Santander has completed the migration of its core technology infrastructure in Spain to Gravity, a cloud-based banking platform. The move marks a significant step in the bank’s digital transformation, allowing it to operate entirely in the cloud.
With this development, Santander becomes the first major established bank in the Western world to achieve 100% cloud operation. The Gravity platform is designed to provide faster access to data and enable quicker deployment of new functionalities. According to Santander, these changes will allow for more frequent updates to its applications and help improve efficiency as well as customer service.
The deployment of Gravity covers one of Santander’s largest markets, where numerous products, services, and business units operate simultaneously. Santander España processes over 4.3 billion transactions annually, with transaction peaks reaching up to 33,000 per second.
The core banking system is central to a bank’s operations because it processes essential financial transactions such as transfers, deposits, and loans. By digitizing this system through Gravity, Santander positions itself among the first major global banks to take this step. With plans for further rollouts in Brazil and Mexico, approximately 80% of Santander’s core technology infrastructure worldwide will soon be migrated to the cloud. Once fully implemented across all markets, Gravity is expected to handle more than one trillion technical operations each year for the group.
Ignacio Juliá, CEO of Santander España, said:
Dirk Marzluf, group chief operating and technology officer, said:
Gravity incorporates both internal and third-party technologies. This environment supports nearly 30,000 software developers and engineers at Santander by offering tools for developing customer-focused applications and attracting skilled professionals.
A leading magazine recognized Santander as the most innovative bank globally at its digital banking innovation awards—a reflection of Gravity’s successful implementation as a large-scale project. The platform allows simultaneous data processing on both mainframe systems and the cloud without interrupting daily operations. After verifying stability and performance during real-time testing phases, operations can shift from traditional mainframes entirely onto the cloud.