The financial sector is no exception - online transactions, automated payments, and mobile management of accounts are just a few examples of digitization in the industry.

With competition increasing almost on a daily basis, it is important that a bank or financial institution offers a digital experience from this very first step.Onboarding challenges faced by financial institutionsThe typical bank onboarding requires far too much manual processing.

They are bound to find other institutions that allow for faster and easier processing, preferably online.To remain compliant, banks and other financial institutions need to ask for a certain amount of information and collect a certain number of documents - but an online platform could provide autofill options so users do not have to keep rewriting the same name, address or other details more than once.It’s not just for customers - having piles of papers to process is a major challenge for financial institutions too.

Either way, offline onboarding is a costly affair.The lack of digital onboarding may also mean that the financial institution is missing out on digitally native millennials.

On the other hand, offline onboarding processes have limited scope for improvement.Digital solutions to address onboarding challengesIntuitive UI and UXWalking customers through the registration process with large icons and easy-to-digest content, helping them move from one step to another seamlessly without having to enter the same information multiple times, and giving customers the flexibility to come back at a later time and continue filling an unfinished application - these are all ways to boost convenience and minimize the number of dropouts.

A chatbot can step in and offer a friendly tip or ask if assistance is required.

The RightScale ‘State of the Cloud’ survey has revealed that managing cloud spend is becoming a growing challenge for many businesses.

It is true – while migrating to the cloud is essentially a move to cut down IT infrastructure and maintenance costs, careless mistakes in cloud maintenance can fritter away the benefits gained.

Here are five points that can help you take control of your cloud spend:

Stop paying for services you don’t need

In the cloud, everything is available on demand. As the first step to cost-cutting, make sure you are not still subscribed to (and paying for) the services you don’t need anymore.

Shut down unused instances

IT workers often spin up new instances for short-term use and simply forget to turn them off when finished. Get rid of inactive storage, set expiration dates on temporary workloads, and even consider shutting down workloads for a few hours daily if needed.

Watch out for anomalies

Has there been a sudden spike in costs, or do you see a recurring high cost on a monthly basis? Get to the bottom of the problem to make sure there are no misconfigurations that may lead to a rise in network costs.

Analyze your network traffic

Compute costs for smaller machines are lesser than those of larger ones, so downsizing your machines based on the need may be a good way to get started. High network traffic outside your local network may also be a telltale sign of a security breach, so setting up alerts can help you catch them early.

Re-examine your stored data

This may not be possible all the time, but set aside time to go through the data you have stored on the cloud and clear out what will never be required or useful again. Watch out for and avoid redundant data - the same data in multiple places - unless it is absolutely necessary. 

The bottom line: Monitor usage on a regular basis

All of the above points lead to this one - the need to take a systematic approach to cloud management and monitor your usage on a periodic basis. This is important because cloud costs often depend not only on volume but also on time durations.

Manually keeping track of each of these factors may be an impossible task. That is why you need to look at automating the process with a cloud cost monitoring and management tool (CCMO) - which can help you monitor all activity on a single dashboard, set up thresholds based on costs and send you timely alerts. Alternatively, you can opt for managed cloud services from a trusted cloud company.

Enterprise Mobility Management refers to a set of technologies, policies, and actions undertaken by an organization to manage the use of company-owned and employee-owned mobile devices.

It is the only way through which organizations can monitor, manage, and control official content and applications which are being accessed remotely through mobile devices.

The concept of EMM originated in 2007 – with the introduction of the iPhone – and with Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) becoming the norm, it has evolved over the years to what it is today.

Components of Enterprise Mobility Management

An organization’s EMM may include one or more of the following components:

MDM was the first EMM component to be established.

At a very basic level, ETL is a process in which data from disparate sources is extracted from a source database, transformed (or processed), and then loaded onto a target store or data warehouse.

Over the years, the way ETL works, and the business functions it serves have gone through fundamental changes to reach the current stage of its evolution – a highly effective technique to process and integrate real-time data stored across multiple entities.

Traditional ETL systems were developed in the early 1970s, when large organizations needed to integrate data generated by their different departments like sales, inventory, and marketing, and use this data to gain insights into their business and operations.

Another challenge was that data could only be moved in batches, which meant that large volumes of data could be moved only when network traffic was low.

It is now possible to query and process voluminous data in real-time from multiple sources that need to be tracked.

Modern ETL also supports most cloud-based operations which fetch and process data – today’s ETL solutions are flexible enough to handle multiple data sources along with both structured and unstructured data.

Once you have decided to move your business to the cloud, a comprehensive testing plan is crucial for the migration’s success.

QA Focus for Cloud Migration SuccessThe main focus of cloud migration testing is on the various validations required to ensure its success.

Functional TestingIn functional validation, the production-readiness of the migrated applications is tested.

Consider the following validations to simplify the process.

Security TestingInitially, the biggest deterrent for organizations to move their operations to the cloud was concern over security.

Backed by several advancements in the field, cloud security now comes with features that can prevent even sophisticated attacks from gaining access to your data and applications.

Progressive web apps (PWAs) have been trending in the technology world over the recent years and continue to stay relevant today.

The term “progressive web app” was coined in 2015 by Google Chrome insiders to describe the new generation of web applications which can be loaded like websites while leveraging the features of modern browsers.

In essence, PWAs are web applications that not only possess functionalities of web applications but also those of native applications.

What’s more, a PWA can be accessed through web browsers on mobile devices and used like a mobile app.

In addition to being fast, reliable, shareable, and without requiring constant updates at the user’s end, the advantages of progressive web applications include:

Unlike typical websites, PWAs store information from users’ last online session and make it available even in the absence of internet connectivity.

The terms ‘Microservices’ and ‘Microservices Architecture’ refer to the same thing – the technique of developing a software application as a collection of loosely coupled services that can be developed, deployed, and maintained independently.

Microservices is a type of service-oriented architecture (SOA) where each of the services are fine-grained and, at the same time, responsible for a distinct task within the application.

Microservices architecture is best suited to Agile development practices where application changes are expected to be dynamic, fast-paced, and on-demand.

This is because a microservices architecture enables easy and efficient implementation of changes in specific elements of even large applications, without interrupting continuous delivery and deployment.

Monolithic Application vs. Microservices Application

A microservices-based application is the opposite of a monolithic application where all components of software were tightly packed together to form a single unit.

The smartphone has become an indispensable tool to businesses -both in the delivery of services and in improving operational efficiency.

Here are five questions you need to ask yourself as you go on your search for the perfect mobile development company.

What’s in their portfolio?Most companies talk about their various capabilities on their websites.

Go through them in detail to see if the company can offer you the services that you are looking for.

But most importantly, make sure you take a look at some of their previous work to see how their stated capabilities translate into real-world delivery.

However, it is necessary to remember that these are testimonials and not review - only positive feedback is showcased on most websites.

The public cloud is relatively easier to operate when compared to a private cloud because it requires less technical knowledge.

Therefore, it comes as no surprise that most organizations opt for public clouds over private clouds.That being said, getting started on the public cloud is not that easy.

Here are a few areas in which you are likely to face challenges while adopting and implementing a public cloud.SKILLIf your organization has been working with on-premise infrastructure and legacy applications, your IT team may not be equipped to handle cloud migration and implementation.

You may need to consider reskilling them through training programs, or outsource the migration and implementation in order to make an effective move.On the other hand, you may also consider engaging with a cloud migration expert and a managed cloud service provider to carry out the implementation and regular maintenance of your cloud environment, respectively.SECURITYThe cloud is not unsafe in itself.

Moreover, as the public cloud essentially means a multi-tenant environment, you will need to look at setting up new cloud-specific security measures.Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions like Akku from CloudNow come with a comprehensive set of features and can help you stay safe on the cloud.COMPLIANCEWhen it comes to cloud architecture, there are quite a number of options for you to choose from.

Choosing the wrong kind of cloud architecture for your requirements can make it difficult to stay compliant.

Here are some important considerations you must address before you choose: Your specific business needsFirst and foremost, you have to get your business needs and expectations in place.

Depending on these, you will be able to shortlist a few cloud platforms that are optimized for the capabilities you are looking for.

Your decision to choose a public, private or hybrid cloud environment will further narrow your options.

For this, you need to ensure that the cloud platform: Prioritizes data security and data privacy (here’s how the two are different)Has the certifications required to be compliant in your specific industry and geographical region (recognized standards, quality frameworks and more)  The cloud provider’s reliabilityBefore you narrow down on a particular cloud platform, you need to do a background study of the provider.

Ask the following questions: Do they provide implementation support and training for your employees?What kind of availability do they offer for their cloud platform and services?

How often and how much downtime will they require?What is the level of support they are willing to offer in case you need help with troubleshooting?What are the SLAs and promised turnaround time in case of issues?What kind of track record does the provider have, and what do their clients have to say?

There are two ways to manage and maintain your cloud environment: hire and train a dedicated team to do it or opt for a managed cloud service.

On the other hand, if you wish to tap into the power of cloud computing without requiring the effort of a full-time, in-house team, then you could opt for a managed cloud service, and focus resources and efforts into developing the business instead.

That’s exactly why many small and medium-sized businesses opt for a managed cloud service – that way, even with fewer names on their payrolls, it becomes possible to take advantage of the many benefits of cloud computing.

No future-proofing worries: When it comes to technology, change is the only constant!

In fact, Frost & Sullivan records that 25% of organizations concede to have hindered cloud implementations due to the lack of in-house expertise.

Optimal management of hybrid/multi-cloud: The best way to make the most of cloud computing is to mix and match different cloud and on-prem solutions.

Even if your organization operates based on DevOps for all its software development, it does not mean that the operation cycle will always be free of bottlenecks.

Value stream mapping is a flow chart based analysis system which helps you identify the areas where challenges exist in your DevOps practice.

It takes into account the complexity of the entire system, including operational and information flows, and allows you to map value adds from a customer’s standpoint.

Value Stream Mapping allows organizations to scale DevOps adoption without compromising on the quality of the software product being built.Why does DevOps need Value Stream Mapping?Helps identify pain pointsHelps identify errors and bugsCreates better visibility and traceability across the projectEliminates wasteful processesIlluminates automation opportunitiesEmphasizes on data-driven resultsHow should VSM be used?Initially, you could start out by bifurcating the tasks moving between your development and operations teams, and measure the time being spent on each task.

In addition to this, you can also visually group the tasks based on whether they belong to the SDLC, QA, release, or feedback phase.

Value added (VA), is the amount of time your team actually spends on a task - this does not include the time the task spends in queue.

With DevOps, all the teams involved in the software development gain visibility and insights into an application’s performance.

The importance is given to cross-collaboration instead of simply creating code and passing it on for testing and then support, making DevOps a preferred methodology for most companies to incorporate into their SDLC.

By creating an overlap between the operations and development teams, you can ensure faster deployment.

With DevOps, changesets tend to be smaller and hence, less complex.

Since most integration processes can be eliminated, it can significantly free-up the load on your developers.

The modularity allows for easy addressing of specific problems in configuration, code, and infrastructure.

While planning your cloud architecture, consider the possible threats to your operations like natural disasters, power outages, sabotage and human error and build your redundancy plan based on that.

The goal with redundancy is to design an architecture which springs in, detects an error and creates a fall back route, all without human intervention.

With proper planning, the cloud can facilitate the readiness required to handle any form of data failure.

To effectively plan for such events, consider the following key redundancies that you need to plan for.

Even if all your software is hosted on the cloud and all your data is stored on the cloud, the entities are still stored in some kind of hardware.

To mitigate this problem, you can map out the various processes within your organization and match them with servers based on availability requirements.

Continuous Integration (CI) and Continuous Deployment (CD) are DevOps practices that, when implemented together, can greatly improve the efficiency of development teams, making the process more productive and the end product more stable and effective.

Continuous Integration (CI) is the practice of merging all working copies of developer code to a shared mainline.

In Continuous Integration, the segments of code being integrated are relatively smaller, and each of these are saved and automatically sent to the build server.

In this way, new code segments are built, integrated and tested in a matter of minutes, making it easy for developers to check how well they work.

Quick Testing: With Continuous Integration, automation of test scripts and immediate feedback are made possible.

Easy Resolutions: An issue detected in the code by automated test scripts facilitates speedy resolution by developers and avoids massive development problems.

Although the concept of machine learning itself isn’t new – the term was first defined in 1959 – it has largely been out of the reach of organizational budgets.

Google Cloud Platform, Amazon Web Services, and Microsoft Azure, all offer ML with such ease of use that it no longer requires a team of data scientists to implement.

A few of them are listed below:

Cognitive Computing enables apps to see, listen, talk, and make decisions with the use of ML technologies.

Cloud computing has greatly improved business intelligence – with intelligent insights and accurate forecasting – by merging BI platforms with ML-based tools.

Data-driven platforms on the cloud have made it possible for data to be captured from various sensors in large quantities, making IoT more intelligent.