The power of the cloud is not new for banks. But we are rapidly approaching a tipping point in the industry’s adoption of the cloud, spurred partly by the digital acceleration caused by the pandemic. Nearly every bank has adopted the cloud in some form, or are planning to get there soon.

The reason for the widespread adoption is simple: the cloud is the biggest tech change in the last three decades. Its potential touches every part of a modern digital business, from greater organizational speed to game-changing cost savings. It is causing a paradigm shift on a scale not seen since the advent of the internet.

And its adoption is an opportunity for banks to hit fast-forward on their workplace culture and talent practice transformation journeys

The next chapter in banking’s evolution

This chance comes at a moment of tremendous change in business

In the wake of the Second World War, most businesses were structured like the military, with a strong emphasis on hierarchy and obedience to the “chain of command.” Unions, also hierarchical organizations, were much stronger during this time. The workplace was designed for machines and creativity was discouraged because it challenged efficiency. This idea was called scientific management, or Taylorism.

Eventually the economic influence of manufacturing was eclipsed by the services economy. An educated workforce that could follow standardized processes and manage customer service relationships became a critical asset. Workers were no longer viewed as machines—instead, they were capital assets, the return on which was to be maximized.

Winning the “race” against the machine

The pandemic has accelerated the impact of trends and technologies that were already rewriting the rules of banking. Before its outbreak, Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum, argued that technologies like the cloud were pushing the world into a new industrial revolution characterized by massive change at extraordinary speed.

The cloud as an accelerant for workplace culture modernization

This is because in mastering the cloud, banks will create a positive feedback loop of workforce transformation. Accenture’s analysis shows that cloud leaders enjoy:

• Greater digital fluency
• Higher workforce productivity
• Faster speed to competency with new skills
• Improved customer experiences
• Improved workforce experiences