Oracle's New Banking Platform Targets Big Banks with Legacy Systems

Oracle Financial Services announced the release of their banking platform with service-oriented architecture to help big banks that are stuck with legacy systems.

Oracle's unveiled its new Oracle Banking Platform today conceived as an answer for large global banks who are looking to overhaul their legacy core systems. The platform uses service-oriented architecture to allow banks to break each part of the architectural system down so it can be handled on its own without affecting other components, says Ashwin Goyal, senior VP of Financial Services for Oracle.

"We are delivering a new proposition to large banks," Goyal explains. "We are not going to rip out the roots of what you've been doing for the last 40 years."

Instead banks will be able to make technology upgrades or replacements piece-by-piece at their own pace, and with far less risk. "The biggest thing they're trying to manage is the risk of change," Goyal says of large banks trying to finger out what to do with their legacy systems.

The platform was also designed to help banks gain a fuller view of their relationships with their customers, Goyal adds. This, he says, will help banks cross sell different products and offset accounts to increase revenue from their customer relationships.

On the cost-cutting side, the platform will help banks streamline and shorten many of their processes, which will keep operations costs down. "We can originate a mortgage in days, not weeks," Goyal remarks. One of Oracle's pilot partners for the platform, the National Bank of Australia, introduced a simple five minute account opening solution with the platform as part of its UBank initiative that offers customers a branchless bank. Goyal says that they are now in the process of developing a new mortgage origination solution that will allow the customer to apply for a mortgage online without ever having to go into a branch.

In addition, the platform's pre-integrated applications and Oracle's technology stack will smooth out integration efforts and reduce testing for new applications, which will keep IT costs down and speed up delivery of new products and services.

The first release of the platform, according to a statement released by Oracle, includes core banking deposits and loans abilities, and enterprise origination and collection for personal banking functionality. These abilities will continue to be expanded and developed with further releases of the platform down the road. The platform is designed as a complement to Oracle's FLEXCUBE core banking product suite.

Jonathan Camhi has been an associate editor with Bank Systems & Technology since 2012. He previously worked as a freelance journalist in New York City covering politics, health and immigration, and has a master's degree from the City University of New York's Graduate School ... View Full Bio