The symbiotic relationship between Amazon Web Services and the financial industry now runs deep.
At its annual technology summit in Manhattan’s Javits Center, Amazon’s cloud computing subsidiary showcased the multiple ways banks and credit unions have plugged in — AWS hosts core systems, provides security frameworks, combats money laundering, offers chatbot-oriented customer services and has begun supporting card processing platforms too.
Over the upbeat music and strobe lights accompanying keynote speeches, AWS executives touted a 250% year-over-year growth rate for machine-learning services.
“While the conversation starter is usually cost, financial services customers choose to move to the cloud [for] agility and the speed,” said Scott Mullins, head of worldwide financial services business development at Amazon Web Services. “Customers can spin up thousands of instances in minutes as opposed to the 10 to 18 weeks it takes for most on-premises companies to do the same.”
Mullins shared the example of OakNorth, the U.K.’s first cloud-based bank, as an example of how financial institutions can host core systems on AWS through a Virtual Private Cloud. “By using AWS, the bank runs a highly efficient credit process that can take weeks or even days as opposed to months, and relies on AWS’s security and compliance tools and controls,” he said.
AWS executives noted hedge fund giant Bridgewater Associates leverages Amazon's automated reasoning group, ARG technology, for their own security framework. By using mapping and benchmarking tools Tiros and Zelkova, Bridgewater is able to locate and monitor relevant security controls among company accounts and prevent data breaches.
According to Mullins, financial service companies including Capital One, Dow Jones, Intuit and Liberty Mutual are combating money laundering by using AWS machine learning services.
