UBS taps Microsoft Cloud to power business-critical tech

NEW YORK, April 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The world's largest wealth manager, UBS, is turning to Microsoft Azure cloud technology to power its digital transformation, aiming to reduce dependency on legacy technology, find new ways to leverage digital channels, and rethink how its businesses and people work.

"Tremendous transformation is taking place in the financial services industry, and technology is increasingly providing a competitive advantage to firms," said Judson Althoff, executive vice president, Worldwide Commercial Business, Microsoft Corp. "UBS is a model of digital transformation in the financial services industry. With Microsoft Azure, the firm receives all the advanced technological and economic benefits of cloud technology. This is underscored by Microsoft's investments in security, transparency and regulatory compliance, which enable UBS to innovate while doing business all over the globe."

UBS is currently using Azure to power its risk-management platform, technology that requires enormous computing power, to run millions of calculations daily on demand. The result — speeding calculation time by 100 percent, saving 40 percent in infrastructure costs, gaining nearly infinite scale within minutes — means the firm can have more working capital on hand and employees can make quicker, more informed decisions for their clients.

"Increasing the agility and scalability of our technology infrastructure is crucial to the bank's strategy," said Paul McEwen, UBS Group Head of Technology Services, who is responsible for the entire Infrastructure Platforms Strategy and Support, driving the strategic planning for the bank's intersection of business and IT needs. "With Microsoft Azure, we are building on the industry's leading cloud platform in terms of innovation, technology, security and regulatory compliance, which is very important as a Swiss financial institution."

Key to UBS's move to Azure was a significant focus on regulatory compliance. Microsoft's Financial Services Compliance program — a unique program that allows firms and regulators to deeply examine Microsoft cloud systems, services and processes — provides transparency into Microsoft cloud operations. This ensures UBS and regulators that Microsoft has taken the proper steps to secure data and mitigate risk. In addition, Azure's industry-leading compliance portfolio ensures UBS can move to the cloud while meeting current compliance requirements, as well as plan for future regulations.

In terms of UBS's strategic journey to the cloud, the risk platform is just the first step. UBS is actively partnering with Microsoft for opportunities to move more business applications to the Azure cloud.

Microsoft continues to see strong cloud adoption from the financial services industry, with more than 80 percent of the world's largest banks and more than 75 percent of the global systemically important financial institutions using Azure. This represents the highest bar for legal, compliance, security and acquisitions teams.

The announcement was made at Microsoft's Digital Difference event in New York City. Additional news and stories can be found at www.microsoft.com/digitaldifference. Follow the conversation on social media using the hashtag #DigitalDifference.

About UBS
UBS provides financial advice and solutions to wealthy, institutional and corporate clients worldwide, as well as private clients in Switzerland. The operational structure of the Group is comprised of our Corporate Center and five business divisions: Wealth Management, Wealth Management Americas, Personal & Corporate Banking, Asset Management and the Investment Bank. UBS's strategy builds on the strengths of all of its businesses and focuses its efforts on areas in which it excels, while seeking to capitalize on the compelling growth prospects in the businesses and regions in which it operates, in order to generate attractive and sustainable returns for its shareholders. All of its businesses are capital-efficient and benefit from a strong competitive position in their targeted markets.

UBS is present in all major financial centers worldwide. It has offices in 54 countries, with about 34% of its employees working in the Americas, 35% in Switzerland, 18% in the rest of Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 13% in Asia Pacific. UBS Group AG employs approximately 60,000 people around the world. Its shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT" @Microsoft) is the leading platform and productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world, and its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

SOURCE Microsoft Corp.

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