Madrid – Malaga (Spain), 12 June 2024. Unicaja is advancing its hybrid cloud strategy with IBM by adopting IBM Cloud for Financial Services, which is designed to make it easier for financial institutions to leverage the cloud while demonstrating their compliance with the industry's regulatory and security requirements. Similarly, with the aim of boosting its operational efficiency and competitiveness, the bank has joined IBMs’ Multizone Cloud Region (MZR) in Madrid which opened last year to help enterprises accelerate innovation while addressing the European Union's regulatory and data, operational and digital sovereignty requirements.

By adopting an intentional hybrid by design strategy with IBM, Unicaja aims to boost the transformation of its applications, infrastructure and operational strategy. In addition, it will take advantage of IBM Cloud solutions, as well as IBM Cloud Pak for Automation, Integration and Applications, built on Red Hat OpenShift, to gain agility and flexibility in its infrastructure integration and transformation initiatives, as well as to access specialized services aimed at the financial sector.

According to the 'IBM Transformation Index: State of Cloud' study, as regulations increase, so do compliance challenges for enterprises. 56% of respondents in Spain and 53% globally believe that ensuring compliance in the cloud is currently too difficult. Meanwhile, 27% of respondents in Spain cite compliance issues as a key barrier to integrating workloads across private and public IT environments. Globally in the financial services industry, for example, more than a quarter of respondents agree that compliance with industry requirements prevents them from fully achieving their cloud goals. 

Raúl Cals, CIO of Unicaja, said, "with our work together, we want to continue driving innovation, exploring and adopting cutting-edge technologies, with the aim of improving the products and services we make available to customers. This drive, hand in hand with IBM, will allow us to carry out this transformation, helping to ensure success in six fundamental dimensions of our cloud strategy: reduction of time to market, optimization of resources, platform scalability, cost savings, resilience and security."

Carmen Prada, IBM Cloud Leader Spain, Portugal, Greece and Israel, said, "for financial institutions, it is key to balance innovation with security and compliance with regulatory requirements. With IBM's expertise in the financial sector, access to our leading capabilities in artificial intelligence and hybrid cloud, and the policy framework included in IBM Cloud for Financial Services, Unicaja will be able to continue to transform its customers' experience. It will also more efficiently address the industry's security and regulatory requirements and will do so by having its data in the cloud, with enhanced security and compliance features thanks to the comprehensive framework of controls that have been designed by IBM together with financial industry leaders from around the world.”

Backed by an expansive ecosystem of technology and fintech partners, the IBM Cloud for Financial Services platform, the first cloud of its kind designed for the financial industry, enables financial institutions to accelerate cloud adoption and address potential systemic risks.

The platform's built-in controls and data protection capabilities are intended to help financial institutions address compliance requirements through targeted controls.

IBM is committed to helping businesses modernize securely and the Madrid MZR is designed to enhance resiliency, helping clients to run mission-critical workloads continuously and providing access to innovative security capabilities, especially critical for regulated industries such as financial services. 

About Unicaja

Unicaja is one of the leading banks in the Spanish financial system and a listed company on the Ibex 35, with a solid base of four million customers. In fact, it is a benchmark institution in six autonomous communities, its regions of origin (Andalusia, Asturias, Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y León and Extremadura), as well as being present in other markets such as Madrid, Ceuta and Melilla, where it has a traditional presence. It is characterised by its universal banking model and sustainable business model focused on retail business, under prudent management of its commercial strategy and risk profile, socially responsible, which places quality, innovation and digital transformation at the forefront, and incorporates technology to improve customer service and the efficiency of the entity.  

About IBM

IBM is a leading provider of enterprise AI, hybrid cloud architecture, security and ESG insights to the global financial services sector. Its deep industry expertise, extensive portfolio of services and solutions, and its robust ecosystem of fintech partners, empower collaboration, innovation, and creation with clients. As a trusted partner to banks, insurers, capital markets and payments providers, IBM guides financial institutions on all stages of their digital transformation journeys through IBM Consulting and delivers the proven infrastructure, software and services they need through IBM Technology. For more information, visit www.ibm.com/industries/financial-services