Technology has changed the way that customers interact with many companies. Financial services are no exception to this change: customers expect simple digital experiences for loans, banking, credit cards, and customer service. While some traditional banks have been more hesitant to digitize these processes, fintech companies have jumped on this trend, raising customer expectations of digital financial experiences. In addition, many traditional institutions rely on legacy platforms that cannot support modern experiences. Lastly, complying with financial regulations means that firms must update their systems to support new compliance measures.

Financial services firms must modernize their infrastructure, improve operational efficiency, and invest in high-quality digital banking experiences to address these industry challenges. One way that financial institutions are addressing these challenges is by moving to cloud-based systems.

Modernizing infrastructure for financial institutions

Digital transformation is a strategic imperative for the majority of financial institutions because it speeds up product innovation and real-time processing for loans and other applications. According to the Gartner 2023 CIO and Technology Executive Survey, more than half of surveyed banking and investment services CIOs plan to increase investments in cloud, while reducing IT spending in their data centers. Cloud-based platforms support digital modernisation efforts that improve user experience. This can be achieved without compromising security, and may even provide improved observability. 

While financial organizations would like to leverage the latest IaaS and SaaS capabilities, they must do so in the context of strict regulatory requirements. For large multinational institutions this includes dealing with privacy and security in multiple jurisdictions. Because of these regulatory requirements, in some cases it’s not possible to move fully to the cloud. Additionally, some financial institutions may have existing investments in on-premises infrastructure or need to control cloud spending. This is where hybrid solutions shine, bringing the best of on-premises and cloud together in one solution.

With Citrix, cloud and on-premises infrastructure can be managed side by side for a comprehensive hybrid solution custom-built for financial organizations. Banks can standardize and automate data center infrastructure, modernize core banking systems and traditional apps, ensure business continuity, and drive better overall business agility with Citrix solutions. In addition, Citrix can provide constituents policies across both cloud and on-premises deployments providing a more consistent risk landscape, so you won’t need to worry about compliance across both cloud and on-premises deployments.

Improve operational efficiency

There’s a reason that 63 percent of top financial institutions are actively transitioning to cloud-based systems or preparing to do so. Cloud-based solutions not only reduce hardware costs but also help your business reach sustainability goals by reducing power consumption and carbon emissions from on-premises data centers. Your organization will also benefit from optimized resource utilization and increased efficiency, as traditional on-premises infrastructure demands substantial upfront investments in servers and hardware, whereas you can expand capacity instantly in the cloud.

Transitioning to the cloud has more benefits too, including lower costs for application development, migration, and deployments, meaning you can shift spending to value-add projects like improving user experiences for employees and customers. 

Citrix platform contributes to operational efficiency gains by streamlining access to resources. Employees and customers can access the applications and data they need more quickly and efficiently, reducing downtime and enhancing overall productivity. Citrix provides best in class solutions such as Citrix Autoscale, Citrix Provisioning and Machine Creation Services that help you power manage and scale your cloud deployments. 

High-quality digital banking experiences

Traditional brick-and-mortar banks face stiff competition from their fintech counterparts, who have made improved digital customer experiences integral to their offerings. Customers now expect even the most traditional financial firms to have tech‑forward solutions to instantly transfer money, get approved for a line of credit, and more. According to a study by MagiClick, 81% of surveyed adults in the UK say the quality of their online experience determines who they bank with. Banks must meet and surpass these high expectations for quality experiences to retain existing customers, build loyalty, and attract new clients.

Improving the customer experience starts with equipping customer service agents with the data they need to help customers. The Citrix platform quickly and securely delivers that data to employees, be they full time colleagues or contracted third parties, to increase productivity and customer satisfaction. Citrix allows brokers, tellers, advisors, insurance agents, and call center operators to securely access resources anywhere using any device on almost any operating platform. With a hybrid solution, you can keep customer data on premises to adhere to regulations, but use the cloud for high-performing applications. 

Upgrade your tech stack with the Citrix platform

The Citrix platform offers quite a few benefits to financial institutions, including modernizing infrastructure, increasing operational efficiency, and providing a secure and performant experience for users. With the Citrix platform, you can consolidate your solutions to reduce IT complexity and you’ll get all of the Citrix capabilities you need to support existing applications and expand with new initiatives. Your financial organization is stronger with Citrix.

See how else we can help your financial institution get ahead and make the most out of your Citrix in our e-book on Modernizing Financial Services with Citrix.