Why Fortune 50 Banks are Leaving Oracle for EDB Postgres

August 26, 2024

The migration to a new, more flexible DBMS is favorable today, and here’s why.

For major financial institutions, the prospect of database migration can be intimidating. After all, when you’re managing millions, billions, even trillions of dollars, improperly managed change can pose a risk to system stability and, in the worst-case scenario, even lead to reputational harm.

While some financial institutions have decided to continue using legacy database providers like Oracle, industry leaders such as Fortune 50 banks have agreed to move on despite restrictive licensing, growing costs, and increasing inflexibility.

These banks have acknowledged that persisting with proprietary systems that cannot keep pace with their evolving needs carries more risk than transitioning to a new, more flexible, and dynamic database management system (DBMS). A better database and database partner embodying their vision for the future is crucial for them to thrive.

As these major players within the banking industry look to the future, they have discerned what "better" means for them to satisfy increasing customer expectations and regulatory complexity. They need flexibility, security and support. They also need a database that will protect their data and enable constant user access, no matter the volume of traffic or unexpected system failures. With its ongoing community-backed innovation, the Postgres database is the perfect solution for these requirements.

That’s why Fortune 50 banks are leaving Oracle for Postgres and partnering with the Postgres builders at EDB on their database modernization journey.

Top Financial Services Institutions Are Future-proofing With Postgres

Legacy, proprietary databases such as Oracle are becoming less popular than their open source counterparts across industries. With limited integration options and, in some cases, deployment options that the legacy providers offer, it becomes more difficult and costly for an enterprise to control and leverage its data fully. This, in turn, makes it harder to provide customers with the best, most modern services for their applications. Postgres offers a solution to these challenges with support from an industry leader such as EDB.

Ensuring continuous operations in finance, even when unexpected failures happen

The banking and finance industry is susceptible to unexpected downtime from external factors like natural disasters or internal issues like preventable security breaches and database errors. Issues can significantly impact a bank's reputation, financial stability, and regulatory compliance.

The easiest way to prevent these breakdowns is through a DBMS that can provide extremely high availability and the ability to integrate the necessary security and compliance tools to safeguard customer information. While legacy vendors like Oracle may offer potential solutions, central banks deserve the ability to look at alternatives and not be restricted to a limited set of offerings.

Maximizing uptime and efficiency in database management

Many organizations see planned downtime as an unavoidable necessity. For example, technology upgrades, mandatory security patching, or system hygiene tasks typically require application downtime. Hear it from us at EDB – it doesn't have to be that way, despite what your legacy provider tells you.

With Postgres, more specifically EDB Postgres and our EDB Postgres Distributed offering, maintenance work can be executed against the database without requiring application downtime or service degradation. The guarantee that no matter what maintenance their tech stack requires, their database remains 'Always On' makes EDB Postgres valuable for Fortune 50 banks.

Simplifying database management for modern applications

Dealing with inflexible architectures or restrictive licensing models can be troublesome when building modern applications for customers with ever-rising expectations. PostgreSQL is designed to suit the most expansive needs across business types, workloads, and industries.

With EDB Postgres® AI Cloud Service, our fully managed Postgres DBaaS in the cloud, Fortune 50 banks can take the burden of exhausting and time-consuming maintenance and administrative tasks off their shoulders.

Fully managed Postgres means you can focus on building differentiating business capabilities while EDB maintains your database environment. Moreover, with EDB’s expert Postgres support, you can have 24/7 access the answers you need for the most complicated changes you might want to make.

Driving cost-effective innovation in financial services

Fortune 50 banks are constantly looking to modernize and digitally transform to build truly modern applications that make banking easier across regions and around the globe.

Unfortunately, with Oracle, that's often impossible. This isn't just about the limitation of legacy databases on their users but the material price tags that come with any major growth initiative.

The more data you have, the more you pay. The more traffic you have, the more you pay. With more technology-savvy users, there's an expectation that banks will deliver a suite of tools that provide information and perform transactions in milliseconds.

Constant evolution is necessary. However, as mentioned above, the more transformative and expansive your innovative initiatives are, the more you can expect to pay. The cost of legacy database solutions, including Oracle, can often clash with the need for financial services firms to maximize profitability.

Conversely, Postgres provides financial organizations complete control over the data and their future without the hefty bill. By choosing Postgres, your modernization efforts can enhance your database and deliver value without incurring high costs.

Transforming Financial Services with EDB Postgres

With EDB Postgres, major financial institutions and Fortune 50 banks have achieved reliable performance and flexible deployment of new solutions despite high data volumes and ongoing upgrades to their systems and applications.

PostgreSQL on its own has proven to be transformational for many financial organizations, and EDB Postgres only amplifies that potential with benefits such as:

  • Enterprise-grade tooling: EDB has developed an ecosystem of tools around the database to help our users reliably and securely operate the world's favorite open source database, which features both high performance and excellent scalability. Experiencing the advantages of PostgreSQL with mission-critical features and additional enterprise support has never been simpler than with the EDB Enterprise Plan.
  • Easy Oracle migration: Thanks to Oracle compatibility, Fortune 50 banks can migrate from Oracle to Postgres without sacrificing their existing architectures or seeing any drop in performance or availability, and, most importantly, significantly reduce the migration effort in the process.
  • Extremely high availability: Leading banks deserve the confidence and security of five 9’s of high availability, ensuring their applications don’t suffer service disruption during unplanned or planned database downtime. Thanks to EDB Postgres Distributed, Fortune 50 banks can access lightning-fast disaster recovery tools and multi-master replication. Your database, nor your customers will never be in doubt again.
  • Postgres anywhere: The cloud, public or private, is the future for major banking institutions, but databases like Oracle too often limit how and where banks can execute their cloud deployments. Here at EDB we no longer distinguish between public and private clouds. We focus on whether our customers want a self managed or fully managed implementation. EDB Postgres® AI Cloud Service is our multi-cloud friendly, fully-managed public cloud offering. For our self-managed offerings, with support for baremetal, hypervisor, and Kubernetes deployments in your datacenters or on IaaS in the major CSPs. We focus on the same Postgres everywhere and anywhere.

To meet their customers' rising expectations for technical excellence, flexibility, agility, and control, Fortune 50 banks, as well as Fortune 500 companies across industries, are increasingly turning to EDB Postgres as their preferred database management solution.

Is it your time to join them?

Want to learn more? Read our report “How Financial Organizations Overcome Business Hurdles by Employing Open Source,” here.

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What are the main benefits of migrating from legacy databases to Postgres? chevron_right

Migrating to Postgres offers enhanced flexibility, lower costs, and improved performance. Financial institutions can leverage open source solutions to meet evolving customer expectations and regulatory requirements while avoiding the restrictive licensing and high costs associated with legacy systems like Oracle. This transition allows organizations to take advantage of modern features and community support, fostering innovation and adaptability in a rapidly changing market.

How does EDB support organizations during their migration to Postgres? chevron_right

EDB provides comprehensive support throughout the migration process, including access to expert guidance, tools for seamless migration, and ongoing assistance to ensure that organizations can effectively transition to Postgres without disruption. Their services encompass pre-migration assessments, tailored migration strategies, and post-migration support, ensuring that every aspect of the transition is managed efficiently and effectively.

What features make EDB Postgres® AI suitable for financial institutions? chevron_right

EDB Postgres offers enterprise-grade tooling, high availability, easy migration from Oracle, and robust disaster recovery options. These features enable financial institutions to maintain performance and security while managing large volumes of data. Additionally, EDB Postgres® AI supports advanced analytics and compliance features, which are crucial for financial organizations that must adhere to strict regulatory standards.

Can EDB Postgres® AI help ensure continuous operations during unexpected failures? chevron_right

Yes, EDB Postgres® AI is designed to provide extremely high availability and integrates security and compliance tools to safeguard customer information, ensuring that financial institutions can operate continuously even during unexpected downtimes. Its architecture includes replication and failover mechanisms, which are essential for maintaining service continuity and minimizing the impact of outages.

What is the cost advantage of using Postgres over legacy databases? chevron_right

Postgres allows organizations to control their data and future without incurring high costs typically associated with legacy database solutions. This cost-effectiveness enables them to invest in innovation and modernization without the burden of escalating fees. By eliminating vendor lock-in and associated licensing costs, organizations can allocate resources more strategically towards growth initiatives.

How does EDB Postgres® AI facilitate database management for modern applications? chevron_right

EDB Postgres® AI simplifies database management by offering a fully managed service that takes care of maintenance and administrative tasks, allowing organizations to focus on building innovative applications without operational constraints. This managed service model reduces the burden on internal IT teams, enabling them to concentrate on strategic projects rather than routine database upkeep.

What kind of support can I expect from EDB's Postgres experts? chevron_right

EDB provides 24/7 access to its Postgres experts, ensuring that organizations receive timely assistance for complex changes and challenges related to their database environments. This continuous support is vital for addressing any issues that arise post-migration and for optimizing database performance as organizational needs evolve.

How can I get started with EDB's migration services? chevron_right

You can begin your migration journey by contacting EDB directly for personalized support and resources tailored to your organization's needs. EDB offers initial consultations to assess your current database environment and help you develop a customized migration plan that aligns with your strategic objectives.

What resources does EDB offer for Oracle to Postgres migration? chevron_right

EDB offers a comprehensive Oracle to Postgres migration guide, best tools and solutions for migration, and case studies showcasing high availability PostgreSQL clusters to assist organizations in their transition. These resources are designed to facilitate a smooth migration process and demonstrate the potential benefits of moving to EDB Postgres.

Where can I find additional support for EDB Postgres? chevron_right

For further assistance, you can reach out to EDB's support team through their contact page, where you can get help tailored to your specific needs and challenges related to Postgres. EDB also provides extensive documentation and community resources to enhance your understanding and utilization of Postgres.

Migrating to Postgres Has Never Been Easier with EDB

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