Financial services firms globally are accelerating their adoption of cloud technologies, focusing on long-term agility, resilience, and innovation rather than cost-cutting, according to new research by the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG).
A global survey of 453 financial services executives found that 87% of firms have increased cloud investment over the past two years.
Rather than cost reduction, firms are prioritising strategic benefits such as scalability, revenue growth, and the enablement of artificial intelligence (AI).
The research also highlights that 82% of firms now use either multi-cloud or hybrid-cloud strategies, a trend reflecting the need for flexibility and risk diversification.
Regulatory compliance has become a key consideration, with 84% of respondents reporting they have modified their cloud strategies in response to evolving regulations such as the EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Stuart Brown, Group Head of Data & Feeds at LSEG, commented:
“The results of our survey show that adopting cloud is no longer a technology or engineering led decision; it is a key business imperative. Companies are increasingly driving meaningful value from cloud, improving operational resilience, and preparing for the next wave of innovation.”
“Over the next three years, that innovation will be driven by AI and machine learning, with financial institutions increasingly using cloud to power fraud detection, risk management, data analytics and generative AI.”
Security concerns persist, with 47% of respondents citing sophisticated cyberattacks as their main concern, followed closely by worries around data privacy and breaches.
Nevertheless, 92% consider operational resilience a critical or very important factor when selecting a cloud provider, reflecting the emphasis on trust and reliability in cloud partnerships.
More than half (54%) of respondents reported that their organisations have completed cloud migration and are realising benefits, particularly in areas such as risk management, customer engagement, and enterprise-wide data access.
Of those using cloud for risk management, 83% have completed migration, the highest among all identified use cases.
Return on investment is increasingly viewed through a strategic lens.
While only 34% of firms prioritise immediate cost savings, 51% assess cloud success by scalability, 47% by revenue growth, and another 47% by improvements in security and resilience.
Despite this shift, 61% still report reduced IT infrastructure costs, especially in EMEA and APAC, where regulatory considerations have driven broader adoption of multi-cloud approaches.
The study also indicates that 91% of firms are currently using or planning to use cloud for AI-related initiatives within the next 12 months.
Generative AI (60%), fraud detection (50%), and risk management (50%) emerged as the top use cases.
Additionally, 84% of respondents described their firms as somewhat or very advanced in AI adoption, with investment firms leading this trend.
Looking ahead, many firms are re-evaluating their preferred cloud service models.
While Software as a Service (SaaS) remains the most common (43%), there is growing interest in Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), indicating a potential move towards more custom-built, in-house applications.
Featured image credit: LSEG
