How can Microsoft Azure help transform the financial sector

The financial sector handles huge volumes of sensitive data on a day-to-day basis. Processes and compliances are constantly evolving, creating a complicated landscape for the financial industry to navigate. This is further exaggerated by modern cybersecurity and IT infrastructure changes, which create a complex digital landscape. Failure to keep up with any of these can lead to potentially damaging losses for the financial firms and their clients.

Moving to cloud computing can help financial firms streamline their systems, protect data, and ultimately serve their customers better. This article talks about how Microsoft Azure can benefit the financial industry.

Microsoft Azure For Financial Services

Microsoft Azure, a public cloud computing platform developed by Microsoft, provides a range of cloud services, including compute, analytics, storage and networking, which can be used to create and scale applications. The Microsoft Azure platform aims to help businesses manage challenges and meet their organizational goals. It offers support for all types of industries, including the financial sector. Microsoft Cloud for financial services provides comprehensive solutions to the financial market by combining the capabilities of Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft 365. It helps expedite a financial services organization’s ability to roll out solutions faster. Using Microsoft Azure helps enhance the core functions of the financial industry — Investing money by making informed decisions to maximize returns and minimize risk.

Advantages Of Using Microsoft Azure For Financial Services

1. Advanced data security: Security of data and regulation compliances are critical to the financial sector and a key reason to use Microsoft Azure for its security and compliance features. It offers routine backups, around-the-clock monitoring and proactive threat detection that helps protect data from corruption, loss and other cyber threats. Microsoft Azure also provides tools that are above industry standards, local and federal regulations, and other guidelines that must be adhered to. A Microsoft Azure consultancy company can offer expert support and advice to ensure that these resources can be used optimally to ensure success and stability for financial firms.
2. Superior cloud software and equipment: Cloud computing offers an efficient, cost-effective, custom infrastructure based on requirements. Microsoft Azure provides the best software and applications, like Virtual Machines (VM), that can expand the network and automation for streamlining processes and error reduction.
3. Storage Blob: Microsoft Azure enables developers to store unstructured data using the storage blob feature in its cloud platform. Blobs are grouped into storage containers that are tied to user accounts. This storage allows financial firms to store large volumes of data in a secure environment.
4. Azure content delivery network: A content delivery network or CDN is a globally distributed server network that efficiently delivers web content to consumers. This service enables storage and data access on different content servers and locations. It also allows storage of cached content on the edge and serves POP locations near users to reduce network latency. It is ideal for websites, mobile applications and streaming media. For the financial sector, this helps secure access to various financial applications and website offerings to customers.
5. Compliance: Microsoft Azure offers a large portfolio of compliance-related services such as Azure Security and Compliance Blueprints, Azure Security Centre and Azure Policy, which can help create, deploy and update compliant environments. There are four segments to Azure compliance services and offerings: US government, industry-specific, globally applicable and region/country specific. Azure policy helps ensure organizational standards and services ensure financial firms comply across regions.
6. Azure access management: It helps manage access control to resources, how they can be used, and what area they have access to. It is built on Azure role-based access control or Azure RBAC, an authorization system that lays out access management to Azure resources. It also supports extensive access management for configured applications, enabling financial firms to create the right access policies based on roles or attributes.
7. Hybrid and Multi-cloud computing: Hybrid cloud solution provides more control. Using Microsoft Azure with hybrid infrastructure, financial companies can seamlessly manage data, leverage security solutions and deliver application consistency. Azure Active Directory Connect lets cloud users centralize their identity management by integrating on-premises and cloud directories. Azure Stack allows running cloud services and applications in an on-premise infrastructure. It resolves issues such as connectivity and latency by processing data locally before aggregating it in the cloud.

Final Words

Over the years, Microsoft Azure has helped cushion the financial sector against risk, deal with fraud, and enhance and differentiate the customer experience. Microsoft Cloud App Security enables 75% automatic threat elimination by increasing visibility and automated threat protection. Microsoft Azure has empowered financial firms to perform their functions efficiently at the lowest costs and risks. A Microsoft Azure consultancy firm can help make financial operations flexible and provide consistent infrastructure management for financial services.