The Duel Run service is being offered to companies across industries and is already being used by Santander to bring data and workloads onto Google Cloud’s infrastructure. The service is built on top of Gravity, a bespoke internal software developed by Santander for its core banking modernisation programme. The software allows parallel processing, meaning the bank can simultaneously run workloads on its existing mainframe and on the cloud, allowing it to perform real-time testing with no disruption to its businesses. Once satisfied with the stability and performance, the bank can then transit from the mainframe system to the cloud. Santander says it expects to move all its core markets and businesses to the cloud within two to three years, ensuring easier and faster access to data, more simplicity and faster time-to-market. Sachin Gupta, VP, GM infrastructure, Google Cloud, says: "Modernising legacy IT infrastructure represents a significant stepping stone into the cloud era for many enterprises. "Migrating mainframe systems to the cloud provides organizations with opportunities to better utilise their data, implement stronger cybersecurity protections, and build a foundation for their transformation. Santander’s revolutionary innovation has helped us built a new service in record time."

Finextra has recently launched the inaugural Financial Cloud Summit, scheduled to take place on 2 March 2023. For more information and to register for this event, please visit the event page here.