Secure cloud infrastructure for financial services: What businesses need to consider before migrating
Updated: 4 days ago
Moving financial applications and data to the cloud can improve flexibility, scalability and resilience. However, financial firms face stricter security, compliance and continuity requirements than typical IT environments.
Sensitive data and regulatory obligations make careful planning essential from the start. Alternit One helps organisations design, migrate and manage secure cloud environments. This guide covers the key considerations financial firms should address before moving workloads to the cloud.
Cloud adoption is accelerating
Financial firms are increasing their investment in cloud technology, but they are also becoming more focused on risk and resilience.
According to LSEG's 2025 Global Cloud Survey, 87% of financial services firms increased their cloud investment over the previous two years. The study also found that 82% use hybrid or multi-cloud strategies, while 92% consider operational resilience a critical or very important factor when selecting a cloud provider.
This shows why financial services cloud computing requires more than selecting a provider. Security, resilience and compliance need to be considered alongside performance and scalability.
Start with the right architecture
The right architecture depends on your applications, data and regulatory requirements. Public, private, hybrid or multi-cloud environments may suit different workloads.
Before migrating, assess:
Cloud-ready applications and workloads
Data storage and residency requirements
Application dependencies and integrations
Availability and recovery needs
Legacy infrastructure
Future scalability
A well-planned architecture also helps reduce complexity as the environment grows.
Make security part of the design
Secure cloud infrastructure should protect financial data throughout its lifecycle. Build security controls into the environment before migration.
Key measures include:
Encryption at rest and in transit
Multi-factor authentication
Role-based access controls
Network segmentation
Secure key management
Security monitoring and logging
Regular vulnerability assessments
Apply least-privilege access and treat cloud data security as an ongoing responsibility.
Build compliance into migration
Moving to the cloud does not remove regulatory obligations. Firms need clear visibility into where data is stored, who can access it and how providers manage critical services.
Review:
Data residency and sovereignty
Data protection and retention
Audit and reporting requirements
Access controls
Incident response
Third-party risk
Business continuity
According to LSEG, 84% of surveyed financial firms have adjusted their cloud strategies in response to data privacy, security or sovereignty regulations.
Plan for resilience
For financial services, availability is critical. Define recovery time objectives (RTOs) and recovery point objectives (RPOs) before migration.
Consider:
Multiple availability zones
Geographic redundancy
Automated backups
Disaster recovery environments
Redundant networks
Hybrid infrastructure
Regular recovery testing
The Bank of England highlights options such as multiple data centres, availability zones, hybrid cloud and backup providers for improving cloud resilience.
Manage third party risk
Cloud providers are part of the wider technology ecosystem, making their security and availability important to financial firms.
Before migration, assess:
Provider security controls
Service availability
Data locations
Subcontractors
Incident response procedures
Exit and portability options
Service-level commitments
Provider concentration
These checks can help strengthen cloud risk management and reduce reliance on a single provider.
Design for long term scalability
Cloud infrastructure should support future growth, not just today's needs. Financial firms should plan for workload growth, application performance, storage, network capacity and automated resource scaling.
Regular monitoring can also help control costs while ensuring critical systems have the capacity they need.
Get the right support
Cloud migration does not end when workloads move. Financial firms also need ongoing monitoring, security, optimisation and infrastructure management.
Before migrating, confirm:
The architecture fits each workload
Sensitive data is properly protected
Regulatory requirements are covered
Recovery objectives are defined
Third-party risks are assessed
The environment can scale
Ongoing management responsibilities are clear
Disaster recovery has been tested
A practical exit strategy is in place
Alternit One helps organisations design, migrate, secure and manage cloud infrastructure around their operational needs. For MSPs supporting financial clients, this provides additional expertise across cloud architecture, migration, security and managed cloud services.
Build a Secure, Resilient Cloud Strategy
A successful cloud strategy balances flexibility with security, compliance and resilience. Financial firms should choose the right architecture, protect sensitive data, manage third-party risks and prepare for disruption.
Cloud migration is a long-term technology decision, so ongoing management is just as important as the initial move. With the right planning and support, firms can build infrastructure that is secure, resilient and ready to scale.
Ready to strengthen your cloud infrastructure? Get expert support to design, migrate and manage secure, resilient cloud environments for your business. Talk to Alternit One today.
