Established UK bank with ageing on-premises infrastructure
Preparing core banking for a hybrid cloud, "zero data centre" future
From static, data-centre-centric platforms to a hybrid cloud strategy with elastic capacity and controlled risk.
Defined hybrid cloud target architecture and migration patterns
Introduced burst capacity for peak processing without overprovisioning
Improved resilience, observability and change safety for core services
Created a roadmap from monolithic workloads to domain-aligned services
Context
The bank's core systems still ran primarily in on-premise data centres. Demand patterns were spiky: peaks at month-end, product launches and regulatory reporting windows. Hardware-based scaling and inflexible change windows were constraining growth and slowing transformation. The bank wanted to move towards a hybrid cloud model: using cloud elasticity for suitable workloads while retaining control and compliance for sensitive functions.
The Challenge
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Build a credible hybrid cloud strategy that regulators, risk and operations could all support
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Avoid "lift and shift" that simply relocates problems to the cloud
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Enable burst computing for certain workloads without compromising data residency and control
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Protect the integrity of core processes during migration
Our Approach
Hybrid target architecture definition
Classified workloads by sensitivity, volatility and integration needs. Identified candidates for cloud-native refactoring vs. controlled encapsulation.
Domain-aligned breakout
Used domain-driven techniques to separate capabilities (e.g. product, pricing, risk, reporting). Created integration façades to allow gradual detachment from the mainframe/core.
Elastic and burst computing patterns
Designed patterns for offloading intensive analytics and reporting workloads to cloud. Emphasis on reversible deployments, so changes could be backed out safely if required.
Operational and observability uplift
Introduced platform-level telemetry across both on-prem and cloud components. Implemented structured change rollout with feature flags and progressive exposure.
Outcomes
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A hybrid cloud roadmap that both technology and risk stakeholders could support.
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Reduced reliance on "heroic capacity planning" for peaks through elastic processing.
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Lower risk of large cutovers thanks to incremental, domain-driven migration patterns.
Capabilities Deployed
Expertise
Cloud transformation, runtime integrity engineering, secure-by-design.
Blueprints
Cloud-Native Foundation, Runtime Integrity Patterns.
Practices
Reversible Engineering, Continuous Delivery.
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