Are banks in PH waking up to cloud?

In a report by the Asia Cloud Computing Association (ACCA), the Philippines has improved its ranking for the second consecutive time in its Cloud Readiness Index (CRI), taking the ninth spot as the most cloud-ready nation in the Asia Pacific. According to ePLDT, while the country’s adoption of cloud technologies is gradually rising, banking institutions need to keep up with this trend to provide better services to customers, reduce operating costs and improve scalability and flexibility.

Just in April 2013, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) released a framework on the banks’ use of IT infrastructure, which includes ruling on use of cloud computing technologies. This opens the floor for players in the local banking and finance services and insurance industry to explore possibilities on cloud for their non-core applications.

“Customers want automation. That’s why banks want to make sure that their applications won’t crash during moments when customer service is expected to be at its peak,” said Nico Alcoseba, Vice President and Head of ePLDT/PLDT Disruptive Business Group. “At this point, cloud adoption in the banking and financial sectors should no longer be a question—it is already a need. Cloud offers tremendous benefits that range from the agility to scale up and down to savings in total cost of ownership. With this solution in place, banks will definitely improve the way they deliver their services to customers across their branches.”

Embarking on a cloud-based business transformation journey helps banking institutions to optimize their operations. This is why ePLDT, Inc., an industry-leading enabler of digital business solutions for enterprises in the Philippines, pushes for the wide use of cloud for banks to leapfrog the competition in the market, innovate financial processes and meet customer satisfaction.

ePLDT provides scalability to customers depending on their demand. It offers tailor-fit cloud infrastructure while saving on costs, therefore supporting their growth in new markets without wasting time and resources in establishing a physical presence.

On top of these services, ePLDT ensures optimum security and disaster recovery to data stored in its colocation centers, the VITRO network of data centers. This is what separates cloud services from on-premise solutions.

“Banks are in a better position to maintain their relationship with their customers and entice new ones when they deploy their processes on the cloud,” said Nerisse Ramos, ePLDT Group Chief Operating Officer. “Huge banking institutions around the world are now embracing public cloud services because of its limitless security, scalability and cost-efficiency. Our local banks should not lag behind the competition.”

ePLDT, Inc. offers a suite of cloud technologies that range from IaaS, SaaS, DRaaS and Microsoft Office 365. For more information, please visit the website at www.epldt.com/solutions/cloud/.