# The journey to cloud-native: overcoming hurdles to drive modernisation and achieve long-term success
Author:  Pal Sinha, Barnali 
Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali
Published: 2022-08-16
Category: TECHNOLOGY
Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/technology
Meta Title: Challenger Banks vs High Street Banks: The Future of UK
Meta Description: Learn how challenger banks are reshaping the UK's banking landscape through digitisation and why legacy banks must adapt to survive. Explore the benefits
URL: https://financedigest.com/the-journey-to-cloud-native-overcoming-hurdles-to-drive-modernisation-and-achieve-long-term-successhtml

![undefined](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/istock-1408906928-1736815458720-compressed.jpg)

_![](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/479-1736815458646-compressed.jpg)_

_By **Dwayne Natwick,** Principal Cloud Security Tech Lead, Atos_

High street banking in the UK is waning as challenger banks continue to disrupt the market and reset the landscape of how financial services are accessed by both consumers and businesses. The key theme behind the rise of disruptive players is the ability to provide easy access to digital services and support for customers in a way legacy banks have struggled to adapt to. This highlights the importance of digitisation within the sector and is a warning for even [established brands](https://www.financedigest.com/2016-the-fight-back-of-the-established-brand.html "2016 – THE FIGHT BACK OF THE ESTABLISHED BRAND") – failure to adapt to modern processes will see you get left behind.

Whether you analyse the improved experience for end-users or the impact on internal systems and processes, modernisation has clear benefits, but the [journey towards](https://www.financedigest.com/the-journey-towards-a-digital-bank-five-major-stages-to-successful-banking-digitalisation.html "THE JOURNEY TOWARDS A DIGITAL BANK – FIVE MAJOR STAGES TO SUCCESSFUL BANKING DIGITALISATION") this goal doesn’t come without challenges. One [key factor in driving modernisation is migrating from a data](https://www.financedigest.com/sterling-edges-lower-ahead-of-key-data.html "Sterling edges lower ahead of key data") centre to the cloud environment where driving innovation and digitisation is streamlined and more achievable. Relying on a data [centre can be a costly investment for a financial](https://www.financedigest.com/new-york-holds-top-spot-london-second-in-z-yen-financial-centre-survey.html "New York holds top spot, London second in Z/Yen financial centre survey") intuition and in some circumstances won’t offer the flexibility needed to operate at peak efficiency due to limited capacity and accessibility of data. Once a company makes the decision to no longer contribute to the lease of large and expensive data centres, the [process of migration and modernising](https://www.financedigest.com/5-reasons-why-modernising-is-the-most-important-ongoing-process-for-any-business.html "5 Reasons Why Modernising Is The Most Important Ongoing Process For Any Business") can begin. The task of exiting a [data centre is not one without challenges](https://www.financedigest.com/data-virtualisation-the-secret-weapon-in-the-challenge-for-compliance.html "Data virtualisation: the secret weapon in the challenge for compliance") but if the enterprise has the resources to do so, the long-term cost saving, and flexibility makes it all worth it.

However, some [companies are hesitant to make the switch to the cloud](https://www.financedigest.com/green-cloud-one-way-your-company-can-commit-to-sustainability.html "Green Cloud: one way your company can commit to sustainability") due to the complex demands required to migrate to a cloud-only environment. For those embarking on this journey there are five key [things they should consider](https://www.financedigest.com/4-things-to-consider-before-buying-your-dream-car.html "4 Things To Consider Before Buying Your Dream Car") that typically impact on a company’s ability to migrate and support a cloud-only environment. It’s important to be aware of these hurdles when planning a migration and IT leaders should be prepared to [deal with these challenges](https://www.financedigest.com/how-to-deal-with-challenging-employees.html "How to Deal With Challenging Employees?") as they arise. Typical pain points include:

1. **Technical and [business drivers](https://www.financedigest.com/finance-transformation-cloud-solutions-can-catalyst-process-improvement-well-driver-business-transformation.html "Finance Transformation: How cloud solutions can be a catalyst for process improvement as well as a driver of business transformation.") are misaligned**

The first common pitfall is that cost-saving is the driving factor for firms to [migrate to the cloud](https://www.financedigest.com/a-cloud-migration-guide-for-financial-institutions.html "A Cloud Migration Guide for Financial Institutions"). Whilst it is true that the [cloud can be a cheaper investment](https://www.financedigest.com/embracing-cloud-computing-how-and-why-organisations-are-set-to-invest-more-in-cloud-computing-in-2023.html "Embracing Cloud Computing: How and why organisations are set to invest more in cloud computing in 2023") than data centres, it should not be sole reason to switch. If key decision makers aren’t on the same page when it comes to the need to switch, issues can arise. That’s why the switch should be discussed by technical stakeholders and business stakeholders from the very start of the [process to understand how the cloud can instead be used to accelerate their existing](https://www.financedigest.com/solvency-ii-pushing-existing-systems-and-processes-harder-is-not-enough-for-compliance.html "Solvency II: pushing existing systems and processes harder is not enough for compliance") business goals.

2. **Lack of planning and assessment of current environment**

Improper [planning or a misunderstanding of the cloud environment can be a setback for firms in terms of cost](https://www.financedigest.com/workplace-planning-software-cuts-costs-and-improves-employee-wellbeing-and-productivity-a-win-win-for-all.html "Workplace planning software cuts costs and improves employee wellbeing and productivity – a win-win for all") and time. Many data centre infrastructures have been in place for years or even decades to tailor to the [firm’s needs](https://www.financedigest.com/europe-power-firms-need-1-5-trillion-euros-in-margin-calls-equinor-says.html "Europe power firms need 1.5 trillion euros in margin calls, Equinor says"). Therefore, it is essential to pre-plan when migrating to the cloud to [ensure a smooth transition and to avoid the downtime and costs associated with upgrades which may be necessary if the move](https://www.financedigest.com/vias-cloud-based-solutions-ensure-painless-office-move-for-insurance-body.html "VIA’S CLOUD-BASED SOLUTIONS ENSURE PAINLESS OFFICE MOVE FOR INSURANCE BODY") is ill-planned.

3. **Not taking advantage of** [cloud platforms and SaaS services](https://www.financedigest.com/cloud-migration-for-financial-services-organisations-whats-the-best-approach.html "Cloud Migration for Financial Services Organisations – What’s the best approach?")

A [benefit of the cloud](https://www.financedigest.com/can-finance-reap-the-benefits-of-the-cloud-without-compromise.html "Can finance reap the benefits of the cloud without compromise?") is the ability to refactor existing applications, databases and workloads for platform services (PaaS) and software solutions (SaaS). The public cloud has developed PaaS for web applications and databases that allow you maintain the data [code without the need](https://www.financedigest.com/why-coding-needs-to-be-re-evaluated-for-sustainability-objectives.html "Why coding needs to be re-evaluated for sustainability objectives") for patching and this also ensures the infrastructure is never out of date.

Using SaaS allows you to avoid maintaining servers and provides a pay-per-use model which is flexible for the expanding or decreasing of a firm. The problem is that many [firms migrate to the cloud without utilising PaaS and SaaS which is why advanced](https://www.financedigest.com/cone-crusher-markets-advanced-research-growth-opportunities-in-global-industry-by-2030-edited-by-leading-research-firm.html "Cone Crusher Market’s advanced Research & Growth Opportunities in Global Industry by 2030 Edited by Leading Research Firm") planning is essential when migrating.

4. **Staff skillset cannot support**

The administration of the new [cloud environment is going to be significantly different than the on-premises data centre environment as you are no longer dealing with a physical database](https://www.financedigest.com/oracle-offers-its-mysql-heatwave-database-and-analytics-on-amazons-cloud.html "Oracle offers its MySQL HeatWave database and analytics on Amazon’s cloud").

Legacy network and server administrators may not have the skills to support this new environment.  To avoid this pitfall, support staff should be [trained and certified in these skills prior to executing the migration from the current environment to the cloud](https://www.financedigest.com/enterprise-training-and-the-future-of-cloud-computing.html "Enterprise Training and the Future of Cloud Computing") environment. Utilising third-party service providers can also help to bridge the [gap in skills](https://www.financedigest.com/navigating-the-global-technology-skills-gap-with-ai-moderated-upskilling.html "Navigating the Global Technology Skills Gap with AI-Moderated Upskilling").

5. **Lack of user adoption and** [change management](https://www.financedigest.com/dispute-management-mindset-changing-the-disputes-game.html "Dispute Management Mindset: Changing the disputes game")

This problem is staff and personal-related. Adopting a new data system can be a culture shock and incorrect usage of the cloud could make the [firm](https://www.financedigest.com/sterling-holds-firm-after-uk-jobs-data-muddies-rate-outlook.html "Sterling holds firm after UK jobs data muddies rate outlook") more susceptible to data attacks. Migration requires proper [planning and training to avoid](https://www.financedigest.com/5-retirement-planning-mistakes-to-avoid.html "5 Retirement planning mistakes to avoid") user confusion which could result in the help desk being flooded with questions as well as set back a company’s view on a successful migration.

The benefits of cloud migration and as a result, modernisation, are clear to see but the [hurdles experienced by financial](https://www.financedigest.com/3-common-financial-hurdles-for-the-self-employed-and-how-to-overcome-them.html "3 Common Financial Hurdles for the Self Employed (And how to Overcome Them)") service institutions experienced along the way cannot be ignored. Rather than be overwhelmed or deterred by these challenges, [key stakeholders need to collaborate](https://www.financedigest.com/c-suite-collaboration-is-key-to-moving-the-financial-services-sector-into-the-new-era-of-digital-transformation.html "C-Suite collaboration is key to moving the financial services sector into the new era of digital transformation") to understand their goals, the journey they need to embark on and the desired outcomes. This will help [tackle challenges head on and make the road to the cloud](https://www.financedigest.com/tackling-the-cloud-skills-gap-in-financial-services.html "Tackling the cloud skills gap in financial services") a smoother one. This is more important than ever as [financial institutions need](https://www.financedigest.com/cfos-need-a-focus-on-forex-in-financial-planning-tools-accountagility-reveals.html "CFOs need a focus on forex in financial planning tools, Accountagility reveals") to ensure they are modernising their operations with a cloud-native approach to stay relevant and rival their competitors.


---
This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more.
---