Financial technology (Fintech) is transforming the financial services industry and a variety of innovations, including blockchain technology, have revolutionized the banking sector for the past year. Microsoft announced in April its Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) on Microsoft Azure and has been driving the fintech development with its transparent, efficient and secure blockchain infrastructure.
Microsoft announced that it has entered a partnership with AMIS and the Industrial Technology Research Institute of Taiwan (ITRI) to form Asia’s first and the most advanced consortium blockchain network on Azure. Microsoft is also in collaboration with banks such as Fubon Financial, Cathay Financial Holdings, MegaBank, KGI, Taishin, CTBC Bank to further develop blockchain opportunities in the Taiwan financial market.
Four unique advantages to why AMIS chose the Microsoft Azure platform
AMIS’s blockchain solutions utilize distributed ledger technology and cryptographic authentication, which aims to streamline financial business operations and reduce money laundering risks and other cyber-attacks. This solution can also be extended to other implementations such as Internet of Things (IoT) to further expand business opportunities.
Azure is the cloud platform of choice for enterprises. Not only is it compliant with various international standards and certifications, but it also has security and privacy features built-in, and is the only platform with BaaS.
Azure is therefore AMIS’s preferred platform for its blockchain offering, with the following unique features:
Highly secure and controllable platform that complies with international and industry regulations and standards
Open, interoperable, flexible and scalable platform
Availability of public, private and hybrid cloud models
Business and technical support from local team based in Taiwan
Danny Ting, National Tech Officer, Microsoft Taiwan said: “Blockchain is a catalyst that promotes cross-sector collaboration. At the moment, companies incur high costs when they perform any cross-organization transactions and this can be solved using blockchain technology. The offering can also inspire further innovative solutions for the industry.”
“Microsoft’s BaaS helps companies build a secure, reliable and interoperable blockchain infrastructure by leveraging Azure’s machine learning capabilities to achieve useful data insights. More importantly, Azure complies with many international and industry certifications and standards, such as ISO 27001, ISO 27018 and PCI-DSS; as well as integrates identity management and authentication capabilities to ensure the highest level of security for the broad implementation of blockchain technology.”
AMIS joins hand with ITRI and Microsoft to further Taiwan’s innovation efforts
The pilot blockchain project is developed using ITRI’s cutting-edge technology and Azure, which meets a broad set of international and industry-specific compliance standards. AMIS chose Ethereum, to develop Permissioned Blockchain, an infrastructure specific to the needs of Taiwan’s financial market. ITRI provided its advanced technology to create an internal application program interface (API), while Azure provided high-speed cloud computing to ensure high security and efficiency for the blockchain infrastructure. In addition, Microsoft also played a role in ensuring that the infrastructure met the specific requirements of financial institutions in Taiwan.
“Microsoft Azure offers a trusted cloud environment and provides AMIS with the necessary support in the areas of security, privacy, transparency and compliance. These are key in ensuring a sustainable development of local blockchain technology,” said Alex Liu, CEO of AMIS.
Microsoft drives adoption of blockchain technology and accelerates fintech development
Blockchain technology has been gaining traction across the globe, and in April, Microsoft became a strategic partner of R3 Consortium, and is the preferred cloud services provider for its R3 Lab and Research Center, serving more than 40 member banks. The partnership will accelerate the use of blockchain among member banks and global financial markets.
In June, Microsoft introduced Project Bletchley which outlines Microsoft’s vision to support consortium blockchain powered by Azure. By releasing the first Azure Quickstart Template, partners are able to deploy blockchain technology in a much shorter timeframe.
The project spearheaded by AMIS along with ITRI will bring more efficiency and cost-savings for companies in Taiwan as it provides options for two-way payment, cross-field integration, speed up cash flow as well as app or community payment apps in the future.
In addition to providing an open and powerful cloud platform, Microsoft is bringing its global expertise and knowledge to help companies in Taiwan drive further innovations with blockchain. The company also builds on its solid technical foundation and strong working relationship with government bodies, financial institutions, universities, law firms and other industries to provide the necessary technology and ecosystem for the development of blockchain solutions for the banking and financial industry.
