Avaloq, a Switzerland-based company that develops and provides software for core banking, has announced that it will build a private “Swiss Banking Cloud” together with IBM, which will provide to Avaloq private cloud infrastructure services in Switzerland as well as access to its global cloud resources and capabilities as part of a hybrid cloud environment.
The joint agreement will have Avaloq’s team currently operating its data centers in Zurich and Lugano joining IBM in the existing locations in order to leverage IBM’s Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offering and transform Avaloq’s IT service delivery model leveraging.
Fully compliant with the Swiss legal and regulatory requirements applicable to banks, the private cloud infrastructure and the new operating model will be based on IBM’s infrastructure capabilities in order to create and offer state-of-the-art solutions to Avaloq’s prospects and existing SaaS and BPaaS clients.
The cloud-based transformation of IT infrastructure and operations is expected to be expanded to other regions and parts of the Avaloq group in the near future.
Jürg Hunziker, Chief Executive Officer of Avaloq Group, commented:
“As financial institutions look to capitalize on tech-driven changes, there is a continued trend towards services and cloud delivery models. This initiative supports our general endeavour to standardize and automate the financial industry and is in line with Avaloq’s vision to enable the financial industry to provide state-of-the-art client experience in a highly efficient and compliant way. We have engaged IBM to help us accelerate the transformation of our IT operating model. IBM is our partner of choice due to their proven experience in the financial industry as well as their ability to support us around the world in a consistent and compliant way.”
Christian Keller, General Manager of IBM Switzerland, said:
“IBM is the largest service provider to banks, insurance companies and financial Institutions around the world. Our engagement with Avaloq highlights IBM’s strong commitment to the Swiss financial services market. Today we serve all our banking clients out of our Swiss data centers connected with a dedicated Bordered Swiss Network Infrastructure (BSNI) that prevents access from outside Switzerland. IBM is compliant to Swiss banking specifics, Swiss banking laws and FINMA circulars.”
Tobias Unger, Regional Manager CH/FL of Avaloq, added:
“The Swiss Banking Cloud will be ready for on-boarding Avaloq’s new SaaS and BPaaS clients in Switzerland in the second half of 2018. The migration of Avaloq’s existing SaaS and BPaaS clients to the new platform is expected to happen in the first half of 2019. Avaloq is working closely with its clients to enable a smooth transition.”
The move will help Avaloq to stay at the forefront of banking innovation for secure, cost-effective and compliant technology that give banks the freedom to focus on product innovation and client service..
