• Old Mutual has recently concluding a move to AWS that has been in the works since 2019.
• The move see’s Old Mutual shutting down over 2 000 on-premises services.
• The transition to AWS infrastructure allows Old Mutual to enhance it’s product offering by leveraging machine learning and artificial intelligence.

A few months shy of the four year mark, Old Mutual has completed its transition from on-premise data centres to cloud services hosted by AWS.

This move started in 2019 with the selection of AWS by Old Mutual.

“AWS provides us with the depth and breadth of services we need to innovate like a startup, with the security expected from Africa’s oldest and most trusted financial services company,” Johnson Idesoh, Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Old Mutual said at the time.

Since then Idesoh has left, but Old Mutual has forged on with its digital transformation. The move involved moving over 2 000 on-prem servers, 215 applications, 1 786 databases, and 500 websites to the cloud. The firm says that with this move financial transactions can be processed in two-thirds of the time and downtime is reduced by 50 percent.

“Daily server outages. Disconnected financial products. Ballooning on-premises costs. Those are all challenges we leave behind as we go all-in on AWS,” acting CIO at Old Mutual, May Govender said in a press release. “Our AWS digital infrastructure has become the backbone of reliable service—a launchpad for future growth. AWS is helping us imagine new possibilities at every level, providing us with a suite of innovative services like generative AI that will spur new customer experiences that can differentiate Old Mutual in the future.”

While migrating infrastructure was an important aspect of this transition, training was invaluable as well. AWS training was incorporated into management training courses to encourage “cloud first” mindset. Over half of the firm’s business and technical leaders have obtained at least one AWS Certification since 2019.

The move to the cloud also gives Old Mutual the option to leverage the capabilities of artificial intelligence and machine learning. These technologies can be used to build and train models that can be used to offer personalised financial forecasting and recommendations for clients. These include offering customers advice on saving as they approach retirement and helping to advise business owners on how to best invest their money.

These services are made possible thanks to the so-called Information Fabric that Old Mutual has established on AWS which also allows for customers to use rewards points in multiple areas of the business.

“The completion of Old Mutual’s all-in migration to AWS represents the next chapter of their digital transformation, and we’re excited to help them harness their momentum in the cloud to unlock new innovations,” said Chris Erasmus, country manager at AWS. “Old Mutual is using our leading infrastructure to increase performance, reduce processing times, streamline operations, simplify customer experiences, and reduce costs. AWS will continue to collaborate with Old Mutual as they deliver the next generation of financial products.”

The firm has also partnered with other firms to make financial accessibility in the 14 countries it operates in. These include data management platform Tamr Cloud and API management platform Kong Konnect.