Go cloud or go home. This motto is followed by many financial companies as cloud technologies are a great way to optimize workflows in the financial industry. This is confirmed by a report from the Financial Executives Research Foundation (FERF). This report is based on numerous interviews, and more than 42% of interviewers in the US said they already use financial technologies in business, 20% of them said they are actively exploring possible scenarios for their use, and 37% prefer to store their data in their own databases, not in the cloud.

In this article, we will cover everything related to cloud software for the financial industry and list some useful tips for developing this kind of application.

At first glance, cloud technologies can only bring convenience to workflows and nothing more. However, this is a delusion. Let’s take a look at a few of the significant benefits that a financial institution can get by implementing cloud technology in its work.

Automated Workflows

The larger the business, the stronger the need to introduce new technologies to meet the company’s functional requirements. Cloud technologies are a great way to automate workflows, allowing the finance department to communicate more effectively with other departments. Besides, the decision-making process is significantly improved thanks to up-to-date information that is always at hand.

Elimination of Duplicated Records

The financial industry abhors inaccuracies and mistakes. Manual processing of data arrays takes a lot of time and can lead to many errors and, consequently, financial losses. Thanks to cloud technology, data can be updated in real-time, avoiding duplication and other errors.

Hierarchy of Access

In large and decentralized companies, managers’ headache will always be the distribution of access to this or that information to different employees. Employees with different access require different access to information, and it takes a lot of time to manually distribute it. Besides, there is a risk that information may fall into the hands of third parties.

Cloud-based software has carefully tuned controls to quickly share information among employees. Employees will only have access to information that they can view.

Over-the-Top Security

The security of confidential data in the financial sector is always the primary concern of any company. Cloud technologies are always on guard of personal information as they are sufficiently reliable and secure, making the probability of leakage chances drop to zero. In addition, it is possible to develop custom features that will further increase data security. Some of these features are data disaster recovery, automatic backups, or real-time data recovery.

Constant Access

Having implemented cloud technologies, users get round-the-clock access to information using specialized applications or a browser.

There are several types of cloud software for the financial industry.

• Public cloud storage
• Private or personal cloud storage
• Hybrid cloud storage

Each type has its own differences and for a clearer picture, let’s look at each type separately.

Public cloud storage features excellent scalability and fast deployment speed, but at the same time, they are quite vulnerable and not the most productive. This type is not the best choice for large companies.

Private clouds are reasonably secure and highly reliable but have some scalability issues. Security and reliability have to be paid for by developing custom software from scratch, which entails high costs.

Hybrid cloud storage, as the name suggests, unites several solutions under one roof. Despite the seeming convenience and ultimate choice, such solutions are quite expensive.

There are several characteristics to consider during cloud application development to ensure a good user experience.

Security

And we’re back to safety again. Most likely, it is difficult to assess it if you have never been hacked before. To ensure complete data protection, ensure that your future application has all security certificates that encrypt data, and provide a secure connection between the server and the product.

Polish Your UX

Convenience and intuitive clarity of the interface is of great importance. Provide easy navigation in the interface and avoid clutter. In addition, provide both offline and online interface update processes, depending on the type of cloud software you want.

Arrange Data Accurately

All data stored in the cloud must be synchronized with the data of other accounts. In addition, each member of the company should only have access to a specific part of the financial application, depending on the position in the company. Don’t forget to add a convenient viewing of all the necessary information.

Stable Data Centers Are Everything

Although clouds can be anywhere, make sure your provider has multiple disaster recovery data centers. Make sure the centers are located in areas with a low risk of natural and man-made disasters. In addition, when entering into a contract with a cloud service provider, your contract must include a threshold for uptime and service availability.

We’ve covered everything you need to know about cloud-based financial software. Now you’re packed with knowledge to introduce your business to cloud technologies. 

Author: Vitaly Kuprenko

Vitaly Kuprenko is a technical writer at Cleveroad. It’s a web and mobile app development company in Ukraine. He enjoys telling about tech innovations and digital ways to boost businesses.