Bank Avera is Zurich’s largest regional bank and serves more than 45,000 customers at twelve locations. Customer proximity and trust are key. Consequently, it is essential that customers can always reach Bank Avera and that the 7,000 calls received each month get handled quickly. When it comes to the implementation of a clear cloud strategy, Bank Avera is a trendsetter. When Bank Avera migrated to the cloud, telephony and the contact center were highly prioritized. It was clear that only a FINMA-compliant cloud contact center solution would be considered.
Initially, the intention was to regain control and manage the IT infrastructure internally again. Ralf Luchsinger, Head of ICT at Bank Avera, explains: “We worked with an IT partner for a long time. This partner managed the entire on-premises infrastructure for us. But as the Swiss Public cloud infrastructures developed further, new opportunities arose, and we wanted to take advantage of them. We decided to go a new way with a ‘Microsoft Cloud’ strategy. For this, Luware Nimbus was a critical piece of the puzzle. ”
For Ralf Luchsinger, Luware Nimbus was the obvious solution
Luware Nimbus is a cloud contact center solution that seamlessly integrates with Teams and perfectly complements the Microsoft ecosystem. Nimbus enhances Teams with extensive routing and reporting functionality, enabling effective customer service.
As a financial company, Bank Avera is regulated by the Swiss Financial Supervisory Authority FINMA. For a cloud migration, cloud services must meet legal requirements, such as local data storage in Switzerland. Microsoft worked closely with regulators to enable Swiss financial companies to move to the cloud. Microsoft subsequently opened a data center in Switzerland and developed its cloud services to meet the requirements. Since Luware Nimbus only forwards Teams calls and the actual call and thus the data flow always remains in the Teams client of the organization, it also meets the strict regulatory requirements from FINMA.
Especially in the financial sector, many companies are skeptical about cloud solutions because they have security concerns. “When it comes to the issue of security, you have to analyze the new world without prejudice and judge it fairly,” says Ralf Luchsinger. “From my point of view, you shouldn’t resist digitalization and wait too long before migrating to the cloud. The advantages of the cloud are obvious: easier manageability, more security, and modern working at scalable costs. Today, even small and medium-sized companies can use the same cloud technologies as large financial companies.”
With the help of Microsoft Teams and Luware Nimbus, Bank Avera successfully leaped into the future. “For us, there was no alternative to Luware,” said Luchsinger. “We looked around the world before choosing Luware. Luware Nimbus, with its cloud-native architecture, offers the only right solution approach for our challenge. The excellent and personal support also speaks for Luware, and we are pleased to be able to work with a Swiss company.”
Listen to the whole interview with Ralf Luchsinger (in german).