Latest news with #IsmailAmla
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
How Open Source Is Transforming Finance
Ismail Amla, Senior Vice President, Kyndryl Consult. Once the domain of idealistic developers and technology companies, open-source software is now deeply embedded in Wall Street's core infrastructure. Even global banking institutions—a sector traditionally risk-averse and intensely protective of intellectual property—are now using code they don't entirely own. Open source has become a strategic imperative, impacting the ability to move faster, build better and attract top engineering talent. Across investment banks, retail institutions and payment firms, open-source tools and platforms are valued not just for reducing costs but driving innovation and freeing teams to focus on what sets them apart. A Growing Alliance To this point, the Fintech Open Source Foundation (FINOS), a nonprofit housed under the Linux Foundation since 2020, now counts more than 100 members, including key financial institutions such as Citi, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, along with tech titans such as AWS, Microsoft and Google Cloud. These firms have long adopted foundational components of open source, including the Linux operating system, MySQL and other open-source frameworks like MQTT. For some time, technologists at these companies have actively contributed to and maintained general open-source projects, including the Kubernetes container orchestration engine. From Contributors To Collaborators Fintech engineers and financial firms are increasingly collaborating on open-source, finance-specific tools to share the load of building complementary services, leaving those who don't at risk of falling behind. According to FINOS data, GitHub commits from financial services professionals jumped from 429,000 in 2021 to over 751,000 in 2024, roughly a 75% increase. The report also found that the amount of time engineers are spending on open-source contributions at work has doubled since 2021. As of 2024, 46% of organizations surveyed are allocating work time for open-source software development. This has yielded a growing list of open-source projects benefitting the finance community. Platforms like JPMorgan's Salt user experience solution and Goldman Sachs' Legend data life cycle platform were born inside individual firms, but once open-sourced, became catalysts for broader industry collaboration and evolution. Instead of every institution reinventing the wheel for non-differentiating capabilities, many are now pivoting to sharing the load. The New Standard Of Shared Standards Open source is also an efficient way to address industrywide standardization challenges that no single firm can or should solve alone. For example, the FDC3 standard has created an open API for financial desktop interoperability, enabling applications from different vendors to talk to each other. The financial services community came together to create the Common Domain Model, which has become a widely accepted open standard for harmonizing data for trading, reporting and compliance. These open standards help reduce integration costs, improve transparency and future-proof core systems in the face of changing regulation and technology. A Magnet For Top Engineering Talent These open standards also play a critical role in the race to attain the brightest and best. Open source has become essential to attracting and retaining engineering talent, and public code contributions give engineers portable, verifiable credentials that help strengthen their career mobility. At the same time, developers value the ability to work on impactful tools used across the industry, not just behind corporate firewalls. Standardized toolchains and common frameworks also increase skills portability. Developers moving between firms can ramp up faster, reducing retraining costs and making teams more productive. This is a major reason why many financial services companies now view open-source participation as a requirement. Other Benefits The earlier cited FINOS survey reported that 84% of survey respondents say open-source work delivers business value and 88% say it improves software quality. Concerns about open-source security have largely subsided due to the dominance of Linux as the operating system of choice, with the concurrent development of open-source security practices that, likewise, share the burden and can even improve risk by empowering faster root cause analysis and quicker fixes. Goldman Sachs, Citi, Morgan Stanley, Bloomberg and others have institutionalized open-source policies through dedicated open-source program offices (OSPOs), shifting contribution and open-source development from an exception to a norm. By sharing the foundational burden, firms are left with more time and resources to focus on their special sauce: user experience, artificial intelligence platforms, execution algorithms and more. It's a striking shift with some irony: The most competitive firms in finance are collaborating on core infrastructure, so they can better compete where it really counts. Looking To The Future As competition heats up with numerous new entrants and an explosion of new service types, open source becomes even more critical within fintech. Just as cloud adoption became a table-stakes requirement a decade ago, open-source participation is quickly becoming a baseline requirement for speed, adaptability and talent retention. I encourage leaders within finance to find ways to contribute to open-source projects as a way to help shape and build them. Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
Channel Post MEA
24-07-2025
- Business
- Channel Post MEA
Kyndryl Introduces Agentic AI Framework
Kyndryl has launched the Kyndryl Agentic AI Framework, a new approach to deploying agentic AI to augment human teams. The enterprise-grade Framework orchestrates and dispatches a portfolio of specialized, self-directed, self-learning AI agents that dynamically respond to shifting conditions and keep humans in the loop for oversight. The Kyndryl Agentic AI Framework enables enterprises to adopt, deploy and scale agentic AI-powered solutions — whether on-premises, in the cloud or in a hybrid IT setting — to transform and improve their business operations. In deploying the Framework, Kyndryl leverages its expertise from thousands of infrastructure deployments and its experience with generating over 12 million AI-driven insights monthly via Kyndryl Bridge. The Framework combines advanced algorithms, self-learning, optimization and secure-by-design AI agents that translate complex data into clear, understandable insights. 'As customers worldwide adopt agentic AI to gain a competitive edge, it will increasingly impact the entire technology stack, including applications and business workflows. Kyndryl is uniquely positioned to provide a holistic, infrastructure-first perspective that enables customers to deploy AI with confidence across mission-critical systems with scalability and industry-standard security,' said Ismail Amla, Senior Vice President, Kyndryl Consult. 'With our unique insights from Kyndryl Bridge, our differentiated Agentic AI Framework, and our experience managing some of the world's largest technology estates, we can help companies design, implement and run agentic AI solutions at scale — tailored to their specific business productivity and innovation goals.' Kyndryl's new Agentic AI Framework deploys intelligent agents that act, learn and collaborate with humans to drive positive outcomes across complex workflows. Customers across industries are already working with Kyndryl to explore and understand how they can leverage the Agentic Framework's sophisticated capabilities, including: A national government evaluating the Kyndryl Agentic AI Framework for a large-scale deployment across their complex IT estate. The government aims to enhance citizen experiences, improve public service, ensure compliance and reduce regulatory risks by leveraging the Framework and Kyndryl's expertise in transparent and responsible AI. This will empower government stakeholders to align policies with best practices and operate efficiently for the benefit of their constituents. The capability will enable government employees to view real-time, up-to-date insights on metrics such as traffic congestion, hospital bed availability and school attendance. evaluating the Kyndryl Agentic AI Framework for a large-scale deployment across their complex IT estate. The government aims to enhance citizen experiences, improve public service, ensure compliance and reduce regulatory risks by leveraging the Framework and Kyndryl's expertise in transparent and responsible AI. This will empower government stakeholders to align policies with best practices and operate efficiently for the benefit of their constituents. The capability will enable government employees to view real-time, up-to-date insights on metrics such as traffic congestion, hospital bed availability and school attendance. As part of an ongoing modernization program, a leading financial institution is working with Kyndryl Consult to assess how it can apply Kyndryl's Agentic AI Framework to introduce AI agents for automating compliance, optimizing IT and accelerating service delivery. By leveraging this solution, the institution aims to enhance agility, strengthen cyber resilience, meet regulatory standards, and drive long-term innovation and operational efficiency. This new Framework comes at a critical moment for enterprise leaders who are struggling to see benefits from AI use cases. In fact, according to Kyndryl's recently published 2025 People Readiness Report, only 4 in 10 leaders report using AI-powered insights to enhance decision-making or unlock business growth. In addition, only one-fifth of business leaders say the primary use case of AI in their organization is to develop new products and services for customers. The Kyndryl Agentic AI Framework can help organizations confidently deploy AI with trust and security in mind. The Framework was built with industry-standard encryption protocols, privacy-by-design principles and zero-trust security — fostering trust in AI-driven processes and assurances that agent actions are traceable, interpretable and continuously improved with human oversight. It can also be tailored to meet enterprises' needs and adapt to industries through self-directed learning, enabling organizations to apply the Framework to a wide range of use cases and projects with speed and confidence. Kyndryl Consult experts will work side-by-side with customers to assess, design, engineer and plan deployments of the Framework that are tailored to individual customer business requirements.
Channel Post MEA
14-07-2025
- Business
- Channel Post MEA
Kyndryl Microsoft Acceleration Hub Accelerates AI Adoption
Kyndryl has announced the launch of Kyndryl Microsoft Acceleration Hub designed to advance the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and accelerate digital transformation for enterprise customers. Developed in close collaboration with Microsoft, the new Acceleration Hub leverages Kyndryl Consult services and Kyndryl Vital co-creation and technical expertise to explore and support the deployment of tailored agentic AI solutions using Microsoft Azure AI Foundry and Copilot across the Microsoft stack. The Hub will focus on building industry-specific solutions and capabilities, leveraging agentic AI to serve customers more efficiently and help them unlock new business value. The Kyndryl Microsoft Acceleration Hub will tap into existing physical and virtual innovation labs globally, including Kyndryl's new AI Innovation Lab in Liverpool. These locations will serve as collaborative environments for ideation, prototyping, and deployment of AI and digital solutions across industries and regions for customers. 'We are confidently doubling down on our successful collaboration with Microsoft because we know that the combination of Kyndryl Consult expertise with Microsoft technologies is a powerful duo that will help customers reap the benefits of AI, drive innovation and achieve meaningful business outcomes,' said Ismail Amla, Global Leader, Kyndryl Consult. 'Kyndryl's Microsoft Acceleration Hub represents the next evolution of our strategic collaboration and a shared commitment to helping enterprise customers unlock the full potential of AI,' said Stephen Boyle, Global Leader, SI & Advisory Partners, Microsoft. 'By combining Kyndryl's deep industry expertise with Microsoft's trusted cloud and AI capabilities, we're empowering organizations to accelerate innovation, improve operational efficiency and achieve meaningful transformation at scale.' Kyndryl will deliver scalable, innovative AI solutions across the Microsoft technology stack through its substantial commitment to skilling its workforce. To date, more than 16,000 Kyndryls have earned over 26,000 Microsoft certifications, which lends to our deep and growing expertise across Microsoft technologies — such as Microsoft Azure cloud, data platforms, security and modern workplace solutions — which strengthens the company's ability to deliver Microsoft-based services to enterprise clients. Kyndryl is also embedding agentic AI into its global infrastructure services and delivery capabilities to help customers fully leverage the Microsoft stack and act with autonomy, goals and decision-making in mind. 'As a customer, we are thrilled about the Kyndryl Microsoft Acceleration Hub's transformative potential and believe it can help streamline our adoption and application of AI and enable better services for our customers,' said Anders Bjørnrud, CTO of Care Safety Innovations. 'The cutting-edge capabilities that Kyndryl and Microsoft are providing will assist with providing smarter and more efficient home care to patients and the caregivers who support them.' Kyndryl recently achieved the AI Platform on Microsoft Azure specialization and renewed its Azure Expert MSP (Managed Services Partner) designation, which is the highest status a service provider can achieve with Microsoft; less than 2% of Microsoft's partner ecosystem garner this designation.
