Pub. 5 2016 Issue 1

January 2016 17 l e a d i n g a d v o c a t e f o r t h e b a n k i n g i n d u s t r y i n k a n s a s T ECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING AT A FASTER rate today than ever before. New systems, applications and software are continually being implemented, more bankers are working remotely and the amount of stored data is rapidly increasing. These changes make it challenging for banks to keep their information technology systems current, secure, reliable and regulatory compliant. Cloud computing lets banks keep their technology infrastructure current and have the flexibility to add employees, applications and new locations without large fixed-asset expenditures. Banks have better security, enhanced reliability and improved regulatory compliance with the specific processes and procedures built into top-tier, banking specific cloud providers. Banks could not obtain the same efficient processes and procedures on their own or from a generic cloud- based provider that serves multiple industries. Banks utilizing banking industry specific cloud computing services also experience improved efficiency. This is due to several factors: 1. Processes and procedures - An example of this is documentation of technical issues and their resolution. By being able to quickly recognize issues at a single bank, or issues occurring across multiple banks using the same applications, (such as the same teller system) the cloud service firm can identify and resolve the issue faster with these tools. 2. Greater technical knowledge - A cloud provider strictly focused on the banking industry will have more knowledge about banking systems than bank staff or a generic cloud vendor. Industry specific cloud providers are exposed to more issues in a single day than a single bank or generic vendor experiences in a year. 3. Enhanced Reliability and Disaster Recovery - Many community banks simply do not have the resources to build secure data centers for their information technology systems and then duplicate them to have as a disaster recovery site. 4. Increased Regulatory Support - Regulators are focusing on cybersecurity issues, and each community bank has to address regulatory releases such as the FFIEC Inherent Risk Assessment. A banking specific cloud provider not only has technical staff but has staff that is able to address new regulatory issues. IT results are delivered faster, with better security, more reliability and improved regulatory compliance because industry specific cloud computing vendors have standards and processes in place that have been used thousands of times. This allows employees to work more efficiently, while reducing the amount of time spent on IT and increasing banks’ information security. CLOUD COMPUTING DRIVES EFFICIENCY By BankOnIT