Barclays Expands Partnership with HPE for GreenLake Platform

Barclays has significantly expanded its partnership with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), doubling its commitment to HPE GreenLake Cloud. But why has one of Britain’s largest banks chosen HPE as its private cloud provider, and what does this mean for the future of cloud computing in finance?

HPE has helped the bank successfully migrate more than 50,000 workloads to its private cloud infrastructure since the initial cloud partnership was established in 2021, with a trajectory to double this over the next three years.

Now, Barclays and HPE will focus on exploring opportunities for innovation and enhancing efficiencies within the private cloud environment by continuing to reduce technical debt, free up rack space and save power, as well as developing user-friendly interfaces.

“With a private cloud through HPE GreenLake Cloud, we saw significant acceleration of our hybrid multicloud journey, driving key elements and innovations of our digital experience,” says Stephen Flaherty, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Group Technology Infrastructure Services at Barclays.

Security and compliance: Non-negotiables in finance

For a bank of Barclays’ size and scope, security and regulatory compliance are essential. To this end, HPE’s private cloud solution provides the flexibility and scalability of cloud computing while maintaining the control and security essential for handling sensitive financial data.

The private cloud model allows Barclays to navigate the complex regulatory landscape more effectively while still harnessing the benefits of cloud technology. This balance is crucial in an industry where data breaches can have catastrophic consequences, both financially and reputationally.

Barclays’ choice of HPE also aligns with the bank’s sustainability goals. By decommissioning legacy systems and freeing up rack space, the bank aims to achieve significant power savings, potentially reducing energy consumption by several megawatts.

The modernisation of workloads and increased density of computing resources are anticipated to further reduce power and cooling requirements, helping Barclays address multiple strategic objectives simultaneously.

Driving innovation with AI and data

Looking ahead, Barclays’ expanded partnership with HPE signals a clear intent to leverage emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence. Stephen hints at this future direction: “The next big step for us will be to increase customer convenience with the help of AI tools. We are testing the new technologies with our major partners to help ensure we adopt it responsibly.”

HPE’s ability to provide a robust platform for AI and data-driven innovation likely played a significant role in Barclays’ decision to deepen the partnership. Matt Harris, senior vice president and managing director for UK, Ireland, Middle East and Africa at HPE, emphasises this point: "With HPE GreenLake Cloud at the core of their cloud operations, Barclays will have the resilience, scalability, efficiency and data insights necessary to drive innovation, delivering new and enhanced personalised banking experiences for its customers.”

Another factor in Barclays’ decision appears to be HPE’s focus on optimising the developer experience. In an era where rapid application development and deployment can provide significant competitive advantages, this emphasis on developer productivity is crucial.

The collaboration aims to ensure seamless integration and user-friendly interfaces, potentially accelerating Barclays' ability to bring new products and services to market.

A hybrid approach to cloud computing

Ultimately, Barclays’ choice of HPE for private cloud reflects a broader trend in enterprise IT strategies, particularly in the financial sector. As organisations grapple with the need for agility, security and innovation, hybrid cloud approaches that incorporate robust private cloud components are becoming increasingly prevalent.

HPE’s GreenLake Cloud offers Barclays the best of both worlds: the control and security of private infrastructure combined with the flexibility and scalability of cloud computing. This hybrid approach allows the bank to tailor its IT infrastructure to its specific needs, placing workloads where they make the most sense from both a technical and regulatory perspective.

Stephen concludes by highlighting the broader implications of this strategic move: “The increased agility and operational performance enable our technology colleagues to deliver consistently excellent outcomes for our clients and customers."

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