As the old or semi-dated adage goes nowadays, data is the new oil, and companies that are able to make use of data, in particular corporate financial data, will be the ones to stay ahead of the competition. Equally important, however, is having the capacity to store that data and procure information at any time to make informed strategic decisions. In a time when visibility is the key to reducing the impact of revenue shocks and overdraft costs, investing in better data management tools is something companies should explore.

Interest in cloud computing, which, for instance, helps companies manage data remotely from different devices, is gaining some traction in the treasury management community, with 36% of respondents to a Deloitte and the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) survey indicating that their company has plans to implement or has already implemented cloud-based accounting solutions.

“Implementing a cloud-based ERP [enterprise resource planning] system likely results in data cleansing, new process creation, and governance revisions, which are all needed to drive data consistency. A resilient, consistent data infrastructure is the cornerstone of a successful journey to automation,” states the Deloitte and IMA survey report.

Cloud service providers have been seeing an uptick of interest in their services from the financial community. Data and analytics company GlobalData predicts that in Asia the cloud computing market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 7.7% to reach US$191.1 billion in 2024.

“As enterprises in the financial sector continue to embrace digitalization, they are increasingly emphasizing the leveraging and integrating of advanced technologies and business models to disrupt financial services offering capabilities across the region,” comments Anshuma Singh, technology analyst at GlobalData. 

While relying on the cloud gives businesses the nimbleness to store financial data and, most importantly, analyze vast amounts of it remotely in today’s Covid-19 environment, it also puts a spotlight on cloud security and governance. A recent study done by UK cybersecurity company Sophos found that 70% of the 3,200 companies contacted that use cloud computing vendors had been hacked or had their data exposed in 2019.