Scaling Engineering Transformation in Financial Services: From Legacy to Cloud-Native

In today’s financial services landscape, the imperative to modernize is clear. Banks, insurers, and capital markets firms are under relentless pressure to overcome legacy constraints, meet rising customer expectations, and navigate a complex regulatory environment. The question for technology leaders is not whether to modernize, but how to do so—efficiently, securely, and at scale. Publicis Sapient stands at the forefront of this transformation, guiding financial institutions from legacy systems to cloud-native excellence through a holistic, engineering-led approach.

The Challenge: Breaking Free from Legacy Constraints

Decades-old core systems, fragmented data, and siloed operations have long hampered innovation in financial services. These legacy architectures slow product launches, increase operational risk, and make compliance more complex. Meanwhile, digital-native competitors and fintech disruptors are raising the bar for customer experience and speed to market. The cost of inaction is high: missed opportunities, rising costs, and eroding market share.

Publicis Sapient’s Five-Pillar Approach to Engineering Transformation

True modernization is more than a technology upgrade—it’s a fundamental shift in how financial organizations build, deliver, and scale digital products. Publicis Sapient’s engineering transformation framework is built on five pillars:

Agile Engineering: Embedding agile principles across teams, moving from project-based to product-based delivery. This enables rapid iteration, continuous learning, and faster time-to-market for new features and regulatory changes. Agile engineering ensures that business and customer value are at the heart of every initiative.
Cloud-Native Migration: Leveraging deep expertise and partnerships with leading cloud providers, Publicis Sapient migrates critical workloads to secure, scalable cloud environments. The approach goes beyond “lift-and-shift” to re-architect systems using microservices, containers, and serverless technologies—unlocking new levels of agility, resilience, and cost efficiency.
Microservices and API Platforms: Breaking down monolithic legacy systems into modular microservices and robust API platforms accelerates digital innovation, enables seamless integration of new technologies (including AI and advanced analytics), and fosters a developer-friendly ecosystem. For example, work with Lloyds Banking Group enabled the rapid rollout of new digital products and services through a secure, scalable API management platform.
Security and Compliance by Design: Security and regulatory compliance are embedded from the outset. Solutions ingrain robust controls, automated testing, and continuous monitoring to ensure every digital product meets the highest standards for data protection and regulatory adherence. Automated compliance controls and zero trust principles are standard, not optional.
Data-Driven Value Creation: Unlocking the power of data by connecting and refining it across the enterprise, making it actionable for both compliance and customer experience initiatives. Data modernization strategies enable real-time insights, predictive analytics, and personalized services—driving both operational efficiency and customer loyalty.

Practical Solutions for Real-World Challenges

Publicis Sapient’s engineering transformation is designed to address the most pressing challenges faced by financial institutions:

Accelerating Product Launches: By adopting cloud-native, API-driven architectures and agile ways of working, organizations can bring new products to market in weeks, not months. Leading banks in Asia-Pacific have launched new digital platforms in as little as 12 weeks, demonstrating the speed and flexibility of modern engineering approaches.
Reducing Operational Risk: Automated compliance controls, continuous monitoring, and AI-driven risk assessment frameworks reduce the risk of non-compliance and operational failures. The Cloud Acceleration Platform, for example, provides pre-built, fully automated landing zones and built-in controls to ensure security and compliance from day one.
Improving Compliance and Security: With evolving regulations and increasing cyber threats, compliance and security must be foundational. Solutions are aligned with global and regional standards, leveraging automated compliance monitoring to keep institutions ahead of regulatory changes.
Enhancing Customer Experience: Modernized platforms enable hyper-personalized, omnichannel experiences that today’s customers expect. By integrating advanced data and AI capabilities, financial institutions can deliver real-time insights, predictive recommendations, and seamless digital journeys.

Measurable Outcomes: The Lloyds Banking Group Case Study

A standout example of engineering transformation in action is Publicis Sapient’s partnership with Lloyds Banking Group. Facing extensive legacy systems and the need to deliver new digital products at speed, Lloyds adopted a framework based on lean methods, agile principles, and value stream analysis. The results were significant:

20–30% reduction in time from backlog to production, enabling faster speed-to-market for new features and regulatory changes.
10–20% reduction in effort to make architectural and operational changes, resulting in cost savings and increased agility.
30% improvement in quality, as measured by a reduction in post-deployment defects.
Enhanced employee satisfaction, with a measurable improvement in the people happiness index.

This transformation was achieved through value-focused analysis, prioritization of high-impact interventions, and the use of accelerators to increase the pace and success of change. Lloyds Banking Group is now positioned as a resilient, future-ready engineering organization capable of thriving in a rapidly changing financial landscape.

Why Publicis Sapient?

30+ years of digital engineering expertise with a proven track record in financial services
20,000+ experts across 50+ offices worldwide
Deep partnerships with leading technology providers, including AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft, and Salesforce
A holistic, data-driven approach that unites system modernization, cloud solutions, and AI-driven insights
A relentless focus on value, security, and compliance

Ready to Transform?

Financial services organizations that embrace engineering transformation are better positioned to respond to disruption, launch innovative products, and meet regulatory demands with confidence. Whether you are just starting your modernization journey or looking to scale and sustain your progress, Publicis Sapient is your partner for industry-focused engineering transformation.

Connect with our experts to learn how we can help your organization thrive in the digital age.