Accelerate hybrid cloud transformation through IBM Cloud for Financial Service Validation Program

The
cloud
represents
a
strategic
tool
to
enable
digital
transformation
for
financial
institutions

As
the
banking
and
other
regulated
industry
continues
to
shift
toward
a
digital-first
approach,
financial
entities
are
eager
to
use
the
benefits
of
digital
disruption.
Lots
of
innovation
is
happening,
with
new
technologies
emerging
in
areas
such
as
data
and
AI,
payments,
cybersecurity
and
risk
management,
to
name
a
few.
Most
of
these
new
technologies
are
born-in-cloud.
Banks
want
to
tap
into
these
new
innovations.
This
shift
is
a
significant
change
in
their
business
models,
moving
from
a
capital
expenditure
approach
to
an
operational
expenditure
approach,
allowing
financial
organizations
to
focus
on
their
primary
business.
However,
the
transformation
from
traditional
on-prem
environments
to
a
public
cloud
PaaS
or
SaaS
model
presents
significant
cybersecurity,
risk,
and
regulatory
concerns
that
continue
to
impede
progress.   

Balancing
innovation,
compliance,
risk
and
market
dynamics
is
a
challenge 

While
many
organizations
recognize
the
vast
pool
of
innovations
that
public
cloud
platforms
offer,
financially
regulated
clients
remain
accustomed
to
the
level
of
control
and
visibility
provided
by
on-prem
environments.
Despite
the
potential
benefits,
cybersecurity
remains
the
primary
concern
with
public
cloud
adoption.
The
average
cost
of
any
mega-breach
is
an
astonishing
$400
plus
million,
with
misconfigured
cloud
as
a
leading
attack
vector. This
leaves
many
organizations
hesitant
to
make
the
transition,
fearing
they
will
lose
the
control
and
security
they
have
with
their
on-prem
environments.
The
banking
industry’s
continued
shift
toward
a
digital-first
approach
is
encouraging.
However,
financial
organizations
must
carefully
consider
the
risks
that
are
associated
with
public
cloud
adoption
and
ensure
that
they
have
the
proper
security
measures
in
place
before
making
the
transition. 

The
traditional
approach
for
banks
and
ISV
application
onboarding
involves
a
review
process,
which
consists
of
several
key
items
like
the
following: 

• A
  third-party
  architecture
  review,
  where
  the
  ISV
  needs
  to
  have
  an
  architecture
  document
  describing
  how
  they
  are
  deploying
  into
  the
  cloud
  and
  how
  it
  is
  secure. 
• A
  third-party
  risk
  management
  review,
  where
  the
  ISV
  needs
  to
  describe
  how
  it
  is
  complying
  to
  required
  controls. 
• A
  third-party
  investment
  review,
  where
  the
  ISV
  provides
  a
  bill
  of
  material
  showing
  what
  and
  how
  services
  are
  being
  used
  to
  meet
  compliance
  requirements,
  along
  with
  price
  points. 

The
ISV
is
expected
to
be
prepared
for
all
these
reviews
and
the
overall
onboarding
lifecycle
through
this
process
takes
more
than
24
months
today.

Why
a
FS
Cloud
and
FS
Validation
Program? 

IBM
has
created
the
solution
for
this
problem
with
its
Financial
Services
Cloud
offering,
and
its
ISV
Financial
Services
validation
program,
which
is
designed
to
de-risk
the
partner
ecosystem
for
clients.
This
help
accelerating
continuous
integration
and
continuous
delivery
on
the
cloud.
This
program
ensures
that
the
new
innovations
coming
out
of
these
ISVs
are
validated,
tested,
and
ready
to
be
deployed
in
a
secure
and
compliant
manner.
With
IBM’s
ISV
Validation
program,
banks
can
confidently
adopt
new
innovative
offerings
on
cloud
and
stay
ahead
in
the
innovation
race. 

Ensuring
that
the
success
of
a
cloud
transformation
journey
requires
a
combination
of
modern
governance,
standard
control
framework,
and
automation.
There
are
different
industry
frameworks
available
to
secure
and
provide
compliance
posture.
Continuous
compliance
that
is
aligned
to
an
industry
framework,
informed
by
an
industry
coalition
that
is
composed
of
representation
from
key
banks
worldwide
and
other
compliance
bodies,
is
essential.
IBM
Cloud
Framework
for
Financial
services
is
uniquely
positioned
for
that,
meeting
all
these
requirements. 

IBM
Cloud
for
Financial
Services®
is
a
secure
cloud
platform
that
is
designed
to
reduce
risk
for
clients
by
providing
a
high
level
of
visibility,
control,
regulatory
compliance,
and
the
best-of-breed
security.
It
allows
financial
institutions
to
accelerate
innovation,
unlock
new
revenue
opportunities,
and
reduce
compliance
costs
by
providing
access
to
pre-validated
partners
and
solutions
that
conform
to
financial
services
security
and
controls.
The
platform
also
offers
risk
management
and
compliance
automation,
continuous
monitoring,
and
audit
reporting
capabilities,
as
well
as
on-demand
visibility
for
clients,
auditors,
and
regulators. 

Our
mission
is
to
help
ISVs
adapt
to
the
cloud
and
SaaS
models
and
prepare
ISVs
to
meet
the
security
standards
and
compliance
requirements
necessary
to
do
business
with
financial
institutions
on
cloud.
Our
process
brings
the
compliance
and
onboarding
cycle
time
down
to
less
than
6
months,
a
significant
improvement.
Through
this
process,
we
are
creating
an
ecosystem
of
ISVs
that
are
validated
by
IBM
Cloud
for
Financial
Services,
providing
customers
with
a
trusted
and
reliable
network
of
vendors. 

Streamlined
process
and
tooling

IBM®
has
created
a
well-defined
process
and
various
tools,
technologies
and
automation
to
assist
ISVs
as
part
of
the
validation
program.
We
offer
an
integrated
onboarding
platform
that
ensures
a
smooth
and
uninterrupted
experience.
This
platform
serves
as
a
centralized
hub,
guiding
ISVs
throughout
the
entire
program,
starting
from
initial
engagements
and
leading
up
to
the
validation
of
final
controls. The
onboarding
platform
navigates
the
ISV
through
following
steps: 

Orientation
and
education

The
platform
provides
a
catalog
of
self-paced
courses
that
help
you
become
familiar
with
the
processes
and
tools
that
are
used
during
the
IBM
Cloud
for
Financial
Services
onboarding
and
validation.
The
self-paced
format
allows
you
to
learn
at
your
own
pace
and
on
your
own
schedule. 

ISV
Controls
analysis

The
ISV
Controls
Analysis
serves
as
an
initial
assessment
of
an
organization’s
security
and
risk
posture,
laying
the
groundwork
for
IBM
to
plan
the
necessary
onboarding
activities.  

Architecture
assessment

An
architecture
assessment
evaluates
the
architecture
of
an
ISV’s
cloud
environment.
The
assessment
is
designed
to
help
ISVs
identify
gaps
in
their
cloud
architecture
and
recommend
best
practices
to
enhance
the
compliance
and
governance
of
their
cloud
environment.  

Deployment
planning

Deployment
of
ISV
application
in
a
secure
environment
and
manage
their
workloads
on
IBM
Cloud®.
This
step
is
designed
to
meet
the
security
and
compliance
requirements
of
organizations.
Providing
a
comprehensive
set
of
security
controls
and
services
to
help
protect
customer
data
and
applications,
meeting
the
suitable
secure
architecture
requirements. 

Security
Assessment

The
security
assessment
is
a
process
of
evaluating
the
security
controls
of
the
proposed
business
processes
against
a
set
of
enhanced,
industry-specific,
control
requirements
in
the
IBM
Cloud
for
Financial
Services
Framework.
The
process
helps
to
identify
vulnerabilities,
threats,
and
risks
that
might
compromise
the
security
of
a
system
and
allows
for
the
implementation
of
appropriate
security
measures
to
address
those
issues. 

Professional
guidance
by
IBM
and
KPMG
teams

IBM
team
provides
guidance
and
assets
to
help
accelerate
the
onboarding
process
in
a
shared
trusted
model.
We
also
assist
ISVs
with
deploying
and
testing
their
applications
on
the
IBM
Cloud
for
Financial
Services
approved
architecture.
We
work
with
ISVs
throughout
the
controls
assessment
process
to
help
their
application
achieve
the
IBM
Cloud
for
Financial
Services
validated
status.
Our
goal
is
to
ensure
that
ISVs
meet
our
rigorous
standards
and
comply
with
industry
regulations.
We
are
also
partnering
with
KPMG,
an
industry
leader
in
the
security
and
regulatory
compliance
domain
to
add
value
to
the
ISVs
and
clients. 

Time
to
revenue
and
cost
savings

This
process
enables
the
ISV
to
be
ready
and
go
to
market
in
less
than
eight
weeks
reducing
the
overall
time
to
market
and
overall
cost
of
onboarding
for
any
end
clients. Additional
resources
here.

Benefits
of
partnering
with
IBM? 

As
an
ISV,
you
have
access
to
our
extensive
financial
institution
clients.
Our
cloud
is
trusted
by
92
of
the
top
100
banks,
giving
you
a
significant
advantage
in
the
industry. 

Co-create
with
IBM
team
of
expert
architects
and
developers
to
take
your
solutions
to
the
next
level
with
leading-edge
capabilities. 

Partnering
with
us
means
you
can
elevate
your
Go-To-Market
strategy
through
co-selling.
We
can
help
you
tap
into
our
vast
sales
channels,
incentive
programs,
client
relationships,
and
industry
expertise. 

You
have
access
to
our
technical
services,
and
cloud
credits,
as
an
investment
in
your
innovation. 

Our
marketplaces,
like
the
IBM
Cloud®
Catalog
and
Red
Hat
Marketplace,
offer
you
an
excellent
opportunity
to
sell
your
products
and
services
to
a
wider
audience. 

Finally,
our
marketing
and
direct
investments
in
your
marketing,
can
generate
demand
and
help
you
reach
your
target
audience
effectively. 

See
IBM
Cloud
Framework
for
Financial
Services