Capital One on AWS
Capital One has been a disrupter in the financial services industry since 1994, using technology to transform banking and payments. Today, the “digital bank” is all in on AWS, embracing data analytics, microservices, AI/ML, and other solutions to continue to innovate.
CUSTOMER STORIES
Capital One Completes Migration from Data Centers to AWS, Becomes First US Bank to Announce Going All In on the Cloud
2020
Capital One exited eight on-premises data centers by migrating to AWS, transforming the customer experience in the process. Founded in 1994, the “digital bank” uses technology to help its customers succeed. Capital One scaled its technology team to 11,000 members, adding software engineers and developers to build innovative customer experiences using AWS services such as Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS), and AWS Lambda.
We have successfully exited all of our data centers and gone all in on AWS, enabling instant provisioning of architecture and rapid innovation. We are now able to manage data at a much larger scale and unlock the power of machine learning to deliver enhanced customer experiences. On AWS, our technology teams are freed to focus on what they do best: building great software and delivering innovation to our customers."
Rob Alexander
Chief Information Officer, Capital One
Capital One Brings Sustainability to Its Cloud Migration
2021
When Capital One decided to move to the cloud, it established a plan for responsibly disposing of its data center equipment. As it migrated, the company recycled 41 tons of copper and 62 tons of steel and removed a total of 13.5 million feet of cable from its last three data centers. Capital One expects to save 10 megawatts of power, the equivalent of 650,000 LED light bulbs, per year by exiting its data centers. “From the beginning, Capital One was committed to moving to the cloud in the most responsible and well-managed way possible,” says Joe Muratore, vice president of technology at Capital One. “It’s been incredibly rewarding to contribute to environmental sustainability by recycling decommissioned assets and reducing our carbon footprint by powering down the data centers.”
How Capital One Reduced its Data-Center Footprint, Expanded its Use of Microservices, and Reimagined Banking Using AWS
2018
To best understand Capital One and its long-term strategy, it helps to think of the company not as a bank—despite the fact that the diversified financial services company is, in fact, one of the ten largest US banks by assets and deposits—but as a digital technology company that offers banking services. At Capital One, the central motivating belief is that the winners in next-generation banking will be the companies that make the most creative and innovative use of technology to provide seamless, intelligent, truly excellent customer experiences.
Support for Learning AWS and Other New Technologies Helps Capital One Attract Top Talent
2018
One of the ways Capital One achieved companywide buy-in for its cloud-first policy—under which all new applications are architected for and deployed in the cloud—was by implementing a robust cloud-computing training program. That program was successful partly because of the wide net that it cast, offering carefully designed and tailored training not only to the engineers who would work directly on AWS but also to the business executives and other non-technical stakeholders who needed to be able to understand and advocate for cloud computing's transformational potential.
Capital One Contact Centers Innovate Faster Using Amazon Connect
2018
Capital One trained contact-center associates in 30 minutes and achieved 100 percent adoption in 5 months using Amazon Connect. With the flexibility of Amazon Connect, Capital One can add new features in weeks instead of the 3–6 months required by its previous solution.
Capital One Enhances Fraud Protection with AWS Machine Learning
2020
Capital One is one of the largest banks in the US and the largest digital bank. As consumers continue to forgo the brick-and-mortar for the digital-first, Capital One has embraced new technologies, adopting and applying AWS-backed AI and ML solutions to nearly every facet of the business and infusing the customer experience with intelligence. And because AWS is just as secure—and oftentimes more secure—than an on-premises data center, Capital One is able to apply these innovations while upholding its responsibility to protect customers and their data.
On-Demand Infrastructure on AWS Helps Capital One DevOps Teams Move Faster Than Ever
2018
Capital One is well known for its early adoption of new technologies to help it transform the banking customer experience. Less obvious, but no less crucial, are the practices and mindsets that position Capital One to make such effective use of those new technologies—practices and mindsets that are the result of the company's conscious self-transformation into a digital technology company. The company’s recent embrace of DevOps is just the latest step.
We are truly all in on the cloud, and AWS has been instrumental in enabling us to take full advantage of the benefits of being in the cloud. Going all in on the cloud has enabled both instant provisioning of infrastructure and rapid innovation. We are able to manage data at a much larger scale and unlock the power of machine learning to deliver enhanced customer experiences."
Chris Nims
Senior Vice President of Cloud and Productivity Engineering, Capital One
ARCHITECTURE
AWS Policy Enforcement at Scale with Cloud Custodian
On this episode of This is My Architecture, Kapil Thangavelu, director of engineering at Capital One, explains the company's open-sourced rules engine for fleet management: Cloud Custodian. Learn how Capital One uses this tool and a simple YAML-based DSL to eliminate the need to manage hundreds or thousands of scripts and policies and offer "real-time" compliance and cost management at scale.
How Capital One Uses Amazon S3 Glacier to Optimize Data Storage Costs and Maximize Resources
2021
In this blog, Sri Chadalavada, senior distinguished engineer at Capital One, discusses how long-term, secure, and durable Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) data archiving storage classes have helped Capital One meet data retention requirements and optimize costs. Learn why Amazon S3 Glacier and Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive suit Capital One’s needs and discover insights on making informed resource-management decisions that balance data storage spend and performance.
Find out how AWS is helping transform financial services.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
FROM OUTSIDE AWS
How Capital One Became A Leading Digital Bank
Design Your Cloud Center of Excellence for Constant Evolution — Transition Matters
Capital One’s Cloud Journey Through the Stages of Adoption
A 12 Step Program to Get from Zero to Hundreds of AWS-Certified Engineers