IBM strikes $700m deal with Santander for digital drive
Santander has signed a five-year global technology agreement valued at $700 million with IBM as it plans to keep its digital services and banking tech fresh.
“IBM’s technology will provide the bank with the flexibility needed to support the constantly evolving business of a bank”
According to IBM, Santander will improve its services and applications with its technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and big data.
As an example, via IBM Watson, Santander is incorporating AI capabilities to “improve customer experience, enhance branch advisors expertise and increase employee productivity”.
David Chaos, Santander global CIO, says: “IBM’s technology will provide the bank with the flexibility needed to support the constantly evolving business of a bank.”
As big banks have to stay fresh amidst all the challengers out there, Santander needs a good IT architecture. The basis of that architecture is the “journey towards a hybrid, multicloud environment”.
To implement this, the bank created its own Cloud Competence Centre. IBM is collaborating with this in terms of methodologies and processes.
Additionally, the bank is using a range of technologies including IBM DevOps solutions and IBM API Connect, to help develop and launch new or upgraded applications and digital services.
Along will all that, IBM Security tools will be used in areas like mobile applications and incident response.
In other big-dollar news this month, IBM is investing $2 billion in new technology development at the SUNY Polytechnic Institute campus in Albany and throughout New York state, particularly in the establishment of a new AI research hub in New York.
However, all this tech talk does mean humans can pay. Last month, Santander said it will close 140 branches in the UK – putting up to 1,270 jobs at risk.
