Illion Embraces Hybrid Cloud Strategy for Future Development

The decision by illion, a prominent player in Australia's consumer and commercial credit bureaus, to embrace a hybrid cloud strategy reflects the dynamic nature of the financial services industry and the evolving demands on technology infrastructure. With a focus on high-volume data analysis and decision support, illion's reliance on its private data center environment faced challenges in meeting the growing demand for fast turnaround times, particularly for critical services like the illion Transaction Risk Score (iTRS) used by buy now pay later (BNPL) operators.

Recognizing the need for agility and scalability, illion has opted to transition towards a hybrid cloud model, leveraging both private and public cloud solutions. This approach allows illion to maintain control over sensitive data and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements while also capitalizing on the scalability and flexibility offered by cloud computing.By embracing a hybrid cloud strategy, illion is strategically positioned to address the evolving needs of its customers while laying the foundation for future growth and innovation.

Rather than pursuing a "lift and shift" approach, illion is prioritizing the progressive rebuilding of its core services in a cloud-native architecture. This approach enables illion to optimize performance, enhance resilience, and drive efficiencies across its operations, ultimately delivering better outcomes for its customers.As illion navigates its cloud transformation journey, the focus remains on delivering seamless and secure services that meet the stringent demands of the financial services industry. By embracing the hybrid cloud model, illion is poised to build a resilient and agile infrastructure that can adapt to the evolving landscape of the digital economy while maintaining the trust and confidence of its customers.

With demand for iTRS exceeding 100,000 credit applications per year, and other core analytics services experiencing similar growth in demand from clients such as Bluescope, Savvy, Bank Australia, and Fair Go Finance, illion recognized the need to enhance its resilience and scalability during peak demand periods. Transitioning to a scalable and robust cloud solution was deemed essential to maintain the company's reputation for providing robust data-driven services that help clients evaluate risk, especially in today's fast-paced retail environment and in supporting new online businesses.

Peter Griffiths, head of cloud technology platforms at illion, emphasized the importance of ensuring the company's capability to deliver reliable and efficient services amid surging demand. The transition to a scalable cloud solution was seen as a strategic move to enhance agility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness, enabling illion to meet the evolving needs of its clients and maintain its competitive edge in the market.

By embracing a hybrid cloud strategy, illion aims to leverage the best of both private and public cloud environments, optimizing performance, resilience, and cost-efficiency while ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and data security standards. This approach underscores illion's commitment to driving innovation and delivering value to its clients, positioning the company for continued growth and success in the rapidly evolving financial services landscape.

The prioritization of migration to public cloud environments underscores illion's strategic focus on enhancing scalability, agility, and cost-effectiveness in its technology infrastructure. Collaborating with solutions provider Interactive, which played a pivotal role in developing illion's private cloud environment, the company has embarked on a comprehensive strategy aimed at transitioning 75 percent of its systems to public cloud environments by 2026.

This ambitious goal necessitates a phased approach to migration, with a significant emphasis on operating in a transitional hybrid cloud state during the interim period. In this transitional phase, illion will be tasked with developing and maintaining a diverse portfolio of bespoke core applications while concurrently managing newly refactored cloud-based applications and legacy applications running in the existing private cloud environment.

By adopting this hybrid cloud approach, illion aims to leverage the benefits of both private and public cloud environments, optimizing performance, flexibility, and cost-efficiency while mitigating risks associated with legacy systems and infrastructure. This strategic alignment reflects illion's commitment to driving innovation and digital transformation, positioning the company for long-term success in a rapidly evolving market landscape. Through close collaboration with Interactive and a proactive approach to migration planning, illion seeks to ensure a seamless transition process and maximize the value derived from its cloud transformation initiative.