Eve Smith |
Finland’s Savings Banks Group is to migrate all its data and systems to Microsoft’s cloud services to improve data processing, productivity, cybersecurity, sustainability, and more.
In the first phase of the project, the group has implemented the full Microsoft 365 environment, which contains compliance and cybersecurity solutions. In the second, the Saving Banks Group will build a customer relationship management system using the Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform. Finally, the group will move its lending system to Microsoft Azure to complete the full cloud migration.
Migrating to the Microsoft cloud will enable the bank to access the full benefits of digitalisation. For example, it will be able to use artificial intelligence to make work processes more efficient and support employees. It will also ensure the bank is able to meet the increasing requirements around information security and data protection and improve how it manages IT environments, access rights, cost-effectiveness and sustainability.
The Savings Banks Group will also use the Microsoft’s new Finland-based data centre when it opens in the next few years. Sustainably, the waste heat produced by Microsoft’s data centre is used for district heating which enables the annual emission reductions of 40,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
“We want to serve our customers in the best possible way,” said Karri Alameri, CEO of the Savings Banks Association. “Microsoft is our choice as a key technology partner to implement smoother everyday life for our customers and employees in a wide range of services. As a responsible Finnish operator, it is important for us to invest in the Finnish data centre area, from which we can offer secure digital services to our customers in a sustainable way and, by utilising cloud technologies, we can react to changing customer needs even faster.”
Mervi Aiaksinen, CEO of Microsoft Finland said: “We are particularly pleased with the importance that the Savings Banks Group attaches to sustainable development and reducing its carbon footprint.”