Financial services firms worldwide are reshaping their cloud strategies, with regulatory compliance and operational resilience emerging as top priorities. A new survey by LSEG reveals that 84% of firms have updated their cloud approaches in response to evolving data privacy, security, and sovereignty requirements, with over a quarter (28%) making extensive changes.
The research, conducted by Phase 5 between November 2024 and March 2025, surveyed 453 financial services executives across 12 countries. Of these, nearly two-thirds (63%) were primary decision-makers for financial market data and IT solutions. The findings highlight a common goal among both firms and regulators: building a more stable and secure cloud infrastructure to handle disruption risks effectively.
Operational resilience has become a central benchmark for cloud strategies. Globally, 30% of respondents reported experiencing a disruption due to cloud services over the past year. As a result, 47% now view resilience and security as essential indicators of their cloud strategy’s return on investment (ROI). Interestingly, firms in the EMEA region attach the highest importance to operational resilience, with 95% calling it either critical or very important when choosing a cloud provider.
In contrast, APAC firms reported the highest rate of cloud-related disruptions at 38%. Despite this, only 21% ranked operational resilience as critical when selecting a provider, even though over half (51%) considered it a key ROI metric. However, regional regulators are increasing their emphasis on resilience. In November 2024, authorities from Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore collaborated with global cloud providers on a crisis management exercise—the first of its kind in the region.
Regulatory developments are also influencing firms’ strategic decisions. One-third of financial institutions reported that compliance changes have shaped their cloud strategies, including approaches to migration, artificial intelligence, and analytics. The survey revealed that 59% are adopting hybrid strategies, 56% are turning to multi-cloud setups, 37% are limiting cloud data storage, and 35% are partnering with local or regional vendors.
Regional differences remain pronounced. In APAC, one-third of firms have made extensive cloud changes to meet new rules, compared with 24% in EMEA. Canada stands out in the Americas, with 96% of firms reporting moderate or extensive adjustments in response to regulatory reforms, including new guidelines on third-party risk management, integrity, security, and operational resilience introduced between 2023 and 2024.
For more, read the full report here.
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