UBS and Microsoft announced an expansion of their partnership that will see more than 50% of UBS’ applications, including critical workloads, running on the Microsoft Azure cloud.

The expanded partnership will also help advance UBS’ sustainability initiatives and see the companies co-developing products for the bank and financial services industry.

UBS first announced in 2018 its “cloud-first” strategy which included plans to move one-third of its applications to the cloud within four years in partnership with Microsoft — a goal that was achieved ahead of schedule in February 2021.

UBS continues to move workloads from its own cloud servers to Azure, resulting in the energy consumption of some workloads to be reduced by up to 30%.

UBS and Microsoft also co-developed Carbon Aware API, an open-source solution that helps companies schedule workloads during times when sustainable sources of electricity are most available.

Additionally, the companies are exploring ways in which artificial intelligence (AI) and data can be used to enhance services for clients and employees.

For example, UBS is currently operating two applications in Switzerland that utilises conversational AI capabilities to respond to client e-mail inquiries.

UBS will also leverage Microsoft Power Platform to provide employees with the ability to quickly build professional-grade applications, create automated workflows and connect disparate data sources.

Mike Dargan

“Our cloud strategy has fundamentally changed the way we operate, allowing us to reinvigorate our technology estate and reimagine how we build applications for our clients.

Closely partnering and collaborating with Microsoft has and will continue to create tremendous value for our clients, our employees, the firm and our shareholders,”

said Mike Dargan, Chief Digital and Information Officer, UBS Group.

Scott Guthrie

“UBS is a forward-thinking leader in the financial services industry, and Microsoft has been fortunate to co-develop innovative applications that meet complex, regulatory requirements with their engineering teams over the past several years,”

said Scott Guthrie, Executive Vice President, Cloud + AI, Microsoft.