Barclays' Agile and DevOps Transformation in the FinTech Era

FinTech is the latest trend driving a revolution in financial values, and the article introduces Barclays Bank’s implementation case to show how they cope with the FinTech wave through agile transformation and DevOps.

Barclays publicly shared its 18‑month, arduous yet successful journey, adopting agile transformation and DevOps across all business domains.

Barclays' Agile Transformation Path

Jonathan Smart, Head of Service Development at Barclays, said at the London Enterprise DevOps Summit that agile transformation processes and mindsets apply not only to the information‑technology field but also to every business area.

Barclays is not transforming for its own sake; it seeks an enterprise‑wide agile strategy covering HR, audit, security, compliance, investment banking, retail banking, and all other operations.

During the first 16 months, strategic spending on agile rose from 4 % to 50 %, involving more than 800 teams and training over 30,000 staff—the world’s largest and fastest agile transformation effort.

What Is the Way Forward for Traditional Financial Companies?

The financial services industry faces intense competition from emerging markets and diversified products, including mobile banking and recent entrants like Apple and Google into mobile payments.

FinTech startups attract about £10 billion of annual investment, with venture‑capital funding breaking records each quarter. Top‑tier firms like Barclays must boost innovation at scale, and agile transformation is a key avenue.

Now is the best time for “break‑then‑build”; companies that do not change will struggle to survive, while those that adapt will thrive.

Greater Challenges

Barclays handles daily payments equivalent to 30 % of the UK’s GDP; using DevOps‑style software development ensures system stability, reduces risk, and improves quality.

For example, a Netflix outage merely spoils a binge‑watch session, but an IT failure in banking has far more severe consequences. One major challenge is balancing the demand for agile transformation with the stringent regulation of the financial services sector.

Faster Speed

Deploying a single line of code once required 28 manual interventions, a 56‑day cycle, and 20 days of project‑manager paperwork.

Nevertheless, in less than four weeks the bank updates roughly 56 % of its core applications, dramatically reducing release time and code complexity.

Better Support

Strong support from Barclays’ senior management has been crucial to the success achieved so far. Compared with many other industries, firms that attempt agile and DevOps without top‑down endorsement often fail.

For large‑scale bottom‑up organizational change, gaining support through “practice communities” is essential. Barclays boasts 35 communities with 10,000 volunteers and a 2,500‑member agile practice community, helping drive a comprehensive digital transformation.

Summary

Traditional financial companies are increasingly unable to meet user demands; pursuing a break‑and‑rebuild approach that integrates the internet and drives transformation is their development direction. They need holistic IT architecture planning and an enterprise‑wide agile transformation.

Original link: http://www.computerweekly.com/news/450299551/Barclays-banks-on-agile-and-DevOps-to-tackle-competitive-threats-in-fintech