THE FINTECH INTERVIEW
With 55 % of banks identifying legacy systems as their primary transformation obstacle and 70 % of IT budgets consumed by maintenance activities, today financial institutions face mounting pressure to modernise their infrastructure.
Peter Pugh-Jones, EMEA Field CDO at data streaming platform Confluent, believes the traditional co-existence approach may be prolonging the inevitable.
Confluent provides Apache Kafkabased data streaming technology that enables real-time data processing across enterprise systems.
“ Let’ s be honest – co-existence might buy time, but it’ s not a strategy,” Peter explains.“ When 55 % of banks say legacy systems are holding them back, and 70 % of IT budgets are swallowed by maintenance, the writing’ s on the wall.”
“ YOU CAN’ T LEAP INTO THE FUTURE WITH TEAMS OR SYSTEMS BUILT FOR THE PAST”
Peter Pugh-Jones, EMEA Field CDO, Data Streaming Platform, Confluent
The challenge is stark. Banks cannot innovate effectively while dedicating the majority of their resources to maintaining outdated systems.
This creates a vicious cycle where legacy infrastructure continues to drain resources that could otherwise drive digital transformation.
Digital-native fintech companies demonstrate what becomes possible when organisations build with modern architecture from the ground up.
These companies operate on real-time data streams and deploy cloud-native infrastructure designed for scalability.
“ They operate on real-time data, and their infrastructure is cloud-native and built to scale,” Peter says.“ And because they aren’ t weighed down by legacy systems, they can respond quickly to changing customer needs and shifting market conditions.”
The temptation for many banks lies in adopting lift-and-shift strategies. This approach involves moving existing legacy applications directly to cloud infrastructure without fundamental re-architecture. However, this strategy may merely postpone necessary transformation work.
“ The‘ lift-and-shift’ model, where legacy systems are simply ported to the cloud, may feel safer. But this often puts off the inevitable: true transformation requires re-architecture,” Peter reveals.
Without clear decommissioning plans for legacy systems, co-existence strategies risk becoming permanent comfort zones.
24 September 2025