Barclays extends HPE GreenLake contract amid “significant acceleration” of hybrid cloud strategy

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and Barclays have agreed a new private cloud services deal that will cement HPE GreenLake Cloud as a key element of the bank’s hybrid cloud strategy.

The move builds on the pair’s existing cloud partnership – struck back in 2021 – that has seen HPE support the migration and deployment of over 50,000 workloads to Barclays’ private cloud estate, with a trajectory to double the figure over the coming three years.

Now, the new agreement will see the companies look to leverage AI and other new technologies to enhance customer and user convenience.

In an announcement, Stephen Flaherty, Barclays’ chief technology officer and head of group technology infrastructure services, said GreenLake Cloud has already enabled “significant acceleration” of the bank’s hybrid multi-cloud journey, as well as driven key innovations in its digital experience.

“The increased agility and operational performance enable our technology colleagues to deliver consistently excellent outcomes for our clients and customers,” he explained.

“The next big step for us will be to increase customer convenience with the help of AI tools, we are testing the new technologies with our major partners to help ensure we adopt it responsibly.”

Barclays’ ongoing cloud migration will allow it to decommission legacy systems, free up rack space, as well as save several megawatts of power. Its aim is to reduce technical debt to bolster the bank’s underlying infrastructure and increase workload density, while also modernizing its workloads.

Barclays said this will help facilitate a reduction in power and cooling consumption, which, in turn, will help reduce the carbon footprint of its workloads.

During the next phase of the partnership, HPE will work with Barclays to unearth new opportunities for innovation and improve the private cloud environment.

As part of this progression, HPE said it will focus on leveraging data and exploring the potential of emerging technologies, while introducing new optimizations that will enhance the developer experience.

“In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, a data-first approach that spans hybrid cloud is crucial to accelerate enterprises’ digital transformation and unlock long-term growth opportunities through AI,” commented Matt Harris, HPE’s senior vice president and managing director for the UK, Ireland, Middle East and Africa.

“We are looking forward to further supporting Barclays’ efforts to create better experiences for clients and customers.

“With HPE GreenLake Cloud at the core of their cloud operations, Barclays will have the resilience, scalability, efficiency, and data insights necessary to drive innovation, delivering new and enhanced personalized banking experiences for its customers.”