81 and the analyst would add in relevant ESG metrics to create a risk score. “However, this only adds another challenge as a lack of data centralisation, endless data copies and poor governance models lead to the creation of outdated data swamps. Following the example, the ESG analyst might be missing critical datapoints or may be using outdated information to deliver that score!” Bringing together the firm’s internal and external datasets requires eliminating technical debt with a data lakehouse. Microsoft Fabric is built around this idea with solutions including Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure Data Factory and Power BI to connect data from multiple sources. “Fabric brings together data tooling, storage, data science tooling, governance controls and a cybersecurity plane so that a company can work from one copy of the data, ensuring it is consistent, clean and controlled,” says Sekol. While no data modernisation is a small undertaking, data lakehouses powered by Fabric aim to ease the pain of upgrading data systems so that banks can integrate AI into their business. “Financial services firms are finding that there is a lot of value to be had in the data when they start digging,” says Sekol. “Some of this is coming from the firm’s sustainability office. For example, the process to collect data to support its goals involves going around to the firm’s functions, gathering activity data and calculating it into ESG metrics. Some sustainability offices also integrate into the credit, lending or insurance lines of business, providing unique insights.” As a result, the sustainability office sees everything the firm does, recognising the value they can provide if they could democratise the data and opening up the conversations to do just that. “While the reporting has been the focus over the past few years, this new data trend to support insights around risks and opportunities is nascent,” concludes Sekol. “It moves beyond the goals into integrating ESG information into the firm’s decision-making as another data point.” FINANCIAL SERVICES Trusting Social is using AI-powered agents in Azure Agent Foundry to reach unbanked individuals Photo: Adobe Stock/NVB Stocker
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