AWS re:Invent 2022: Top Highlights and Recap for Financial Services

AWS re:Invent 2022 took place Nov. 28 – Dec. 2, 2022 in Las Vegas, and it was a week of learning, innovating, and rethinking what’s possible with AWS. This year’s conference saw the unveiling of a multitude of new products and services. There was an unmissable emphasis on data, specifically using the power of data to go beyond digital transformation and to achieve true business transformation.

AWS CEO Adam Selipsky kickstarted the week with his keynote, where he covered his vision for business transformation in detail and focused on the cloud’s ability to address privacy and security needs while delivering the agility and scalability demands of today’s market. He cited many impactful industry examples, Financial Services being prominent, touching on AWS’ activities across the financial services industry (FSI) and our deep understanding of the security of financial data, as well as the importance of making sure of the security and resilience of this data as it scales. “It’s almost impossible to comprehend how much data there is. But just as remarkable is how fast it’s growing,” Selipsky said. “Analysts predict that in the next five years, we’re going to create more than double the amount of data produced since the dawn of the digital age. Managing the scale and the growth of that data is supposed to be a huge challenge and an opportunity for every organization.”

Selipsky continued to emphasize FSI advancements with his mention of the Options Clearing Corp. “The OCC serves as the central clearing warehouse for all listed equity options traded in the United States. It’s part of the central nervous system of the financial markets,” he said, noting that the organization is currently moving its mission-critical operations to the cloud. “Working with data is tricky. Just as the vastness and complexity of space means you can’t explore it with just one technology, the same is true for data,” Selipsky explained. “You need a complete set of tools that accounts for the scale and the variety of the data and the many purposes for which you want to use it.”

It’s impactful to see financial services institutions leading the way when it comes to data integration. Moreover, they’re helping shape the needed foundations for others in the market. These themes of data, resiliency, business value, and agility showed up across every session. This year, re:Invent hosted a record number of sessions focused on the FSI, including more than 85 breakouts. With each session, it was inspiring to hear customers like Global Payments, NatWest, Fidelity Investments, Goldman Sachs, and Chase International discuss their individual transformation journey. And these are just the tip of the iceberg – each and every breakout session is captured on demand, so you can continue to explore the groundbreaking work being driven across the industry by your peers.

Furthermore, here are six key FSI announcements and highlights that exemplify what can be achieved together:

1. Nasdaq completes migration of the first U.S. Options market to AWS; Listen to Scott Mullins, GM, AWS Worldwide Financial Services and Brad Peterson, EVP & CIO/CTO, at NASDAQ as they discuss the recently completed migration of the first U.S. options exchange, Nasdaq MRX, to AWS.
2. OCC receives no objection notice from SEC on Cloud Infrastructure Proposal: Hear Adam Selipsky discuss this once in a generation technology decision, and how, together, OCC and AWS seek to change what’s possible in centralized clearing.
3. Inter discussed its partnership with IBM and journey on AWS: Discover the ways that cloud-powered innovation is uniquely positioning AWS Partners to accelerate customer business transformations.
4. NAB announced long-term cloud deal with AWS: Read more about NAB’s cloud-first technology strategy and how their ambitious multi-cloud approach has made them a market-leader in transition to the cloud.
5. American Family Insurance and AWS team up for innovation: See how American Family Insurance is using the cloud to power the company’s IT transformation and create value for its customers, employees, agents, partners, and the community.
6. Trust, Singapore’s first cloud-native bank, selects AWS to power its digital bank: Explore insights into how Trust onboarded over 300,000 consumers in two months.

AWS re:Invent attendees also joined dozens of hands-on learning sessions to explore new offers from AWS. A standout from this year was the new game-based learning experience: AWS Industry Quest: Financial Services. This game-based training experience helps individuals and organizations learn how to build AWS solutions specific to FSI. Attendees explored 20 virtual scenarios, such as payment fraud detection and credit risk predictions, during which technical learners earn rewards for completing assignments at a fictitious company.

If you couldn’t attend, or would like to review or learn more about what took place at re:Invent, then we’ve curated a recap of the most relevant content for FSI. In this recap guide, you’ll find industry highlights and recommended sessions and keynotes along with links to watch them on demand.

You can download the 2022 Recap Guide for Financial Services Professionals. For a follow up discussion, contact your AWS account team or one of our team members listed on pages 88-91 of the guide.