The banking sector stands at a pivotal moment. While the ambition to modernize through cloud migration is nearly universal, the reality is that most banks are still grappling with the complexities of execution. Recent industry surveys reveal that although over two-thirds of banks aspire to have at least 30% of their applications and data in the cloud within three years, only 28%—the so-called “cloud leaders”—have achieved this milestone. The gap between vision and reality is particularly acute in regions like North America, but it is a global challenge, driven by legacy systems, regulatory scrutiny, and the need for uninterrupted service.
Cloud migration is no longer just a technology upgrade—it is a strategic enabler for banks seeking to drive agility, innovation, and resilience. Legacy systems, often decades old, are costly to maintain and slow to adapt, hindering the ability to launch new products, personalize experiences, and respond to market changes. Cloud unlocks:
Lloyds Banking Group, one of the UK’s largest banks, offers a compelling example of how to accelerate cloud migration and modernization. Facing extensive legacy systems and the need to deliver new digital products at speed, Lloyds partnered with Publicis Sapient to adopt a holistic approach grounded in lean methods, agile principles, and value stream analysis. The results were transformative:
This success was achieved through incremental modernization, prioritization of high-impact interventions, and the use of accelerators to increase the pace and success of change.
One of the most effective strategies for cloud migration is incremental modernization—often referred to as the “strangler” approach. Rather than attempting a risky “big bang” migration, banks can incrementally replace legacy components with modern, cloud-native services. This minimizes risk, maintains business continuity, and allows for continuous value delivery. Key steps include:
A major barrier to modernization is the challenge of unlocking data trapped in legacy systems. Publicis Sapient’s Speed Layer—a data streaming platform—addresses this by enabling real-time data access, resilience, and seamless integration between legacy and cloud-native architectures. Speed Layer delivers:
By acting as a near real-time cache, Speed Layer collects changes from legacy systems and makes them available to digital channels via microservices and APIs. This decouples customer-facing innovation from slower-moving core systems, enabling banks to launch new products and experiences without disrupting critical operations.
The coexistence of greenfield (cloud-native) and brownfield (legacy) systems is a reality for most banks. The challenge lies in integrating new capabilities—such as cloud-based core banking, data platforms, and digital channels—back into the legacy environment. This requires:
In a sector defined by regulatory scrutiny, security and compliance must be embedded from the outset. Best practices include:
The strategies and platforms proven at Lloyds have been successfully applied at other leading institutions. For example, Nationwide Building Society leveraged Speed Layer to achieve 7ms microservice response times, over 95% automated test coverage, and significant infrastructure cost savings, while supporting over 24 million weekly app logins. These results demonstrate the power of combining cloud-native architectures, data streaming, and agile engineering to deliver measurable business value.
Cloud migration is not a one-time event—it is a journey of perpetual evolution. By embedding engineering excellence, cloud-native platforms, and data-driven strategies at the core, banks can adapt, innovate, and create value continuously. Publicis Sapient’s experience with Lloyds and other clients shows that with the right approach, banks can overcome legacy barriers, accelerate their cloud journey, and deliver on the promise of digital financial services.
Ready to accelerate your cloud migration? Connect with Publicis Sapient to learn how we can help your organization thrive in the digital age.