UnionBank plans total cloud migration with Amazon Web Services
UnionBank of the Philippines is moving its entire IT infrastructure to the cloud with Amazon Web Services (AWS).
UnionBank plans to be a 100% cloud pioneer in the Philippines
The bank is aiming to become the first financial institution fully operable on the cloud in its home country.
UnionBank is a legacy AWS customer, and kicked off a transition to the cloud three years ago. It currently deploys the vendor’s Simple Storage Service (S3), Glacier, and AWS Marketplace platforms.
In 2019, UnionBank said it was saving PHP 20 million ($418,000) through its migration.
It expects to generate extended savings of up to 30% over the next five years, with a return on investment within 18 months.
Once the migration is complete, UnionBank will run almost 400 applications on the cloud. The bank says it will also migrate 900 virtual machines to VMware Cloud on AWS.
Existing platforms moving across include the bank’s Infosys Finacle core banking system and SAP HANA enterprise cloud.
“The breadth and depth of the world’s leading cloud provider enables us to more quickly launch new financial services,” says UnionBank’s chief information and operations officer, Dennis Omila.
“Now, more consumers, farmers, fishers, and local businesses will have access to the tools to help better manage cash flow, making it easier to send and receive payments.”
Founded in 1981, UnionBank operates across retail and commercial banking, and holds $16 billion in assets under management.
Last year it kicked off a remittance push, opening 11,000 new counters in the Philippines with support from the central bank.
It also partnered with lending fintech GoBear to provide a platform for the latter to offer its services to underbanked and unbanked in the country.
Conor McNamara, managing director for ASEAN at AWS, says the bank has gained access to an “unmatched portfolio of cloud services”.
Related: Standard Chartered signs five-year cloud deal with AWS
