The financial group Old Mutual has moved all of its information technology infrastructure to Amazon Web Services (AWS), a cloud platform. This migration will allow Old Mutual to improve its services, decrease costs, and prepare to launch a new digital bank in South Africa.
Old Mutual is transferring its entire IT system that encompasses its insurance, banking and wealth management services on to Amazon Web Services. According to Old Mutual, this move has already reduced financial transaction processing time by two-thirds and downtime by 50%.
The transition will also help Old Mutual develop new insurance products, use machine learning, increase performance, streamline operations, and improve customer experiences. AWS has said that it will continue to work with Old Mutual as they build the next generation of financial products.
The migration to AWS is particularly significant as Old Mutual plans to start its own fully licensed bank in South Africa in 2024. Although Old Mutual currently offers some banking services in South Africa through a partnership, the group recognizes the opportunities in operating its own bank, especially for unsecured lending.
In November 2022, the South African Reserve Bank approved Old Mutual’s application for a banking license. Old Mutual has said that its new bank will leverage the latest technology, specifically cloud-based services through the AWS migration, to enhance customer service and personalization.
The move to AWS involved transferring over 2,000 on-premises servers, 215 applications, 1,786 databases, and more than 500 websites. According to Old Mutual, this transition will accelerate innovation during global economic uncertainty by reducing the time to test new applications from months to minutes.
Now on AWS, Old Mutual will use machine learning and AI to provide personalized financial forecasts and recommendations for customers in real-time. For example, the services could help customers plan for retirement savings needs, recommend insurance based on life changes, and help entrepreneurs make investment plans as their businesses grow.
In summary, the migration to AWS will help Old Mutual improve services, decrease costs associated with on-premises infrastructure, and launch an innovative new digital bank—all while eliminating issues like daily outages, disconnected products, and increasing costs. The move signals Old Mutual’s commitment to digital transformation in order to better serve its customers.
