News from AWS re:Invent ‘22: A Focus on Financial Services

As the undisputed founder of public cloud, AWS has blazed an exciting path over the past decade and a half, and the recent AWS re:Invent conference in Las Vegas displayed a juggernaut that continues to innovate at a breakneck pace. AWS partners report triple-digit growth rates that show no signs of abating any time soon.

The financial services and insurance industries (FSI) were initially hesitant regarding public cloud offerings like AWS, but they have moved to embrace it over the past several years. New offerings announced at re:Invent include data and security services that promise to further spur adoption and innovation from the financial sector, an outlook borne out of the many foundational industry leaders expanding their commitment to cloud.

AWS Clean Room

Data is the fuel that is driving innovation, and the cutting-edge advancements available with AI and ML are dependent on data that is both reliable and diverse. These are bedrock requirements needed in order to optimize AI / ML insights.

However, getting the greatest level of diversity in data presents challenges — particularly when it comes to protecting sensitive information such as PII. To address this, AWS is developing AWS Clean Rooms that allow enterprises to “collaborate with their business partners and generate new insights while protecting underlying raw data.”

Amazon Security Lake

Security is a never-ending battle for businesses. Threats continue to increase in both frequency and complexity as regulators demand strict adherence to rules with stiff penalties for non-compliance. For financial services — an industry in which sensitive data is a daily fact of life — security is particularly important.

To assist, AWS is rolling out Amazon Security Lake to “aggregate, manage, and optimize large volumes of disparate log and event data to enable faster threat detection, investigation, and incident response.”

Institutional Commitment

The level of adoption of AWS and the public cloud by financial services was illustrated by 57 different breakout sessions touching on the industry — 11 of which were devoted exclusively to FSI. Further confirmation is reflected in the fact that many of the foundational institutions in FSI are publicly detailing how the cloud fits in their futures. With pillar organizations like Finra, Nasdaq, NYSE, and OCC on board, it’s clear that public cloud has evolved from nice-to-have to need-to-have for the future.

In particular, OCC has made a commitment to AWS as they build and deliver a next-generation technology stack. As one of eight Systemically Important Financial Market Utilities (SIFMUs), OCC occupies a unique position at the heart of the U.S. financial markets. Speaking at an Atos-sponsored session, Michael Meagher, Executive Director of Cloud and Enterprise Platforms at the OCC, said “OCC is in the process of building and deploying a next-generation platform, and AWS is central to our plans. They provide us with the scale, speed, and functionality that will help drive our future innovations.”

Public Cloud and The Transformation of Financial Services

AWS and other public cloud providers are transforming the enterprise across all industries, and this has been especially true in financial services over the last few years. With complex use case requirements and stringent regulatory mandates, financial services present many challenges when it comes to the public cloud, but those concerns are being met in ways that promise continued adoption and innovation going forward.

Atos, Maven Wave’s parent company, is an international information technology services company that delivers IT services through consulting & systems integration, managed operations, and transactional services. With its deep technology expertise and industry knowledge, it works with clients worldwide and across different business sectors, including manufacturing, retail, transportation, public sector, healthcare, financial services, telecommunications, media, and utilities.