By Alice Chambers |
EY’s 14th annual global bank risk management survey indicates a notable shift in priorities for the next 12 months, driven by the rise of geopolitical uncertainties and the increasing significance of non-financial threats like cybercrime, climate change and regulatory compliance.
As such, chief risk officers from 115 banks across 45 countries have listed increased governance and control, improved data quality and better regulatory compliance as top priorities for 2025. And increasingly, it’s technology – not headcount – that determines how successful institutions are at meeting these challenges.
IBM is collaborating with Microsoft to help customers navigate this complexity with a combination of tools and deep industry expertise.
By leveraging IBM Apptio and IBM Planning Analytics on Microsoft Azure, financial services organisations can strengthen their financial management capabilities while maintaining a robust compliance posture. These solutions can help streamline cost transparency, optimise IT investments, and enhance planning and forecasting accuracy. With the scalability and security of Azure, institutions can confidently manage sensitive financial data and meet evolving regulatory requirements. This combination empowers decision-makers with actionable insights, enabling smarter financial strategies and accelerating operational efficiency across the enterprise.
“In highly regulated industries like banking and insurance, you need financial information that is accurate, up to date, and defensible – especially when auditors or regulators come calling,” says Leon Harris, chief technology officer of strategic partnerships with Microsoft at IBC. “But many teams are still working in Microsoft Excel and relying on manual processes that introduce risk and delay. That’s not sustainable, particularly when financial decisions depend on real-time insights, audit trails and compliance-ready reporting. Modern financial management demands automation, transparency and control.”
IBM Planning Analytics automates budgeting, planning and forecasting while providing a clear audit trail of every change. It can help finance teams track and explain variances, model different scenarios and produce consistent reports, all from a central source of truth. Meanwhile, IBM Apptio gives IT and finance leaders the ability to track and optimise IT spend, which is increasingly scrutinised in compliance audits.
IBM Apptio serves as an IT subledger to IBM Planning Analytics, using the same numbers, but with more detail tailored for IT leaders. While financial planning and analysis teams work at a high level in Planning Analytics, IT professionals need more granularity to build and manage defensible and accurate budgets. IBM Apptio provides service-level insights by aligning high-volume data from contracts, workforce, time tracking and assets to specific IT projects, apps and services. With bidirectional data flow, the integration keeps financial plans in sync across tools to reduce manual effort, limit the risk of errors and enable teams to work from accurate, up-to-date information.
“Both tools are fully integrated into Azure, enabling customers to take advantage of scalable, secured cloud infrastructure and robust financial governance,” says Harris. “This is especially critical for financial institutions that must meet stringent security, compliance and cost management requirements. Customers can also leverage their existing Azure consumption commitments, helping them optimise cloud spend while accelerating adoption of these technologies. Compliance doesn’t have to slow down your integrated financial management decisions. When approached strategically, it can actually drive transformation.”
That’s where the strategic partnership between IBM and Microsoft adds value for organisations. With IBM providing the software and services expertise in financial data, and Microsoft offering a modern, secured platform for managing and integrating that data, customers can accelerate their compliance journeys and build stronger, more agile organisations.
The key to better compliance lies in combining automation, transparency and collaboration.
This unified approach is becoming increasingly important as regulatory demands grow more complex.
“Whether it’s complying with the International Financial Reporting Standard or preparing for AI and ESG regulation, our customers want to feel confident in their numbers,” says Harris. “Together, IBM and Microsoft can help them achieve exactly that.”
In an era where regulatory demands are only increasing, IBM and Microsoft are proving that compliance can be a catalyst for transformation – helping financial institutions govern with precision, scale with confidence and unlock new opportunities from their data.
Read more about IBM’s partnership with Microsoft at: ibm.com/microsoft
Discover insights from these partners and more in the Autumn 2025 issue of Technology Record. Don’t miss out – subscribe for free today and get future issues delivered straight to your inbox.