3 questions with Zur Yahalom, senior vice president and head of financial services, Amdocs Americas

Zur Yahalom is senior vice president and head of financial services for the Americas at Amdocs, a global leader in digital transformation working with financial institutions to engineer and deploy essential elements for next-generation financial services.

The FR sat down with Yahalom to discuss areas of attention as institutions phase out legacy technology systems.

Why is mainframe modernization so critical?

Mainframes suffer from limited vendor options, escalating costs, and a shortage of skilled personnel. Cloud technology presents a practical and less risky alternative. This is particularly beneficial for the financial services sector, which heavily relies on mainframes.

When it comes to the path forward for banks on their digital journey, modernizing the mainframe cannot be underestimated. With this in mind, it’s an area we continue to invest heavily in here at Amdocs. We acquired Astadia, a company that specializes in mainframe modernization. This move was crucial as mainframes remain vital for banking operations. Maintaining outdated mainframe technology is costly and resource-intensive. Transitioning to the cloud offers a solution. 

Thinking beyond banking, what other fields can you draw inspiration from in mainframe modernization?

Another industry ripe for innovation when it comes to mainframes is insurance. As we identify ways in which a largely conventional industry must adapt to meet a changing ecosystem, modernizing the insurance mainframe by updating infrastructure, adopting cloud technologies, and embracing new technologies will better equip insurers in sharing data securely and efficiently among various institutions. 

How does Amdocs differentiate itself in a market that has such a wide range of motivations, sizes, realms of expertise, and so forth?

We've integrated new technology that automates converting mainframe apps to modern infrastructure. Unlike manual methods, this technology achieves 100% automation, cutting costs and errors. It streamlines the process, enabling seamless updates without business disruptions, and ensures thorough testing before transitioning. Further, one of the things that attracted us to Astadia was that all of its projects use upfront analysis that can provide a fixed price and timeline. This eliminates all of the unknowns around a project. Now, by building on this expertise and working hand-in-hand with Astadia, Amdocs can be the system integrator for these mainframe projects, with a more holistic approach to how we help financial institutions modernize their infrastructure. 

What is the takeaway for banks as they consider mainframe modernization plans?

Mainframe technology is still a significant obstacle for the financial industry as companies embrace digital agility and speed. Moving away from mainframes is increasingly becoming a priority as they enhance their digital capabilities and improve their competitive positions. This shift is expected to become more prominent in the near future and Amdocs aims to stand at the forefront of this change