Lloyds Banking Group has extended its collaboration with Oracle as part of its ongoing cloud transformation strategy.
The multi-year agreement will see the banking group transition its Oracle databases to Oracle Database@Azure, reinforcing its multicloud approach to improving banking services and operational efficiency.
Under the expanded partnership, Lloyds Banking Group will migrate its existing Oracle databases to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), which operates on Oracle Exadata within Microsoft Azure data centres. The move is designed to enhance performance, resilience, and scalability while maintaining the security standards required for financial operations.
In addition to leveraging Oracle Database@Azure, the bank will continue to use Oracle Exadata Cloud@Customer to run certain database workloads within its own data centres. This hybrid approach enables Lloyds to integrate cloud capabilities while retaining control over critical on-premises infrastructure.
OCI’s distributed cloud model allows the bank to manage its database operations consistently across cloud and on-premises environments.
By adopting Oracle’s cloud solutions, Lloyds Banking Group aims to accelerate the deployment of new financial products and services. The integration of OCI within Microsoft Azure will also facilitate faster processing, lower latency, and increased flexibility in serving customers.
Lloyds Banking Group enabling services CIO Joe Soule said: “As we focus on growth and diversifying our business, maximising our use of data across the Group becomes critical so that we can innovate and deliver new services faster for our customers.
“The ability to flexibly deploy Oracle databases on-premises or in the public cloud, in combination with Microsoft Azure through a multicloud approach, enables us to accelerate the pace at which we adopt digital technologies. This ensures we can support our customers with high-performing services and the best customer experience possible.”
Oracle Database@Azure is designed to support enterprises in migrating their databases to the cloud without significant modifications to existing applications. It combines Oracle Database’s performance with Microsoft Azure’s cloud capabilities.
Currently, the service is operational in 14 regions, with plans for further expansion across 18 additional locations in the coming year.
Oracle’s distributed cloud services offer multiple deployment options, including public, dedicated, hybrid, and multicloud solutions. OCI’s integration with hyperscale providers such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, and Google Cloud allows enterprises to optimise their cloud strategies while maintaining low-latency connections between services.
Oracle executive vice president and EMEA cloud infrastructure general manager Richard Smith said: “Few sectors are evolving as rapidly as the financial services industry when it comes to cloud adoption.
“Lloyds is one of the companies at the forefront of this transition. By taking advantage of the industry’s most comprehensive and flexible approach to the cloud, Lloyds can streamline its migration to the cloud and enable more innovation for its customers.”
