HSBC signs multi-year cloud deal with AWS
HSBC has selected Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a new long-term cloud provider in its ongoing digital transformation project.
AWS is signed on as a “strategic partner” for HSBC
Described as a “multi-year global agreement,” the deal will see AWS deployed across the bank’s businesses. The first targets are customer-facing applications and HSBC’s global wealth division.
The bank is integrating AWS serverless and analytics services. This includes the tech giant’s Kinesis data streaming product.
“Our work with AWS is an example of how HSBC continues to invest in secure and advanced technologies to make our digital banking experience even better for customers,” says Dinesh Keswani, chief technology officer and chief innovation officer for digital at HSBC.
“Our ambition is to make it easy, safe, and reliable for customers to bank with us, whenever and wherever they are. HSBC’s collaboration with AWS helps us to deliver innovative banking solutions to customers at a faster rate, starting with our Wealth & Personal Banking business.”
HSBC’s cloud journey
Like most major banks, HSBC is operating on a multi-cloud model. The bank kicked off what it calls its “cloud journey” some years ago.
AWS is no stranger to HSBC, as the bank has previously used its services for testing and development environment.
The bank also uses Google Cloud, which it signed for back in 2017. The bank uses Google to host its data warehouses, via the tech firm’s BigQuery solution.
“HSBC is continuing to expand its use of AWS to power its digital transformation and deliver innovative financial services that help customers manage, protect, and grow their wealth in new and more personalized ways,” says Frank Fallon, vice president for financial services at AWS.
“We look forward to our continued collaboration with HSBC as they leverage AWS’s proven capabilities, reliability, and security to drive efficiency across their business and become a more agile organization in the cloud.”
Major restructuring
The UK-headquartered HSBC is undergoing seismic changes to both its technology infrastructure and its workforce.
In February it announced that it would cut 35,000 jobs over three years. The bank is aiming to shed $100 billion in assets. It also plans to shrink its investment bank and undergo a $6 billion revamp its US and European businesses.
Those plans are on temporary hold in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Newly-confirmed HSBC chief executive Noel Quinn put the freeze in place.
“I take the wellbeing of our people very seriously,” he wrote in the bank’s Q1 2020 earnings release.
“We have therefore paused the vast majority of redundancies related to the transformation we announced in February to reduce the uncertainty they are feeling at this difficult time.”
