Oracle has expanded its relationship with the UK Government by enhancing the Government Centre of Excellence and enabling better access to Oracle Cloud. Oracle has updated its links with the Government by updating the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Crown Commercial Service (CCS) and Oracle, as well as focusing on building a stronger working relationship between Oracle and the UK public sector. 

The Oracle Centre of Excellence will provide further support and technical capabilities enabling the UK Government to make more use of Oracle Cloud. The updated MOU will ensure governments and the public service sector will have continued use of Oracle Cloud. Critical services will have complete access to the full range of cloud applications, infrastructure services and autonomous technologies. 

Oracle Cloud will support customers like the UK Government in delivering higher efficiency, automation and productivity, all important factors in supporting a successful economic recovery. The services will provide public sector organisations with further support in shifting workloads to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure or expanding the use of the Oracle Cloud Applications Suite. 

Philip Orumwense, commercial director and chief technology officer of Crown Commercial Service explains that the enhanced MOU will continue to create savings and further benefits for public sector customers using Oracle’s cloud-based technologies. Orumwense highlights that the services will create more value while supporting public sector customers’ journey to the cloud. 

Gareth Rhys Williams, the Chief Commercial Officer explains that the UK is committed to the Build Back Better growth plan, a part of which involves ensuring we make the most effective use of modern cloud technologies. Extending the relationship with Oracle will enable the UK to continue generating commercial value, enhance services delivery and support the wider agenda of the Government. 

Richard Petley, MD and Senior Vice President of Technology and Cloud at Oracle explain that the announcement confirms the commitment and long-standing relationships between their business and the UK Government. Petley highlights that the collaboration enables the potential of the cloud to support the UK is leading the way in adopting digital technologies. 

Oracle provides the only multi-region cloud for use by public sector customers in the UK and can be used by multiple groups such as the Home Office, the NHS and the Ministry of Defence. The revised MOU builds on these relationships and will enable public sector group to use cloud technologies to deliver the most effective public services and greater value to the customer.

The importance of cybersecurity doesn’t just apply to the IT industry. It is a vital part of every business, particularly within the finance sector. Banks and other financial organisations hold and manage millions of transactions daily, with the majority of these payments being done by digital platforms. This rise in digital payment options has come with a rise in targeted cyberattacks.

Cybersecurity has been a critical factor in the financial industry and has become fundamental in establishing a level of trust and credibility with customers. The fundamental reason placing significance on cybersecurity for the finance industry is protecting customer resources. As more customers convert to cashless finance, banking activities are typically done via online platforms. In the case of a security breach, it damages the customer but has an additional impact on the business retrieving information and the implications of listing customer trust.

Despite further government efforts to prevent cyber-attacks, the vision of a world free of these security breaches is unlikely. According to BitDefender, ransomware attacks increased by over 700% worldwide in the first half of 2020. What is quite clear is that the pandemic has shown that businesses need to remain very conscious of their security. Applying a zero-trust approach towards security is essential for financial services that may experience the emerging threats from Covid-19.

Data is so valuable and represents the key to financial services. Applying this level of ‘distrust’ within security requires considerable detail about what your cyber-security is protecting and applying security controls close to your data. Those responsible and managing security should understand where all the data is stored, how it can be extracted and where it moves within the business.

Practical tips financial services can use to stay protected

Understanding what you have and where it goes is an important first step to implementing a zero-trust security plan. Beyond this knowledge is being capable of acting based on an accurate idea of your data.

Businesses should look beyond conventional approaches towards cybersecurity that aim at blocking systems. Instead, businesses must integrate a cyber-resilient approach that is automated and integrated into their working environment. Focusing on protection, detecting, responding and recovering cyber resilience must enable permanent business performance via the most efficient response and data recovery measures. 

Three key areas that contribute to effective cyber-security in financial services

Encryption has existed for some time but remains an important tool for sensitive information that is stored in multiple locations or moving around regularly. 

Location is an area that relies predominantly on your business understanding the location of your data and how it moves around. To keep data safe, several local and remote copies of critical files must be developed. This should be combined with systems capable of understanding the standard behaviour of data, so if a change in activity occurs, the response time can be immediate. Once security managers grasp this, they can determine the most appropriate method to classify data location and allow access correctly.

Access is generally focused on a transition to the mindset with data. For example the financial services industry as like many need to move away from giving employees access to all data just because they work at that particular business. Instead, data access should be prioritised as a privilege only granted to those when necessary. This is where the concept of zero-trust comes into play and security managers need to create a process of accepting data access based on several measures or personalising access based on the responsibility of each employee.

Security can become overwhelming especially with the rise of new data generated these days. It’s easy for many organisations to be playing catch up and not necessarily apply enough resources to this area. Financial services don’t have the strongest historical reputation in terms of data breaches but that doesn’t mean that a strong cyber-security model cannot be achieved. 

Remaining vigilant, consistent data management and implementing an action plan based on insights and a zero-trust approach are needed for effective security in finance.

Amazon’s AWS cloud business has announced the launch of a new data management and analytics service for the financial industry.

As with most industries, data represent the driving force behind financial services, for banks, insurance companies, hedge funds and many more. This data, whether it be structured or unstructured, is stored in a silo separate from other data. Being capable of aggregating and ordering this data can enable businesses to unlock new insights such as patterns with transactions, customer profiles and predicting future buyer trends.

Known as FinSpace, the new service will reduce the amount of time spent by the financial services industry, replacing traditional manual processes that are often complicated due to governance and compliance policies. The service includes an analytics system developed on Apache Spark, an open-source analytics engine dedicated to processing big data.

As with most AWS services, FinSpace is priced on a per-usage basis, including the amount of data stored, user numbers and the resources used to process the data. Amazon said Legal & General and Deloitte are some of the first businesses to use FinSpace.

With investment in cloud continuing to rise, it’s clear that big public cloud businesses need to specialise. A one size fits all approach won’t necessarily work to attract leading big business from on-premises to the cloud.

FitSpace fits into a larger trend that includes larger cloud businesses target markets with varied toolsets tailored to meet a specific market.

Despite the rising demand for cloud computing skills, the number of job opportunities available on LinkedIn declined by 57% last year.

Less than 55,000 technology industry roles were being advertising on LinkedIn near the end of last year, driven predominantly by reduced demand for cybersecurity and data analytics professionals. According to Accenture, the 57% decline during last year was sustained despite continued demand for selected skills in northern England and a significant rise in demand for cloud computing professionals.
Of the 55,000 open positions, approximately 35,000 advertised positions required professionals with skills in cloud computing, reflecting the growing trend of UK businesses shifting their workloads towards the cloud in response to the impacts of the pandemic.

Demand for professionals with skills in AI increased, rising by over 70% in six months, equating to nearly 7,000 roles. This was matched by similar rises in opportunities in positions associated with quantum computing and robotic skills.

The overall decline in technology opportunities is largely down to a reduction in listings for data analytics and cybersecurity-related roles, both experiencing just over a 50% drop throughout 2020.

Shaheen Sayed, the technology lead for the UK and Ireland at Accenture explains that while the pandemic has taken a toll on technology jobs in the UK, certain skills remain in high demand.

Businesses have accelerated their migration plans to the cloud quicker than anyone anticipated and many have enhanced their digital processes and utilised new technology available on the market. As more businesses look to hire talent in the cloud, AI and robotics, experienced professionals are discovering new skills to ensure they remain on top of the constant change in the technology industry and to enhance their marketability.

Overall demand for skilled professionals in robotics increased considerably in cities in the north last year, with a 450% rise in Newcastle, a 250% rise in Leeds and a 115% increase in Liverpool. These figures reflect that many cities are focusing on recruiting more technology talent and developing their status as key technology hubs. This is emphasised further by the government’s decision to base the headquarters of the UK National Cyber Force in the North of England, generating thousands of new technology-related opportunities in the region.

In other regions, Oxford experienced a 3,400% increase in demand for quantum computing skills, reflective of the rising scale of research projects and developments of businesses such as Oxford Quantum Circuits.

The overall decline in demand for technology skills over last year contradicts other figures that indicate a rise in employer demand for applicants with IT degrees. A study of one million job adverts by money.co.uk suggested that 60% of university degrees requested by recruiters were specifically related to IT and computing. Other findings from the Learning & Work Institute published data that suggested the skills challenge, with the number of young people taking IT related subjects decreasing by 40% since 2015.

Data analytics is a vital tool enabling finance industry leaders to implement a risk-based approach towards internal and compliance audits and to determine areas of improvement when certain issues are detected.

The pandemic has created several challenges for many finance teams, particularly in regards to corporate compliance and internal audit functions. Despite a transformation in how we work, the structure for compliance and internal audit professionals hasn’t changed. 

The primary aim continues to be identifying and managing risks to the business. To effectively implement this, businesses must continue to enhance their compliance programs, update their risk assessment and alter their audit plans and priorities. Compliance and audit functions need to demonstrate assurances to business leaders and show they have taken the necessary steps to manage potential risk. Compliance and audit teams need to understand how to implement efficient compliance and audit testing processes in this new environment. The most effective solution will depend on the business, their risk profile and other related variables. Data analytics continues to be an effective tool for compliance and internal audit professionals and has proven to be valuable in ensuring the correct measures are in place to manage fraud and other abuse.

Data analytics enables businesses to implement a risk-based approach and prioritise their focus on areas where issues may develop. Businesses that adopt a random sampling approach rarely provide the insights required or a meaningful audit result. Before the pandemic, data analytics was continuing to deliver a clear value in terms of compliance efforts. Today, compliance and internal audit functions are having to do more with less and so it is critical to understand how to leverage data analytics to your business.

Remote testing has become a normal procedure and is likely to be a common practice for the foreseeable future. Gathering, assessing and measuring important datasets to deliver compliance or internal audit processes is important. 

In some cases, some data sets may be used to examine high-risk transactions. The internal audit team can utilise this information to deliver the most appropriate audit system to reach the required outcome. 

Data quality is the most important element of data analytics. Providing direct access to vital databases can reduce potential issues of using inaccurate data sets. It enables compliance teams and internal auditors to check the accuracy of the information by working closer with IT teams. Direct data access also decreases the time to implement testing processes as other members are not required to work in these stages i.e. the initial data collection process. Through this process, compliance professionals and internal auditors can learn data limitations by engaging with the relevant IT professionals and then evaluate what impact this will have on their project.

One of the most vital elements of data analytics in regards to compliance and internal audits is the potential to combine disparate data sources. Many data analytics tests based on vital information can be carried out to determine risks. Generally, this information will be contained in disparate data sources, so having a clear understanding of those data sources and being capable of connecting the information is essential.

A risk-based approach vs. random testing

Data analytics allows compliance and internal audit teams to pick key transactions and test via a risk-based approach, rather than selecting transactions by random. A risk-based approach demonstrates how a business is managing risk effectively. 

Defining the parameters for data analytics tests requires some work initially. Creating an understanding of system databases and data structure may take time to develop. However, each compliance assessment or internal audit will benefit from these plans and future work can be based on these tried and tested parameters. The repeated element of this process provides efficiency and enables a process that a data analyst can expect to see the same or similar results.

With remote working likely to remain dominant for the future, the conventional technique of random sampling and onsite testing will inevitably evolve into one that focuses more on remote risk-based auditing processes. Businesses need to leverage data analytics to effectively manage the challenges facing corporate compliance and internal auditing.

At the beginning of this year, a total of 87% of public sector businesses surveyed by UKCloud indicated a desire to move their traditional IT systems into the cloud. The implications of the pandemic have resulted in a surge of cloud adoption in the UK, like many businesses not in the cloud were forced to migrate to this environment due to a rapid shift in working conditions.
Analysts predict that the software-as-a-service (SaaS) industry will represent the largest market segment and is forecast to reach more than $116 billion this year, largely due to the scalability of subscription-based services. The increased demand, legislation and compliance requirement, as well as the need to protect employee data as companies move towards remote working, are all factors that have generated further demand for standard SaaS offerings.

Organisations are starting to understand the value and simplicity that SaaS models can bring to their IT systems. Businesses are also actively seeking ways to enhance their business models and utilise cloud technologies to maintain a competitive edge.

Customers across the globe are in a challenging time involving understanding effective means of protecting and securing their environments. The focus has quickly changed from deciding whether to place workloads in the cloud to which workloads should be placed in the cloud-first. With the rise of cloud adoption comes new economic models that may be completely new to IT businesses.

What SaaS options offer businesses

SaaS offerings are based on simple subscriptions, clear costs and no significant capital investments, making it an appealing and effective choice for businesses today. SaaS becomes even more efficient when businesses combine to deliver a service. For example, implementing data protection with SaaS is a valuable combination, enabling high-level protection along with the benefits and efficiency of the SaaS model.
Businesses can make a relatively simple transition to cloud storage without the requirement of managing, monitoring and securing it from their data protection service. One major consideration in this process, however, is to remember that data stored in the cloud remains the responsibility of the business.

Companies should be actively looking for cost-effective and high-level protective solutions, without the need for added complex systems. The most effective solutions on the market will offer SaaS data protection, capable of reducing costs, overheads and eliminating other challenges.

More advanced SaaS models will also incorporate built-in protection against potential cyber-attacks along with other security controls. As the current business landscape continues to be transformed by the impacts of the pandemic, businesses must invest in systems that enable longevity, sustainability and profitability. With the level of uncertainty regarding the future, now is the time for businesses to adopt and utilise SaaS technology and ensure they are prepared for any data protection challenge.

Financial services businesses are accelerating the development of digital transformation initiatives and migrating towards the cloud. With rising demands from customers and an increase in stricter compliance and regulatory standards, the financial services industry will only benefit more but utilising the potential of cloud data platforms.

The businesses that have taken the steps towards implementing cloud strategies have seen major improvements in efficiency, cost reductions and a decrease in downtime. The recent disruptions and implications of large-scale lockdown measures related to the pandemic have been alleviated by the mobility, security and scalability of cloud data platforms. While we are yet to truly understand the economic impacts of Covid-19, businesses are aware of the need to increase digital transformation strategies and prepare their organisation for other disruptive times in the future. 

According to reports by the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), the cloud industry is expected to exceed $7 billion by 2022. Being one of the initial industries to adopt the technology, businesses within finance have been reaping the benefits associated with cloud migration. The latest report from NASSCOM explains that the financial industry has the potential to offer real-time, high volume and high-performance transaction within a range of channels by adopting cloud.  The added benefit of migrating to the cloud for the financial industry relates to customer security. Migrating to a secure cloud data platform enables smoother and efficient monitoring of vital data channels and allows for simultaneous analysis.

From online transactions to insurance claims, financial services generate considerable volumes of data. The information that can be collected from this data can enhance efficiency, security and improve the overall customer experience.

There are several key ways financial services organisations can benefit from a cloud data platform:

Improved Customer Experience

Customers today are actively seeking a unique and personalised customer experience. For many, personalisation is a critical factor in determining whether the business relationship will continue. With access to significant data, banks and financial services businesses have the opportunity to create this desired personal experience. For this to be a success, complete visibility into customer interactions in real-time is vital. With the support of cloud platforms, businesses can gather a range of data in a single secure system. Cloud platforms can also measure various sources of structured and unstructured data collected on CRM systems, customer transactions and IoT. 

Generate New Revenue Streams

Cloud data platforms provide a direct and secure way of sharing data without complicating the process or adding further cost or risk concerns as associated with legacy data systems. An individual data product to data consumers can generate new revenue streams. Financial services businesses that gather stock market data is a good example of this in action. By using cloud data platforms, financial data vendors can develop data projects that can then be sold to hedge funds.

Manage potential fraud and risk

Financial services businesses are under regular attacks from cyber threats and other cases of fraud. With a significant cost attached, financial businesses need to ensure they are well prepared. Cloud data platforms gather and assess data and can act as the initial defence line against potential cyber-attacks. Financial organisations can effectively store data and manage cybersecurity, anti-fraud and other data sources. With the added use of analytics, financial services organisations can apply detection rules and detailed visualisations to detect any anomalies with transactions. The combination of high volume data storage with detailed financial analytics can enable rapid risk detection. The result is a cost-effective higher level of data security.

A cloud data platform offers the necessary steps for a business to enable a business to deliver agility and growth. For financial services businesses looking to create a unique, personalised customer experience, increase potential profits and enhance their security measures, implementing the most effective data infrastructure is the vital step to take.

Oracle has stated that it is the first public cloud provider to launch a security policy enforcement plan incorporating best practices, with Oracle Maximum Security Zones.

Oracle Cloud Guard assesses configurations and general activities to detect potential threats and automatically responds and repairs any faults across all Oracle Cloud global regions.

The rise and transition towards cloud technology have created a number of new security ‘blind spots’. As a result, there has been in excess of 200 security breaches in just the last two years. Recent studies from Gartner have forecasted that by 2025, nearly 100% of cloud security failures will be the fault of the customer. Clay Magouyrk, executive vice president of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure explains that security has a core part of the design plan in Oracle Cloud for many years. 

Magouyrk believes that security should be a necessity that is integrated, instead of making customers decide between security or a lower-cost service. Magouyrk explains that Oracle Cloud Guard and Oracle Maximum Security Zones security automation and embedded knowledge means customers can be assured when operating their business workloads on Oracle Cloud.

Oracle Cloud Guard operates as a log and events system that automatically integrates with all major Oracle Cloud Infrastructure services i.e. Compute, Networking and Storage and adds specific, unique elements referred to as targets, detectors and responders.

Oracle Maximum Security Zones goes beyond IaaS access management to block insecure actions or processes by using a new policy tool that is applicable to certain selected cloud tools. Oracle believes the new service will ensure all resources are secure from potential threats by enabling the best available security practices.

Jay Bretzmann of IDC cybersecurity research explains that as workloads move to the cloud, businesses are actively looking for a supplier where security technology is created throughout the entire hardware and software chain. Bretzmann believes the new cloud security services will support the automation and enhance the management of vital applications with strict security and compliance standards, that many believed would not be available off-premise.

The introduction of Cloud Native enables industry leaders the flexibility to incorporate 5G, IoT and deliver innovative digital business systems. Digital companies today are radically transforming their monetization systems in order to manage rising demands for 5G and other new digital services.

The new cloud-native system from Oracle Communications for Billing and Revenue Management (BRM) Cloud-native deployment option gives market leaders the agility to embrace 5G, IoT and future digital business models, enabling businesses to meet requirements by integrating the features of an established charging network with the performance and agility of cloud systems.
The Cloud Native option offers a new monetization solution to utilise the opportunities available in digital services. The option supports any industry, providing a platform for 5G networking.

Industry analysts have highlighted that the latest version of Oracle’s Billing and Revenue Management solution is well placed to enhance the business’s ability to support new 5G focused cases. Cloud-native offers internal IT teams to integrate DevOps procedures to enable and launch new services efficiently. Businesses can improve their operations by effectively managing business development with improved scaling and simpler updates. Billing and Revenue Management improves technology agility even further when implementing Oracle’s next-gen Cloud infrastructure, offering autonomous services, adaptive intelligence, and machine learning security options.

Jason Rutherford, the senior VP and general manager at Oracle Communications believes service providers and businesses are actively looking for agile solutions to take advantage of 5G and IoT services. Rutherford highlights that Cloud Native BRM launched on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure enables customers to operate efficiently, respond to competitors and introduce new pricing and business models that take advantage of digital innovation.

Most businesses are transforming their focus and continuing to incorporate advanced data and analytical systems. Analytics has been proven to not only add value to business performance, as well as increase profits but also generates a number of other opportunities. Yet, many companies are struggling to take full advantage of the benefits of data and analytics. There are several challenges that businesses need to address before they can really utilise the benefits of data and analytics.

For one, data continues to be spread across multiple systems and sourcing and data management continue to be performed manually. Data industry experts are relatively scarce, yet the availability of data and information, along with security regulations are continuing to rise. In order to become more reliant on information and access the insights provided by data today mean businesses need to address these challenges and understand the real potential of analytics.

Creating a data plan for your business

Businesses need to ensure they maintain a clear strategy that connects with business goals. Any data or analytics projects need to clearly identify their value and show how this corresponds with overall business objectives. Investing further into innovative technologies such as AI and Machine Learning can support automation of some processes, reducing time spent on data management.

Delivering data in company culture

Creating a data-driven culture is vital to determine your business from other companies. Incorporating data into company culture is critical to ensure people connect decision making with data and information. This process requires effective communication of data strategies across all teams and departments within a business.  In order to progress and be an agile business, company culture needs to incorporate data and innovation and exactly how data and analytics are tools for your business.

As more businesses transform towards data, data professionals need to really emphasise the value. Incorporating new data tools and aligning these with business strategy will enable data leaders to highlight the potential benefits and investment returns that many business leaders are looking to see.