By Roy Urrico
Finastra and Microsoft Corp. announced a multiyear cloud agreement to help accelerate financial services’ digital transformation and reimagine the way credit unions and banks use technology and think about sustainable, open finance.
According to the announcement, the move builds on the 3,000 financial institutions already supported by both companies across payments, lending, treasury and retail banking on Azure, a cloud computing service created by Microsoft.
“This is a truly exciting change in the relationship between our two companies,” said Simon Paris, CEO, of the UK-based Finastra, formed in 2017 by the combination of Misys and D+H. Paris added, “We believe the future of finance is open. Together with Microsoft, we can provide people, businesses and communities with the solutions and services that fit around their needs and lives, unlocking the power and potential of finance for everyone. As the pandemic has brought the future forward with regard to digitization, our vision to transform the world of financial services aligns closely with Microsoft’s ambitions, and I believe that together we can help accelerate this digital shift.”
Finastra, which has its U.S. headquarters in Lake Mary, Fla., also said using Microsoft platforms has already enabled it to accelerate its product road maps to bring mission-critical solutions to the cloud for its 8,500 customers, alongside advancements in data, artificial intelligence and open banking.
“Finastra’s open developer platform, built on Microsoft Azure, is leading the way in accelerating collaboration and innovation in financial services. By helping with capabilities such as e-signatory and e-notary, Finastra is able to quickly extend those solutions for more customers,” said Scott Guthrie, executive vice president, Cloud + AI, Microsoft. “We’re thrilled to be working with Finastra to transform the future of financial services by accelerating its move to the cloud. Together we will fuel the digital transformation of financial services, and by delivering on operational efficiencies and reducing risk, we will help increase productivity and enable deeper client engagement.”
Along with the strategic partner relationship, Finastra’s said in its announcement that its FusionFabric.cloud — a scalable, open and collaborative development platform — will continue to encourage co-innovation of next-generation financial services applications. Powered by Microsoft Azure, FusionFabric.cloud allows developers access to build on top of Finastra’s core systems for faster incubation of high-value applications at scale.
About a year ago, Finastra brought banking services outside the branch with the launch of Fusion Digital Front Office, a tablet-based platform that enables credit unions, and other financial institutions to take services, directly to their members.