CSC have announced its four-stage, pragmatic program for financial services firms to use cloud services to gain flexibility and agility in their computing environments. CSC is leading financial services firms to the cloud, without jeopardising their high-performance, security and compliance requirements. This staged approach progresses from early use of low-risk, horizontal shared services to deployment of ancillary applications, then cloud-enablement of mission-critical applications, all in parallel with the introduction of unique cloud-only functions.

CSC begins by analysing and matching enterprise computing workloads to cloud options to create a staged deployment roadmap that is both low risk and high impact. This staged approach to cloud computing enables banks, insurers, reinsurers and capital markets firms to speed entry to new markets, smooth mergers and acquisitions, and respond to changes in the competitive landscape. The decision to implement cloud is strategic to the top line and, as a service delivery alternative, frees capital and lowers the cost of operations to impact the bottom line.

“Although it is a new concept for many, financial services companies are beginning to learn the benefits of the cloud — primarily how they can use it to achieve their strategic goals with potentially lower risks and/or costs than the traditional model involves,” said Chad Hersh, Insurance principal for Novarica, an advisory and research firm. “Throughout the industry, the cloud is an increasingly viable solution to meeting enterprise computing needs and service level agreements, reducing total cost of ownership and providing solutions that more easily adapt to business change.”

With a business-first implementation approach to cloud migration, CSC’s Cloud Adoption Assessment methodology assesses, analyses and prioritises workloads to determine which cloud services represent the greatest business opportunities for the enterprise. The resulting “Right Cloud, Right Way” roadmap is tailored for each firm to include appropriate elements of CSC’s four stages.

Stage 1 of CSC’s approach is the deployment of low-risk, horizontal shared services to the cloud to improve the agility, competitiveness and cost effectiveness of these applications and their associated processes. CSC’s cloud services include office productivity applications like Cloud Mail & Collaboration for immediate reduction in operational expense, and CSC’s CloudLab, a rapidly provisioned application development and testing environment to accelerate new and enhanced systems projects.

For example, AMP — one of Australia’s leading wealth management companies — has licensed CSC’s private cloud-based Cloud Mail & Collaboration, and a leading European insurance carrier has contracted with CSC to deliver CloudProtection for Mail and Web.

In Stage 2 back-office support applications are transformed to the cloud, where a choice in deployment options delivers the ultimate flexibility. CSC is one of the few major cloud providers offering multi-platform application transformation, which relies on an open mix of platforms-as-a-service (PaaS) such as VMware’s Springsource. CSC is using these PaaS to quickly migrate cloud-enabled applications, including CSC’s financial services software. For example Legal Solutions Suite, legal matter management software, is now being delivered in a software-as-a-service business model, as is EarlyResolution, a consumer lending default management solution. RISKMASTER claims and risk management software is currently being refactored for multi-tenancy and self-provisioning as an optional deployment method.

Stage 3 is the modernisation of core applications so that they can tap into cloud’s elastic capacity and on-demand simplicity. CSC offers application modernisation services for homegrown and third-party systems. In addition, plans include cloud-enabling selected CSC mission-critical insurance, banking, cards, payments and lending software as part of ongoing modernisation programs, so that those applications can be provisioned, procured and consumed on-demand from a private cloud located in CSC cloud data centers or on the client’s premises.

Stages 1-3 are evolutionary. In contrast, Stage 4, the creation of new services, processes and applications that were not possible before the availability of cloud, is revolutionary and runs in a parallel track. For example, CSC is exploring the power of a cloud platform for rapid deployment and innovation in insurance agency functions such as mobile apps for new business, claims and customer service. The cloud also offers potential economies for CSC’s emerging integrated offering for payment services and channels such as mobile, person-to-person and other forms of payment.

“The need for cost reduction, rapid changes, faster innovations and reduced time to market for new products has many companies considering a move to the cloud, but security is paramount – particularly in the highly regulated financial services industry,” said Ray August, president of CSC’s Financial Services Group. “As a trusted partner providing decades of vertically focused business transformation solutions and cyber security services, CSC has the experience to evaluate, identify and manage private, hybrid and public cloud scenarios that deliver to our clients the most secure services and highest value possible.”

For more information, visit www.csc.com/fscloud.

CSC is a global leader in providing technology-enabled solutions and services through three primary lines of business. These include Business Solutions and Services, the Managed Services Sector and the North American Public Sector. For more information, visit www.csc.com.