Why Hosted Private Cloud is a Necessity for Financial Services Businesses

The finance world is changing faster than ever. And if your IT infrastructure isn’t keeping pace, you’re getting left behind. For too long, the narrative around cloud adoption in finance has been dominated by questions of “if” cloud, but we’ve moved past that. Now it’s all about “how” and “which one”.

Public cloud? Sure, its scale and ease of entry is impressive. On-premises? Control is king (and likewise comes with a kingly price). But there’s a sweet spot that’s not just an option, but frankly, essential for financial firms now: Hosted Private Cloud.

This isn’t just about servers. It’s about getting a strategic edge. Hosted private cloud is a bedrock for agility, resilience, and future-proofing. It’s not just a good idea anymore, it’s fundamental.

So why are we making the argument that hosted private clouds are the prime choice for financial services?

The Technological Mess Financial Firms are Dealing With Right Now

Financial institutions aren’t exactly sailing in calm waters when it comes to IT or business in general. Here’s what our financial industry clients have shared is keeping them up at night:

Cybersecurity is a War Zone (and Finance is Ground Zero)

The financial sector is the #1 target for cyberattacks, getting hit with 300 times more than anyone else (Boston Consulting Group). That should be terrifying to think about for anyone in the industry. 

Data breaches aren’t just a bad headline, they kill consumer trust and trigger massive fines. And nowadays these aren’t simply edgy teenagers leaving offensive messages on your website’s homepage; we’re talking serious, sophisticated attacks by professional cyber-thieves. Public cloud can be secure, but sharing space certainly raises eyebrows in a risk-averse industry.

Regulations? You’re Swimming in Them

Finance? Regulated?? This comes as a shock to precisely no one. There’s no understating how many you deal with. PCI DSS, GDPR, CCPA, GLBA, MiFID II – the alphabet soup of compliance is endless. 

These rules aren’t suggestions, they’re legal brick walls. They dictate how you handle data, security, privacy, and where your data lives. Public cloud, with its global sprawl, makes data sovereignty a headache. On-premises gives control, but you’ll suffer when it comes to agility.

Great Performance Isn’t Just “Nice to Have” – It’s Everything

Trading platforms, risk management, settlements – these aren’t your average apps. They need to be super fast and incredibly reliable. Microseconds can cost millions.

Public cloud, despite its global reach, doesn’t always guarantee that rock-solid, consistently low latency you need. Shared infrastructure and network jitters are the enemies here.

Legacy Systems Holding You Hostage

A lot of finance IT is…old. Like, really old. This legacy stuff is dragging down innovation, making it impossible to keep up with nimble FinTechs. Modernizing is essential, but ripping everything out and starting over? Too risky and expensive for the majority. 

Cloud strategy needs to work with the old, not just replace it. Public cloud migrations for legacy are often a messy, wallet-draining nightmare.

Cost Can be a Black Hole

Cloud is supposed to save money, right? Well, for finance, it’s complicated. Unpredictable public cloud bills, especially with fluctuating workloads and complex services, can blow budgets to pieces. And the real cost – security, compliance, performance in public cloud – is often way higher than you first think. 

Finance needs predictable, controlled spending, not cloud cost chaos.

Hosted Private Cloud: The Perfect Match for Finance

Hosted private cloud isn’t just another option; it’s the right answer for these headaches. It’s the “best of both worlds” – control and security like private infrastructure, but with cloud agility and scale. Here’s why it’s the ideal mix:

Security That’s Less Padlock, More Vault Door

Hosted private cloud is yours. Dedicated, isolated, physically separate. No “noisy neighbors” in the public cloud sense. This dedicated setup lets you lock things down exactly how finance regulations demand.

• A Cloud All Your Own: Public cloud is shared; hosted private cloud is all yours. No resource fights, no shared vulnerabilities. Stronger security from the start.
• Security Just How You Want It: You have all the security control here. Firewalls, intrusion detection, encryption – tailor it to your risk profile and compliance needs. Public cloud gives you more standardized security menus, less tailoring.
• Compliance? Baked Right In: PCI DSS? GDPR? GLBA? CCPA? MiFID II? Private infrastructure makes it easy to tick those boxes right from the start, especially if you offer highly specialized services like a Cook Islands trust that have specific legal requirements. Fewer compliance headaches for you.
• Data Stays Where You Say It Stays: Data sovereignty is non-negotiable. Hosted private cloud lets you pick exactly where your data lives. Meet GDPR, meet local data laws, meet sanity. Public cloud regions are good, but hosted private cloud gives you unmatched control over data location.
• Numbers Don’t Lie: Year after year, the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report highlights a stark truth: the vast majority of successful breaches involving malware rely on social engineering and user error. In hosted private cloud, with tight access and dedicated teams, insider threats and user-initiated risks are way, way lower. IBM’s 2023 Data Breach Report found that data breaches in finance cost $5.97 million on average. That’s not pocket change. Hosted private cloud is about seriously minimizing those kinds of risks.

The Need for Speed

Hosted private cloud is engineered for speed, especially the kind finance apps crave.

• No Shared Resources Here: You get dedicated servers, storage, networking – all for you. No dips or downtime because someone else is hogging resources. Consistent, predictable performance.
• Built for Speed, From the Ground Up: You expect solid performance, and providers know this. They optimize hardware – fast processors, low-latency networks, flash storage – to meet your demands.
• Location, Location, Location: Data centers near exchanges, network hubs? That’s where hosted private cloud lives. Low latency network connections are standard. Minimizing every millisecond is the goal.
• SLAs That Mean Something: Performance-based SLAs and uptime guarantees are a must. You get contracts that secure real performance, not just vague promises.
• Show Me the Data: “TABB Group estimates that if a broker’s electronic trading platform is 5 milliseconds behind the competition, it could lose at least 1% of its flow; that’s $4 million in revenues per millisecond. Up to 10 milliseconds of latency could result in at least a 10% drop in revenues. From there it gets worse. If a broker is 100 milliseconds slower than the fastest broker, it may as well shut down its FIX engine and become a floor broker.” Consider that as you’re shopping for your infrastructure. Hosted private cloud is built to win the millisecond war.

Tailored Suit Levels of Control and Customization

Hosted private cloud gives you control public cloud can’t touch, without the on-premises DIY chaos.

• Have It Your Way: Have specific hardware needs? Software requirements? Network setup? You’re in the driver’s seat. Hosted private cloud is customized infrastructure, not generic templates.
• You’re Still in Charge (Operationally): We handle the infrastructure, you control your virtual environment, OS, apps, data. Full visibility and your tools, your rules.
• Plays Well With Others: Hosted private cloud isn’t an island. Connect to your on-premises stuff, link up with public cloud services. Hosted private cloud fits right in with hybrid and multi-cloud strategies.

Reasonable Costs That Will Never Come as a Surprise

While not everything is solely about money, who doesn’t like to save a buck? Hosted private cloud can seriously optimize costs compared to on-premises and the public cloud cost rollercoaster. 

Nobody wants to end up like this startup that got surprised by a $450k Google Cloud bill! Or this person whose usual $23/month AWS bill suddenly leapt up to $2,657. Or in this situation where the founder of the popular HaveIBeenPwned website suddenly owed Azure $8k. Or…well, you get the picture.

• Budget Certainty: Subscription model. Fixed monthly/annual fees. Generous included egress and bandwidth. Predictable IT spending. Finance budgets love predictability.
• Use What You Need, Nothing More: Dynamic resource allocation within your dedicated space means more efficient use of infrastructure. No over-provisioning headaches like on-premises.
• No More Data Center Bills (Capital Expenses…Poof!): Outsource the data center. No more building, cooling, or maintaining your own hardware. CapEx goes down and cash frees up for real business investments.
• Ops Costs Down, Strategy Up: Hosted IaaS providers handle hardware things like maintenance, patching, and upgrades. Your IT team can focus on strategy and more interesting tasks, not infrastructure grunt work.
• Let’s Talk Numbers: In our own experience, OpenMetal has consistently been able to save our customers coming from public cloud 50% or more on average. Check out our case studies for the proof. 84% of businesses participating in Flexera’s 2024 State of the Cloud report said that managing cloud spend is a concern – getting it to the top of the list of cloud challenges for the second year in a row. Public cloud spend was over budget by an average of 15% as well, and respondents reported their public cloud waste at 27%. Hosted private cloud equals more control and less waste, especially once you hit the cloud cost tipping point.

Your Data, Your Location, Your Rules

Data location is crucial for highly sensitive and regulated industries like finance. Hosted private cloud hands you the reins.

• Pick Your Spot on the Map: Choose the data center location. Meet data residency laws exactly. GDPR? Local regulations? Check and check.
• Compliance Built-In, Not Bolted On: Hosted private cloud providers who operate in multiple countries understand global data regulations. Solutions are designed to meet data residency rules around the world. Makes compliance way simpler.
• Less Regulator Eyeballs (Maybe): Clear data location control makes regulatory audits smoother. Show you’re serious about compliance and security without extra work on your end.

Choosing Your Hosted Private Cloud Partner: What to Look For

Picking the right provider is a huge decision. Here’s what really matters:

• Finance Industry Knowledge: Do they get finance? Proven track record? Regulations? Security? Performance needs? Ask about their finance clients, their industry knowledge.
• Compliance Badges That Count: ISO 27001, SOC 2, PCI DSS – are they certified? How do they handle audits? Can they support GDPR, GLBA, CCPA? Demand to see the proof.
• SLAs That Actually Deliver: Uptime guarantees? Performance SLAs? Response times? Read the fine print. 24/7 availability? Dedicated account managers?
• Hybrid and Multi-Cloud Ready: Can they play nice with your existing systems and other clouds? Hybrid management? Multi-cloud tools? Network options? Think long-term strategy.
• Disaster Recovery – Hope for the Best, Plan for the Worst: RPO, RTO – understand their disaster recovery guarantees. Backup, replication, failover – dig into the details. Does it meet your business continuity needs?

Hosted Private Cloud: The New “Must-Have,” Not Just “Nice-to-Have”

Hosted private cloud isn’t just another option for finance. It’s the smart option. It tackles the real-world challenges that public cloud and on-premises just can’t handle alone.

It lets you:

• Protect against cyber threats.
• Master the compliance alphabet.
• Get the speed and performance your apps demand.
• Control your costs, predictably.
• Own your data’s location.
• Control your infrastructure and own your cloud.

For you tech execs and decision-makers in finance? Hosted private cloud isn’t just a tech decision, it’s a strategic one. It’s about resilience, innovation, and staying ahead in a cutthroat market. The cloud future for finance is here, and it’s hosted private.