The cloud environment has the potential to propel IT agility to new heights and fulfil the role of technology as a strategic enabler.

Following a hailstorm of M&A activity, financial institutions are facing a critical need to consolidate their data centers. At the same time, IT agility has also become critically important, particularly in institutions that are under intense pressure to transform their technology.

In the past few years, cloud has been increasingly adopted among financial institutions. Implementing a private cloud has many benefits. From a high-level perspective, the private cloud increases infrastructure flexibility, complementing the benefit of scale provided by data center consolidation. Looking one level higher, the benefits create an even more compelling case for change. As we see it, the resulting cloud environment has the potential to propel IT agility to new heights and fulfill the role of technology as a strategic enabler.