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Simplifying the Core: ABN AMRO’s ECM Transformation Story

ABN AMRO, a leading bank in the Netherlands, has accelerated its digital transformation to deliver seamless and secure customer experiences.

Enterprise Content Management (ECM) is a crucial function at the bank and manages storage, retrieval, and archival of billions of documents. The bank aimed to automate the extraction of critical information from complex documents to support multiple business processes. To overcome its archival challenges, ABN AMRO collaborated closely with Infosys—its trusted strategic partner with extensive expertise in banking and enterprise modernization. Together, they envisioned and built a next-generation archival platform that was not only lean and cost-efficient but also scalable, compliant, and aligned with the bank’s long-term digital transformation goals. This joint effort combined Infosys’ deep domain knowledge and architectural capabilities with ABN AMRO’s vision for agility and sustainability, resulting in a solution designed to simplify complexity and future-proof core operations.

ABN AMRO is a leading bank in the Netherlands, with a rich history spanning over 200 years. The bank’s core business revolves around providing a comprehensive suite of financial products, services, and expert advice to a diverse client base. The institution is firmly established as a personal bank, catering to approximately five million retail customers and 365,000 business clients. It primarily operates and services clients in the Netherlands with an increasing presence within Northwest Europe.

Business Context

Delivering next-generation customer experiences requires banks to offer frictionless digital solutions while adhering to strict regulations. Compliance with legal and regulatory requirements is essential for operational integrity and for maintaining public trust. At the same time, banks need highly secure and scalable storage solutions to protect sensitive customer information and prevent financial crimes.

The ECM department is a key horizontal service provider within the bank, ensuring compliance and enabling operational efficiency. However, rising regulatory demands and data overload posed significant challenges.

Simplifying the Core: ABN AMRO’s ECM Transformation Story

Working with Infosys allowed us to transform a significant operational challenge into a strategic advantage. We now have a modern, scalable platform that not only meets our current needs but also positions us for future growth and efficiency.

Hans Oude Groen
IT Lead – Enterprise Content Management at ABN AMRO

The Challenge

ABN AMRO’s legal archival system was built on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solutions. While these tools were reliable and feature-rich, they incurred significant licensing costs and struggled to keep pace with growing archival volumes. The limitations included:

  • High Licensing Costs: Unsustainable budget allocations for future licensing.
  • Rigid Architecture: Limited flexibility for data ingestion and lifecycle management.
  • Underutilized Features: Advanced capabilities added complexity without business value.
  • Scalability Constraints: Slowed responsiveness to evolving market demands.

These challenges prompted ABN AMRO to rethink its archival strategy—setting the stage for a transformative modernization journey.

The Solution

ABN AMRO partnered with Infosys, a long-standing strategic partner with deep domain expertise, to co-create a lean, cost-effective, and future-ready archival solution. The initiative began with a Proof of Concept (PoC) to explore modern, cloud-native architectures that could deliver equivalent functionality at a lower cost—while aligning with ABN AMRO’s digital and sustainability goals.

Pivot to Agility Guided by PoC insights, ABN AMRO retired its legacy archival system in favor of an internally developed application backed by Azure Cosmos DB. Infosys played a pivotal role in architecting and implementing the solution, leveraging its collaborative delivery model and deep understanding of ABN AMRO’s IT landscape. The transformation was completed in under a year, with the new system going live in May 2025.

  • Transition from COTS products to a custom-built archival application to reduce cost and simplify architecture.
  • Migration of archival data to Azure Cosmos DB for scalability, performance, and sustainability.
  • Compliance and data security prioritized throughout the transition, adhering to stringent regulatory standards.
  • Seamless integration with ABN AMRO’s digital ecosystem through collaboration with legal, compliance, IT, and operations teams.
  • Project completed within targeted timelines, enabling faster market response.

Impact and Benefits

  • EUR 1 million annual savings by eliminating high licensing costs.

    EUR 1 million annual savings by eliminating high licensing costs.

  • Simplified IT architecture, reducing maintenance complexity and operational overhead.

    Simplified IT architecture, reducing maintenance complexity and operational overhead.

  • Lower technical debt, enabling faster innovation and agility.

    Lower technical debt, enabling faster innovation and agility.

  • Enhanced scalability, performance, and sustainability through cloud-native design.

    Enhanced scalability, performance, and sustainability through cloud-native design.

  • Future opportunities for additional cost savings and performance improvements.

    Future opportunities for additional cost savings and performance improvements.

Strategic Gains

This transformation demonstrates how rethinking core systems can pave the way for efficiency, agility, and sustainability—helping a leading financial institution stay ahead in a competitive digital era. By modernizing its archival infrastructure, ABN AMRO not only solved an immediate cost and compliance challenge but also built a future-ready ECM that supports its broader digital transformation vision.