Exploring UniCredit’s Decade-Long Cloud Deal with Google

UniCredit, the Milan-headquartered commercial bank operating across Europe, has entered a 10-year agreement with Google Cloud to accelerate its digital transformation programme across all its markets.

The partnership will see UniCredit migrate a substantial portion of its application landscape to Google Cloud's platform, including legacy systems that currently support operations in its 13 core European markets.

Cloud migration to support expansion plans

Google Cloud will provide infrastructure, artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics capabilities to UniCredit as part of the bank's strategy to create a unified technology foundation across its operations.

The migration aims to provide the bank with increased technological flexibility, which UniCredit states is essential for its growth plans and potential market expansions or acquisitions.

“This strategic partnership with Google Cloud is a pivotal step in our strategy to be the bank for Europe's future,” says Andrea Orcel, CEO of UniCredit. 

“In line with our single-partner approach for strategic collaborations, we have sought out the best and now we are all in with them in the pursuit of excellence.”

The agreement represents a significant investment for UniCredit in its cloud infrastructure, which the bank describes as a key pillar of its digital strategy.

AI implementation across banking operations

Beyond the cloud migration, UniCredit plans to implement Google Cloud's AI technologies, including Vertex AI—a machine learning platform that allows organisations to deploy and maintain AI models—and Gemini models, which are large language models designed to understand and generate text.

The bank intends to apply these AI capabilities across multiple business areas, including investment banking insights, customer service interactions, operational process optimisation and financial crime prevention.

“Partnership with Google Cloud represents a bold move for UniCredit—massively advancing our technology footprint in critical areas such as AI, data and virtualised infrastructure across 13 core markets,” says Ali Khan, Group Digital & Information Officer at UniCredit. “What's more, it does so in a way that meets our cyber posture and resiliency needs.”

The agreement also lays groundwork for UniCredit to explore services from other Google divisions, such as Google Maps Platform, which provides location-based services that could be integrated into banking applications.

Employee training component

The partnership includes plans for Google Cloud to deliver digital skills training to UniCredit employees across all 13 European markets where the bank operates. This training will focus on cloud computing and AI technologies to prepare staff for the technological transition.

Tara Brady, President of EMEA at Google Cloud, states: “Google Cloud is at the forefront of bringing powerful and the most secure AI technologies to financial institutions across Europe, and with these capabilities UniCredit can speed innovation, create efficiencies and advance its digital transformation, enabling continued success within today's dynamic market.”

The collaboration comes as financial institutions increasingly turn to cloud-based infrastructure to reduce operational costs, increase agility and implement advanced technologies like artificial intelligence.

“AI is unlocking opportunities for business transformation and growth, offering economic advantages to organisations that proactively embrace its potential,” says Ruth Porat, President & Chief Investment Officer at Alphabet and Google. 

“We are proud to partner with UniCredit as it looks to modernise operations, bring new offerings to customers, ensure the platform for growth and support its sustainable growth ambitions.”

The partnership signifies a growing trend in the banking sector toward comprehensive cloud migration strategies, with banks increasingly moving away from maintaining on-premises data centres in favour of cloud providers' infrastructure.

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