Multi-year agreement will leverage Microsoft’s cloud and artificial intelligence capabilities to help Santander improve customer service and operational efficiency
Banco Santander has partnered with Microsoft Corp. as a preferred strategic cloud provider to enable the bank’s digital transformation. Both companies announced today a multi-year global partnership that will help the bank drive its digital innovation and increase operational efficiency using a wide range of cloud solutions, including Microsoft Azure, Data, Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Services.
Santander is transitioning its IT infrastructure towards a multi-cloud environment, with global platforms supported by agile methodologies, helping to accelerate the Group’s technological transformation.
Dirk Marzluf, head of Technology & Operations at Banco Santander, said: “We firmly believe that through successful, customer focused innovation we can earn greater loyalty by improving and personalising customers experiences, while also becoming more agile and efficient. Technology is a key enabler to the success of our business and Microsoft is a strong partner who will help us achieve our vision.”
Tom Keane, corporate vice president of Azure Global at Microsoft, said: “Our partnership with Santander comes at a transformative time for financial services, which is pivoting to digital quickly in response to industry-wide changes. We are looking forward to deepening our cloud engagement with Santander as the company continues to drive digital innovation across its global operations.”
Cloud as the lever to accelerate innovation
As part of the partnership, Microsoft will work with Santander to extend the bank’s cloud capabilities across its markets, driving the creation of cloud native applications and developing new and innovative banking solutions, while extending current applications with new intelligent capabilities. In addition, Microsoft will support the delivery of Azure training and certification programs to employees.
Microsoft Azure provides Santander with the agility, scale and intelligent technology required to bring new products to market quicker and address customer needs with higher flexibility through distribution channels and optimized internal operations.
Santander can leverage Microsoft’s ongoing commitment to security, compliance, privacy and transparency. Further, Microsoft’s Financial Services Compliance program – which allows banking firms and regulators to examine Microsoft cloud systems, services and processes – provides reassurance of Microsoft’s cloud operations compliance with regulatory requirements to enable Santander to gain the required flexibility to compete while preserving its customers’ privacy and trust.
About Santander
Banco Santander (SAN SM, STD US, BNC LN) is a leading retail and commercial bank, founded in 1857 and headquartered in Spain. It has a meaningful presence in 10 core markets in Europe and the Americas, and is the largest bank in the euro zone by market capitalization. At the end of 2018, Banco Santander had EUR 981 billion in customer funds (deposits and mutual funds), 144 million customers, 13,000 branches and 200,000 employees. Banco Santander made attributable profit of EUR 7,810 million in 2018, an increase of 18% compared to the previous year.
