of each customer
and their actions.
This is facilitated by the collection of customer
data across multiple contact and distribution
channels which allows continuous monitoring of
customer actions in an integrated manner and
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therefore an enhanced adaption of services to
customer demands.
For a CRM system a successful implementation
across the entire company could be quite essential. A
company could consequently obtain the same
information across the whole organization, which
again would lead to higher data quality and thus to
an improved adjustment towards customers and their
needs. The implementation of a CRM-system
nevertheless seems very complex. Cloud computing
could help to decrease this complexity due to easier
integration with the existing infrastructure and the
potential of a service oriented implementation.
Another benefit of cloud based CRM systems
may be the enhanced possibilities for analysing
customer data and behaviour. Thus, banks may not
have advanced analytical capabilities due to
difficulties in the integration and processing of vast
amounts of data. Cloud computing would help to
overcome these obstacles with the help of several
features. The Cloud allows a company to access
almost unlimited storage and computing resources.
Thereby and through the integrative abilities of
cloud computing, the collection of enormous
amounts of data from different sources is alleviated.
Furthermore data analysis could be performed in a
faster way. Through customer analysis new patterns
are found, which offers new opportunities in terms
of personalization in banking. One way of benefiting
from customer analysis for front-end processes
could be real-time decisions during customer
interactions, which would allow a higher adaption of
services to a specific customer. A possibility to
support product- and service-development would be
the introduction of products or pricing models that
base on the particular customer relationship and
would in turn require the analysis of relationships
between customers and their bank.
CRM systems allow banks to analyze,
understand, predict and influence customer
behaviour throughout the entire customer life cycle.
Thereby they help organizations to capitalize
customer information gathered across multiple
channels.
Changes in business culture and organizational
structure may be required due to the trend for banks
to become increasingly customer centric described
above. The value chain would be adapted and also a
high degree of innovation would be needed in the
organization to achieve a high level of flexibility.
Technology could be one of the main drivers for a
company to be more agile and therefore to respond
faster to market demands. The implementation of
Cloud computing would enhance this agility even
further by providing new possibilities to deliver
business services and processes. The fast
transformation of banks and their business models
could be facilitated by cloud services in order to
fulfil evolving market requirements. Thus, a bank
would be able to adapt its business processes to the
changing customer needs quickly and provide a high
degree of customer centricity.
4 BANKING TREND II:
REDESIGNING OF BRANCHES
Nowadays banks are redesigning their branch
network and branches, probably due to changing
customer behaviour and the technological progress
that offers new possibilities (Hellmich, et al., 2014b;
Bain & Company Inc., 2012). A bank’s branches
may be just one part of the distribution strategy of a
bank (Kröner, et al., 2014; Bain & Company Inc.,
2012). Accordingly they should all fit into this omni-
channel strategy because customers might no longer
differ between online and offline offers.
Nevertheless the branches may still be vital for
different reasons. In the digital age they could serve
as showrooms for services the bank is offering (Bain
& Company Inc., 2012). Furthermore they may be
utilized as a location for advisory, which might be
becoming more and more important due to the
increasing complexity of customer transactions.
Therefore banks should transform their branch
network and branches to adjust to the trend.
The trend to redesign branches could be
subdivided into two aspects. One would be the
reorganization of the branching network and the
other the redesigning of the branch itself (Accenture,
2012). The branch network could be transformed
into a hub and spoke structure with a few flagship-
stores as hubs in attractive locations and several
smaller satellite-stores in less frequented areas
The redesigning of the branch would then
depend on whether it is a flagship-store or a satellite-
store (Bain & Company Inc., 2012). Flagship-stores
could offer the full product and service range
including comprehensive consulting. They may not
have any counters or teller windows, but instead
they would focus on providing expert assistance in
more complex financial matters. Satellite-stores
would be intended to assist customers with routine
transactions and to sell standardized, less complex
products. To increase the quality of services, banks
may also try to offer new ways of product
presentation and consulting e.g. where mobile
How Cloud Will Transform the Retail Banking Industry
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devices could often be integrated to support
consultations. As a consequence, banks could be
intending on lowering their costs per branch and to
increasing profitability by better adaption to
customer behaviour and more light weighted
business processes.
4.1 Affected Processes
This new approach of interacting with clients affects
more the front end processes consisting of all direct
interaction with customers in order to assist and
advise them. Thus in terms of processes that are
affected by a redesigned branch network, this report
focuses on the processes at counters and teller
windows, in less complex or more routine as well as
in sophisticated consulting.
4.1.1 Counter Processes
Counter and teller windows tend to be disappearing
more and more in redesigned branch networks.
Therefore processes that were transacted on counters
such as cash withdrawal, deposits or payments could
change dramatically. Bain & Company Inc. (2015)
are suggesting that such routine transactions would
work better and cost less if done digitally by the
customers themselves. The study also highlights that
many banks already follow this path and are trying
to outsource such interactions to the client. Hence,
the processes on counters could be changing towards
a higher degree of consulting on more complex
transactions (Nicoletti, 2013). To make this possible
the front-end processes for simple transactions
that
were previously performed on teller windows and
counters might shift to online and ATMs, making a
clear change (Bain & Company Inc., 2015)
4.1.2 Processes in Routine Consulting
In general consulting and selling of simple products
might be changing to the effect that it could become
more complex and also more important for banks
themselves (Ernst & Young, 2012), (Vater, et al.,
2012), (Bain & Company Inc., 2012).
The growing complexity might be due to the
change of customer behaviour. Customers may tend
to visit physical branches only for transactions and
problems that are more complicated and not
appearing daily. The reason for the increasing
importance might be that the quality of the advice a
bank offers and the capabilities of their consultants
are key factors for a bank in differentiating itself
from others. Thus it would become vital for banks to
have well educated and informed front-line
employees who are able to help customers choose
the products and services that suit them best. To
satisfy these customer needs, banks could alter
business processes and apply new technologies to
provide matching products and services for a unique
and convincing customer experience.
4.1.3 Processes in Specialized Consulting
The redesigning of branch networks may also lead to
changes in business processes regarding consultations
in more specific fields such as retirement and
investment planning. Following the new structure in
the branch network, banks may concentrate their
specific knowhow and skills in the full-service
flagship-stores (Accenture, 2012), (Vater, et al.,
2012). To ensure that this knowhow is still delivered
to the client, independent of its location, banks may
need to make it accessible through a variety of media
for example via video conferences with customers or
over mobile consulting for tablet computers (Bain &
Company Inc., 2012). This could lead to an alteration
in business processes due to changing interaction with
customers.
4.2 How does Cloud Computing
Support this Change?
The main change in routine processes performed on
counters and teller windows could be the
outsourcing to the consumer by deploying online
self-service portals or ATMs (Bain & Company Inc.,
2015). To constitute a competitive advantage the
online solutions may need to be integrated into the
existing information system (Nicoletti, 2013). A
Cloud computing strategy and platform would
provide this capability. It may help to avoid
integration problems emerging from incompatible
systems from various vendors. Another aspect in
terms of integration could be the standardization of
functional capabilities. The integration of
technology would thereby allow the standardization
of functions across all distribution channels and
therefore enhance customer experience.
Further Cloud computing would facilitate the
introduction of new self-services for customers,
possibly originating from different reasons. Cloud
computing may provide access to new IT resources
within a very short period of time. This aspect would
allow a bank to deploy self-service channels faster
and at lower costs (Dybka, et al., 2013). Hence the
time-to-market would be shorter and would
simultaneously lead to additional financial benefits.
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Another point that empathizes the potential of
Cloud computing for self-service portals could be
the higher accessibility thanks to the Internet.
Access to services would be provided at any time
and from anywhere independent from the device
being used. That would make banking services
available 24/7 for customers.
To provide sufficient customer experience banks
might need to offer products and services that are
well adopted to the particular client (Vater, et al.,
2012). Therefore the offering of adapted products
could be a vital aspect of consulting in a redesigned
branch network because it increases customer
satisfaction and loyalty (Accenture, 2012).
This requires analysis of customer data and of
previously performed customer actions to obtain an
informational foundation (Dybka, et al., 2013).
Cloud based CRM services support scalability and
can be used to process large amounts of data from
different sources. They would also enable banks to
integrate customer contact channels. This would
allow the monitoring of customer actions, customer
experience and analysis of customer information,
independent through which channel they occurred.
All these factors could empower bank tellers and
consultants to make decisions based on real-time
information, while they are interacting with
customers. This may in turn enable consultants to
offer the services or products that suit their
customers best and thereby would increase the
customer’s satisfaction (Dybka, et al., 2013).
The redesigning of branch networks and the
subsequent centralization of specific know-how has
created a physical gap between consultants and their
customers. With the facilitated integration of mobile
devices and the accessibility over the Internet, Cloud
computing could allow employees to work
anywhere, anytime and with any device. Consultants
would now be able to consult customers from
everywhere. Hence consultants would be able to
visit customers at the branch of their choice or even
at their homes and would still be connected to the
organization and its data.
5 BANKING TREND III:
DEPLOYMENT OF NEW
COMMUNICATION AND
DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS
The trend in banking to use new communication and
distribution channels could have been triggered by
two drivers (Nicoletti, 2013). The first driver could
be technological progress, which created the
foundation and allowed an initial use of additional
distribution channels in a business context. The
second driver could be the changing behaviour of
customers. Customers nowadays could be able to
decide when and how they interact with their banks
(Bain & Company Inc., 2012). Besides this, they
most likely want to access their financial affairs
location and time independently.
To deal with these new settings banks created
various services like evolved ATMs, online banking
or mobile banking (Nicoletti, 2013). Social networks
and social media may as well be considered as new
communication channels, since they provide new
approaches to a customer interacting with its
banking institute.
Today mobile devices are widely spread, thus
banking customers are becoming more and more
mobile. Hellmich et al. (2014b) even suggest that
mobile banking might serve as one of the main
distribution channels for products that have a low
consulting intensity. To anticipate this development
and to make sure of profiting from this increasing
mobility, banks heavily invest in apps (Vater, et al.,
2012). The rising number of mobile devices could
also lead to an enlargement of the functionalities
provided by mobile services due to their higher
coverage.
Besides the growing usage of mobile apps in
financial services, social networks might also be
becoming more and more important. Banks may
utilize them to change the interaction with their
customers. Social media and social networks could
allow banks to communicate in a much faster, more
efficient and effective way.
5.1 Affected Processes
The implementation of a concept to use new
communication and distribution channels could be
more than just the development and design of new
mobile apps or online services. It may require an
adaption of processes to ensure that new offers can
be delivered in an integrated way. Banks may need
to ensure too that they provide a consistent customer
experience for all distribution and communication
channels. Therefore processes might need to be
adjusted. Three areas of processes might be
influenced by the deployment of new distribution
and communication channels. First the front-end
processes, second the processes in communication
and marketing and third technical processes.
The introduction of new distribution channels
could lead to more opportunities for clients to
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307

conduct easy transactions by themselves. This again,
would enable banks to outsource easy tasks to
customers and would therefore affect the processes
which were previously performed on counters and
teller window. New distribution and communication
channels may offer a huge pool of additional
external information that could be accessed. This
information would need to be stored and managed in
a consistent way, independent of the touch point it
came from (Bain & Company Inc., 2012).
Afterwards information should also be made
available again for both clients and bank employees.
This would require a sophisticated management of
information and its sources.
With the new communication channels the way
companies and clients communicate would most
likely change. Thus, the communication would turn
into conversation. This means that communication
could become mutual. Banks would be able to use
social media to acquire feedback and listen to how
network users talk about their services and products.
Therefore processes would need to be changed in
order to make sure that this valuable feedback is
well regarded.
These new opportunities concerning
communication would also allow new ways of
engaging with customers. For example advertising
campaigns could now be organized across all
communication channels and would thereby increase
the impact by simultaneously decreasing costs
(Vater, et al., 2012). Furthermore social media
would allow more accurate and customized
advertising, which could result in a higher
profitability. To take advantage of these
possibilities, working on a marketing approach
spanning all distribution channels could prove to be
important.
The goal of a multichannel approach would be to
provide a seamless customer experience and similar
functions across all distribution and communication
channels. Therefore changes in technical processes
and the way the information is managed may occur.
Information systems might need to be integrated
with the other channels. This would be the basis for
consistent data and a possible interaction among
channels and applications. The seamless transition
between channels could again create an additional
value for customers.
5.2 How does Cloud Computing
Support this Change?
A characteristic of cloud computing is the
enablement of the “processing of large amounts of
information, from various sources” (Nicoletti, 2013).
This could be important for the management of
multichannel distribution and communication,
because data that originates from different channels
may need to be processed in a centralized way.
A specific application of data processing from
different sources by cloud services could be CRM tools
based on cloud computing. They would allow the
management of customer data and its acquisition
through different sources. This would again enable the
bank to monitor customer contact and experience
occurring in all distribution channels. It could also help
with the management of multichannel advertising
campaigns, by supporting the planning and execution
as well as the evaluation of their impact.
These CRM tools could support changes in front-
end processes as well as communication and
marketing processes. They would allow easier
monitoring and management of an increasing
number of customer touch points and enable the
utilization of consistent data coming from these
touch points.
Technical processes would be supported in so far
that the processing of data from various sources due
to cloud computing would facilitate the integration
of information systems. Thus the integration of
information systems and distribution channels would
become easier.
It could be vital for customer satisfaction to
provide a seamless customer experience across all
channels. Therefore functional capabilities could be
standardize. Cloud services would facilitate
integration and thereby enable the required
standardization. This way, customers could be
offered the same functionalities no matter which
distribution channel they choose. Changes in
technical processes could be supported by the easier
integration between information systems and
distribution channels in terms of functionalities.
Another characteristic of Cloud computing is that it
facilitates the access of information systems over the
Internet. This enables banks to provide a 24/7 access
for their customers from any device as long as it is
connected to the Internet. This could be an essential
feature for a multichannel distribution strategy, because
it would allow customers to access services over their
preferred channel whenever they like.
6 CONCLUSIONS
Cloud computing could offer a lot of potential for
banking institutes in different ways that have not
been fully addressed yet.
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For front-end processes with direct customer
interaction Cloud computing could produce
unprecedented customer satisfaction. This would
enable banks to strongly adapt their products and
services to the specific customer. Furthermore Cloud
computing would allow the provision of a
comprehensive customer experience span all
distribution and contact channels, which would also
enhance customer satisfaction further. Thus Cloud
computing could provide an opportunity for banks to
highly differentiate themselves from their
competitors. Especially in current times with low
margins, growing competition and clients that are
increasingly likely to switch banks, it could be very
important to work on unique selling propositions to
enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty. Cloud
computing could be the first step in the right
direction by enabling new ways of interacting with
customers and a strengthening the own brand.
Back-end and supportive processes could
become more efficient due to the implementation of
a cloud based IT-Infrastructure. Cloud computing
would enable an information flow that pervades the
entire company and therefore prevents the
emergence of information silos. Thus the bank
would be able to utilize information in a more
effective and efficient way and front processes
would be optimally supported, which anon would
lead to higher customer satisfaction. On top of that,
banks could gain a higher flexibility in terms of
business models or process adaption through the
implementation of a cloud based IT-Infrastructure.
This flexibility in combination with the improved
information flow would facilitate the anticipation of
and adaption to future trends in the banking industry.
Although cloud computing offers big advantages
its employment must be carefully considered and
prepared. It is vital for a bank to develop an overall
Cloud computing strategy before deploying cloud-
based solutions. This strategy should consider and
penetrate all aspects of business. Furthermore a bank
must be aware of the change effort that has to be put
into such a project. Then by the implementation of a
cloud strategy, changes may occur in all aspects of
business. If the strategy does not address the entire
organization, then the risk of missing out on the full
potential of Cloud computing is high.
Nevertheless these comprehensive changes in
different sections of the company might also unlock
further potential. Outdated or inefficient processes or
methods could be detected and revised caused by the
changing business culture, increased flexibility and
enhanced information flow.
Altogether Cloud computing would help a bank
to better adapt to its customers and their specific
needs, which would lead to increased customer
satisfaction, loyalty and therefore to a higher number
of sales. At the same time, Cloud computing
supports banks to be more efficient and therefore to
cut costs. In conclusion, Cloud computing thus
enables banks to enlarge their profits.
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Accenture, 2012. Banking 2016: Accelerating growth and
optimizing costs in distribution and marketing,
Bain & Company Inc., 2012. Retail-Banking: die Digitale
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