Finanz Informatik and IBM Extend and Expand Collaboration

Finanz Informatik and IBM announced that they have extended their successful collaboration with the signing of a new contract.

Finanz Informatik is a central IT service provider for more than 340 savings banks and other network partners, providing efficient, secure, and regulatory-compliant solutions, which are supplied through FI's own data centers. To further improve the already strong position of its banking customers in the digital world, Finanz Informatik relies on the latest IBM technologies for the continued modernization of its software and hardware infrastructure. With the latest generation of computer systems, FI is expanding its capabilities to leverage the advantages and the full potential of cloud computing, automation, and AI for its data center operations, while ensuring platform independence.

The new contract with IBM enables further capacity growth for the next few years and will strengthen cyber resilience in compliance with the EU Digital Operational Resilience Act. The contract includes the use of state-of-the-art IBM mainframe, Power, and storage systems as well as modern system software components with AI support from the watsonx product portfolio. This allows cloud-enabled applications to be automatically distributed and managed across various computer systems running in the company's own data center.

The aim is to support Finanz Informatik initiatives and projects that provide Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe with a host of strategic advantages:

"Our contract with IBM is another important building block on our way to inspiring our customers with innovative solutions. Together, we will use the agreed contract components and new technologies to drive forward the digital transformation in the Sparkassen Finanzgruppe while at the same time securing growing capacity requirements in the future. Signing the contract with IBM provides us with long-term planning security and economic advantages in challenging times," emphasizes Martin Waldmann, Executive Director for Human Resources, Finance, Internal Services and Risk Management at Finanz Informatik.

"By signing the agreement, we are continuing a long-standing and successful cooperation. Our customers benefit from the continuous development of our IT platform, enabling us to guarantee a high level of security, availability, and cost-effectiveness. We preserve what makes us strong. On top of that and together with IBM, we’re introducing new, innovative products for our OSPlus financial platform. Both companies – IBM and FI – will contribute their specific expertise and benefit from the intensive long-term cooperation. With this collaboration, we can deliver a good combination of proven systems and new technologies, strengthening the foundation of our platform independence, platform openness, and the sovereign operation of our applications," adds Detlev Klage, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of Finanz Informatik.

"Across the global financial services industry, we're seeing banks and other financial institutions increasingly embrace exponential technologies, including generative AI, to improve customer experience, increase operational efficiency, and mitigate risk to stay competitive," said Rob Thomas, Senior Vice President of Software and Chief Commercial Officer at IBM. "Access to a robust ecosystem of technology partners is critical as financial institutions look to boost productivity and increase value for their customers. With this new agreement, Finanz Informatik is creating a solid foundation for the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe to continue to offer its stakeholders exceptional added value and innovation."

Source: Finanz Informatik and IBM media announcement