Why Citi has Tapped Google Cloud for Tech Transformation

Global banks face mounting pressure to modernise their technology infrastructure as digital transformation reshapes financial services. Amid this shift, Citi has selected Google Cloud to modernise its technology infrastructure, focusing on high-performance computing capabilities to process millions of daily calculations in its markets division.

The multi-year agreement, announced on Monday, comes as the global banking group seeks to enhance its trading operations and improve digital services across more than 180 countries.

Computing power drive

At the core of the partnership is Citi's need for enhanced computing power in its markets business. The bank will use Google Cloud's infrastructure to handle the complex calculations required for trading operations, replacing existing systems with cloud-based alternatives that can scale according to demand.

Tim Ryan, Head of Technology and Business Enablement for Citi, says: “Citi is on a mission to modernise our infrastructure and increase our safety and soundness so that our businesses can continue to serve our clients with speed and agility.”

The bank plans to migrate multiple workloads and applications to Google Cloud's infrastructure platform, which provides computing resources through distributed data centres. This move aims to reduce reliance on physical data centres while improving operational efficiency.

AI implementation strategy

Beyond infrastructure modernisation, Citi will implement Google Cloud's Vertex AI platform, a machine learning framework for building and deploying artificial intelligence models. The bank intends to use these capabilities to enhance document processing systems and customer service operations.

Thomas Kurian, Google Cloud CEO, says: “Our strategic partnership with Citi to continue to modernise its technology infrastructure and drive enterprise-wide innovation underscores Google Cloud's commitment to helping the financial services industry transform with cloud and AI technology.

“By combining Citi's deep banking and customer experience expertise with Google Cloud's leading cloud and AI capabilities, we can deliver significant benefits to Citi's clients and employees.”

Security considerations

The selection of Google Cloud appears to have been influenced by the platform's security features. The infrastructure includes multiple security layers, with data encryption both in storage and transmission. Google Cloud also offers Confidential Computing, which encrypts data during processing.

For a regulated financial institution like Citi, Google Cloud's compliance certifications are aimed at providing additional reassurance. The company says its platform maintains PCI DSS certification for payment card security, ISO 27001 for information security management, and SOC 2 for service organisation controls.

The implementation will enable Citi to scale computing resources based on demand while maintaining regulatory compliance. The bank plans to use this flexibility to develop improved digital products and streamline employee workflows across its global operations.

As Tim Ryan explains: “Leveraging Google Cloud opens up a whole new frontier for us in how we can run applications with faster and more comprehensive outputs, and provide our colleagues with the tools they need to deliver for our clients.”

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