Dtcc expands cloud first push with AWS & Microsoft

DTCC has expanded its Cloud First strategy through partnerships with AWS and Microsoft, covering both its core market infrastructure and digital assets business.

It is working with AWS to modernise core clearance and settlement systems and risk applications, while broadening its work with Microsoft on digital asset services hosted on Azure.

A key part of the programme is the gradual migration of a defined set of core applications to public cloud infrastructure. This will be the first time some of DTCC's critical market infrastructure services move to the public cloud.

The migration follows a Notice of No Objection from the US Securities and Exchange Commission on a proposal by DTCC clearing agency subsidiaries to move specified core services into a public cloud environment. Those subsidiaries are the National Securities Clearing Corporation, Fixed Income Clearing Corporation and The Depository Trust Company.

Core Systems

AWS is providing the cloud infrastructure for the specified core applications that support those clearing subsidiaries. DTCC has also worked with AWS for more than a decade on other non-core clearing and settlement systems.

DTCC is rearchitecting systems to make them more modular and cloud-enabled. The work is intended to improve resilience, fault isolation and recovery arrangements, while strengthening cyber defences.

It is also using AWS artificial intelligence tools in software development and testing, and is piloting AWS enterprise agents across its software development lifecycle.

"Expanding our use of the public cloud is central to how we are strengthening the resiliency, security and scalability of DTCC's infrastructure while continuing to innovate on behalf of the industry," said Lynn Bishop, Managing Director & Chief Information Officer, DTCC.

"Our Cloud First strategy enables us to transform our core services, introduce new capabilities more quickly, and advance adoption and use of digital assets while meeting the rigorous expectations of the market and regulatory bodies," Bishop added.

AWS linked the project to DTCC's role in financial market infrastructure, which handles large volumes of transactions. In 2024, DTCC subsidiaries processed securities transactions valued at U.S. $3.7 quadrillion, while its depository subsidiary provided custody and asset servicing for securities issues from more than 150 countries and territories valued at U.S. $99 trillion.

"By combining AWS cloud and advanced AI capabilities - from Kiro's agentic coding services to agents that enhance security and operations - DTCC is building faster, operating with greater resilience and enhancing protections against cyber-attacks while maintaining the rigorous standards these critical systems demand," said Scott Mullins, Managing Director, Worldwide Financial Services at AWS.

"We look forward to continuing our work with DTCC to power some of its most mission critical workloads as they accelerate innovation at the scale that global markets require, while strengthening the operations that underpin the financial industry," Mullins said.

Digital Assets

Alongside the AWS work, DTCC is expanding its relationship with Microsoft across its digital assets division. Microsoft will extend its role beyond the ComposerX service and related Azure hosting to cover all initiatives across the business.

That includes plans to migrate Digital Launchpad to Azure. The partnership is intended to support the next phase of digital market infrastructure as digital and other emerging asset classes develop.

Azure will serve as the cloud foundation for digital asset platforms that need to handle changing demand and support new market uses. The arrangement is also intended to support contingency planning, governance and security requirements.

DTCC has deployed Microsoft 365 Copilot across the organisation and is using GitHub Copilot within DTCC Digital Assets. Those tools are intended to support collaboration, decision-making and developer productivity.

Microsoft presented the agreement as part of a broader shift in financial services infrastructure toward cloud-based platforms and digital assets.

"We're at a pivotal moment in financial services, where the convergence of cloud and digital assets is fundamentally redefining market infrastructure," said Bill Borden, Corporate Vice President, Worldwide Financial Services at Microsoft.

"DTCC Digital Assets' decision to build on Microsoft Azure underscores how our partnership - and Azure's unmatched global scale, security, and innovation - is leading the industry forward as the most comprehensive and trusted cloud platform for digital assets. By laying the foundation for a more secure and efficient digital market infrastructure, and embedding Microsoft AI into agentic workflows and developer tools, we're working together to enable a new era of finance that will power the global economy's future," Borden said.