With all AFG systems now running on AWS, Vogel has delivered his goal of migrating to the cloud when the company closed two of its data centers in 2016. But did moving to AWS enable AFG to better compete with fintech startups? “Yes,” says Vogel. “Nowadays we are concentrated on innovation. We’ve reduced our IT operational costs by about AU$500,000 [US$372,150] per year using AWS-money we’re now spending on driving innovation.” The increase in funds will help AFG develop new products. “Today, 60 percent of our IT expenditure is dedicated to innovation and our developers are finding new ways for technology to deliver higher-value services to our customers,” says Vogel.

As part of the additional resourcing, Vogel has significantly increased the size of the company’s development team. He says, “Since migrating to the AWS Cloud and reducing our operational costs, we’ve been able to expand the development team by 68 percent. We now have more talent to drive development projects at the company.”

By taking advantage of the AWS Cloud, the team is attaining a much higher level of agility. “As part of the development process, we set up new environments in hours when it would have taken weeks with an on-premises infrastructure. We can also scale those environments down when they are no longer needed,” says Vogel. “The cost effectiveness and easy scalability of AWS is such an advantage over on-premises IT, because it encourages the innovation that financial services companies need to thrive in this fintech-dominated world.”