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IBM supports Finanz Informatik in its strategic initiatives with AI, automation, and hybrid cloud technology
BÖBLINGEN, Germany, May 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Finanz Informatik (FI) – the central IT service provider and digitalization partner of the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe – and IBM (NYSE: IBM) have extended their successful collaboration with the signing of a new contract.
Finanz Informatik is a central IT service provider for more than 340 savings banks and other network partners, providing efficient, secure, and regulatory-compliant solutions, which are supplied through FI's own data centers. To further improve the already strong position of its banking customers in the digital world, Finanz Informatik relies on the latest IBM technologies for the continued modernization of its software and hardware infrastructure. With the latest generation of computer systems, FI is expanding its capabilities to leverage the advantages and the full potential of cloud computing, automation, and AI for its data center operations, while ensuring platform independence.
The new contract with IBM enables further capacity growth for the next few years and will strengthen cyber resilience in compliance with the EU Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA). The contract includes the use of state-of-the-art IBM mainframe, Power, and storage systems as well as modern system software components with AI support from the watsonx product portfolio. This allows cloud-enabled applications to be automatically distributed and managed across various computer systems running in the company's own data center.
The aim is to support Finanz Informatik initiatives and projects that provide Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe with a host of strategic advantages:
- Accelerated digital transformation: By building on technologies such as the Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform as a consistent hybrid cloud foundation and IBM AIOps solutions, Finanz Informatik will continue to modernize its core IT systems and applications, enabling more efficient operations and improve service delivery across the network of companies.
- Improved cyber resilience: With proven IBM solutions, Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe can benefit from robust backup and recovery capabilities that help protect critical financial data. This makes Finanz Informatik a pioneer in the use of such innovative and resilient solutions in Europe.
- Innovation powered by AI: By making the most of IBM's AI offerings based on the watsonx portfolio, Finanz Informatik will deliver privacy-focused AI solutions for Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe that enable real-time insights, automation, and security services.
- Sustainability and future-proofing: The agreement underscores the commitment to sustainability and helps ensure that the IT infrastructure continues to evolve in an environmentally friendly way with the energy-efficient IBM mainframe and high-end Power servers of the latest and upcoming technology generations.
"Our contract with IBM is another important building block on our way to inspiring our customers with innovative solutions. Together, we will use the agreed contract components and new technologies to drive forward the digital transformation in the Sparkassen Finanzgruppe while at the same time securing growing capacity requirements in the future. Signing the contract with IBM provides us with long-term planning security and economic advantages in challenging times," emphasizes Martin Waldmann, Executive Director for Human Resources, Finance, Internal Services and Risk Management at Finanz Informatik.
"By signing the agreement, we are continuing a long-standing and successful cooperation. Our customers benefit from the continuous development of our IT platform, enabling us to guarantee a high level of security, availability, and cost-effectiveness. We preserve what makes us strong. On top of that and together with IBM, we're introducing new, innovative products for our OSPlus financial platform. Both companies – IBM and FI – will contribute their specific expertise and benefit from the intensive long-term cooperation. With this collaboration, we can deliver a good combination of proven systems and new technologies, strengthening the foundation of our platform independence, platform openness, and the sovereign operation of our applications," adds Detlev Klage, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of Finanz Informatik.
"Across the global financial services industry, we're seeing banks and other financial institutions increasingly embrace exponential technologies, including generative AI, to improve customer experience, increase operational efficiency, and mitigate risk to stay competitive," said Rob Thomas, Senior Vice President of Software and Chief Commercial Officer at IBM. "Access to a robust ecosystem of technology partners is critical as financial institutions look to boost productivity and increase value for their customers. With this new agreement, Finanz Informatik is creating a solid foundation for the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe to continue to offer its stakeholders exceptional added value and innovation."
About Finanz Informatik
Finanz Informatik, based in Frankfurt am Main, is the digitalization partner of the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe. The customers of the central IT service provider include 348 savings banks, six state banks, DekaBank, five state building societies, public insurers and other companies in the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe and the wider financial sector. Its core banking solution OSPlus is the central digital platform of the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe which is being continuously expanded. The saving banks and large parts of the network operate their sales and service channels through this digital platform to support around 50 million customers.
Finanz Informatik offers a complete IT service – from application development to infrastructure and data center operations to consulting, training, and support. Subsidiaries and shareholdings such as Finanz Informatik Solutions Plus, Finanz Informatik Technologie Service, inasys, Star Finanz, Web Computing, and FINMAS complement the IT portfolio of Finanz Informatik with their wide range of services.
Finanz Informatik provides services for around 114 million bank accounts; more than 205 billion technical transactions are being processed on computers and systems every year. The company employed around 4,650 people at the end of 2023. Together with its subsidiaries, FI generated sales of 2.44 billion euros in 2023.
About IBM
IBM is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud and AI, and consulting expertise. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs, and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Thousands of governments and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications, and healthcare rely on IBM's hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently, and securely. IBM's breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions, and consulting deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM's long-standing commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity, and service. Visit ibm.com for more information.
Media Contact:
IBM
Marie-Ann Maushart
maushart@de.ibm.com
IBM supports Finanz Informatik in its strategic initiatives with AI, automation, and hybrid cloud technology
BÖBLINGEN, Germany, May 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Finanz Informatik (FI) – the central IT service provider and digitalization partner of the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe – and IBM (NYSE: IBM) have extended their successful collaboration with the signing of a new contract.
Finanz Informatik is a central IT service provider for more than 340 savings banks and other network partners, providing efficient, secure, and regulatory-compliant solutions, which are supplied through FI's own data centers. To further improve the already strong position of its banking customers in the digital world, Finanz Informatik relies on the latest IBM technologies for the continued modernization of its software and hardware infrastructure. With the latest generation of computer systems, FI is expanding its capabilities to leverage the advantages and the full potential of cloud computing, automation, and AI for its data center operations, while ensuring platform independence.
The new contract with IBM enables further capacity growth for the next few years and will strengthen cyber resilience in compliance with the EU Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA). The contract includes the use of state-of-the-art IBM mainframe, Power, and storage systems as well as modern system software components with AI support from the watsonx product portfolio. This allows cloud-enabled applications to be automatically distributed and managed across various computer systems running in the company's own data center.
The aim is to support Finanz Informatik initiatives and projects that provide Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe with a host of strategic advantages:
- Accelerated digital transformation: By building on technologies such as the Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform as a consistent hybrid cloud foundation and IBM AIOps solutions, Finanz Informatik will continue to modernize its core IT systems and applications, enabling more efficient operations and improve service delivery across the network of companies.
- Improved cyber resilience: With proven IBM solutions, Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe can benefit from robust backup and recovery capabilities that help protect critical financial data. This makes Finanz Informatik a pioneer in the use of such innovative and resilient solutions in Europe.
- Innovation powered by AI: By making the most of IBM's AI offerings based on the watsonx portfolio, Finanz Informatik will deliver privacy-focused AI solutions for Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe that enable real-time insights, automation, and security services.
- Sustainability and future-proofing: The agreement underscores the commitment to sustainability and helps ensure that the IT infrastructure continues to evolve in an environmentally friendly way with the energy-efficient IBM mainframe and high-end Power servers of the latest and upcoming technology generations.
"Our contract with IBM is another important building block on our way to inspiring our customers with innovative solutions. Together, we will use the agreed contract components and new technologies to drive forward the digital transformation in the Sparkassen Finanzgruppe while at the same time securing growing capacity requirements in the future. Signing the contract with IBM provides us with long-term planning security and economic advantages in challenging times," emphasizes Martin Waldmann, Executive Director for Human Resources, Finance, Internal Services and Risk Management at Finanz Informatik.
"By signing the agreement, we are continuing a long-standing and successful cooperation. Our customers benefit from the continuous development of our IT platform, enabling us to guarantee a high level of security, availability, and cost-effectiveness. We preserve what makes us strong. On top of that and together with IBM, we're introducing new, innovative products for our OSPlus financial platform. Both companies – IBM and FI – will contribute their specific expertise and benefit from the intensive long-term cooperation. With this collaboration, we can deliver a good combination of proven systems and new technologies, strengthening the foundation of our platform independence, platform openness, and the sovereign operation of our applications," adds Detlev Klage, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of Finanz Informatik.
"Across the global financial services industry, we're seeing banks and other financial institutions increasingly embrace exponential technologies, including generative AI, to improve customer experience, increase operational efficiency, and mitigate risk to stay competitive," said Rob Thomas, Senior Vice President of Software and Chief Commercial Officer at IBM. "Access to a robust ecosystem of technology partners is critical as financial institutions look to boost productivity and increase value for their customers. With this new agreement, Finanz Informatik is creating a solid foundation for the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe to continue to offer its stakeholders exceptional added value and innovation."
About Finanz Informatik
Finanz Informatik, based in Frankfurt am Main, is the digitalization partner of the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe. The customers of the central IT service provider include 348 savings banks, six state banks, DekaBank, five state building societies, public insurers and other companies in the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe and the wider financial sector. Its core banking solution OSPlus is the central digital platform of the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe which is being continuously expanded. The saving banks and large parts of the network operate their sales and service channels through this digital platform to support around 50 million customers.
Finanz Informatik offers a complete IT service – from application development to infrastructure and data center operations to consulting, training, and support. Subsidiaries and shareholdings such as Finanz Informatik Solutions Plus, Finanz Informatik Technologie Service, inasys, Star Finanz, Web Computing, and FINMAS complement the IT portfolio of Finanz Informatik with their wide range of services.
Finanz Informatik provides services for around 114 million bank accounts; more than 205 billion technical transactions are being processed on computers and systems every year. The company employed around 4,650 people at the end of 2023. Together with its subsidiaries, FI generated sales of 2.44 billion euros in 2023.
About IBM
IBM is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud and AI, and consulting expertise. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs, and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Thousands of governments and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications, and healthcare rely on IBM's hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently, and securely. IBM's breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions, and consulting deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM's long-standing commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity, and service. Visit ibm.com for more information.
Media Contact:
IBM
Marie-Ann Maushart
maushart@de.ibm.com
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
Finanz Informatik and IBM extend and expand collaboration
The Initiative Aims to Address the Pain Points of Family Filmmaking
BEIJING, Dec. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- On December 6th, the 3rd FamilyLens International Film Festival opened in Beijing. SmallRig, a global specialized provider of imaging solutions, collaborating with FamilyLens, is empowering family filmmaking through various initiatives, including the Family Filmmaking Co-Creation Initiative, a dedicated family filmmaking kit, and a social impact screening program.
Deepening the "Co-Creation Initiatives"
The Co-Creation Initiatives are a series of global creative initiatives open to filmmakers and image creators worldwide. Through deep collaboration across multiple dimensions — including product co-creation, discovery and promotion, and content co-creation — SmallRig aims to expand the boundaries of mobile filmmaking and bring the spirit of Free Your Dream to life with creators everywhere.
Following the launch of the Mobile Filmmaking Co-Creation Initiative at the 14th International Smartphone Film Festival, SmallRig announced the launch of the Family Filmmaking Co-Creation Initiative on December 6th at the 3rd FamilyLens International Film Festival. The initiative invites global creators and every family to participate, focusing on three core directions: product co-creation, work promotion, and content co-creation, to explore the possibilities of family filmmaking for everyone.
Mr. Zhou Yang, Founder and CEO of SmallRig, shared the inspiration for the initiative: "The initiative is rooted in the immense universality and profound emotional depth inherent in family narratives, which serve as a common emotional bond connecting global audiences. We firmly believe that in this era, where everyone can be a content creator, every family can and should film their own story. The instinct to create is deeply embedded in the human spirit, and every home is the origin of countless narratives."
Gu Xue, Founder and Director of the FamilyLens International Film Festival, stated: "We hope that people and practitioners around the world who care about family movies can find suitable solutions and gain insights from the Co-Creation Initiatives. We look forward to more and more people exploring the field of 'Home' together through this initiative."
To address the pain points of family filmmaking, SmallRig officially released the SmallRig Family Filmmaking Kit at the opening ceremony. The kit includes a high-quality microphone, fill light, and a portable tripod, specifically designed to achieve "professional function democratization" and "complex feature simplification." During the FamilyLens Workshop, attendees experienced the convenience of the equipment firsthand. Many expressed that the kit truly solves many problems, enabling ordinary families to complete necessary filming without specialized photography knowledge.
Social Impact Screening Program
The 3rd FamilyLens International Film Festival is open to the public from December 6th to 14th. The festival opened with the screening of well-received documentary: K-Family Affairs. In addition to the competition section, the festival features several distinctive sections, including the Reframing Home Movies— An Italian Retrospective, Youth Film Program, Filmmaker in Focus, and the Social Impact Program. Four major awards, such as the Real-Life Portrait Award and the Artistic Exploration Award, will also be presented.
As a key component of the Co-Creation Initiatives, the SmallRig Image Development Fund partnered with the FamilyLens International Film Festival to curate the "Social Impact Screening Program." This unit focuses on elevating awareness of critical issues within the family unit, advocating for a new reflection: "Starting with Seeing, Concluding with Understanding."
Arum Nam, Director of K-Family Affairs, stated:
"Starting with the stories of your family, your friends, and yourself, I believe this personal narrative can connect directly to the bigger society."
SmallRig believes that truly meaningful social impact storytelling stems from awareness in proximity—achieved by using the lens to penetrate the daily surface and enabling a deep, empathetic "Seeing with Empathy."
The four featured works in this unit are:
- People of the Ascent
- Granny's Lost and Found
- Ruixi at Fourteen
- No Country For My Maternal Grandma
These films highlight four family issues that require "seeing": the yearning of left-behind children, the mental isolation of Alzheimer's patients, the elderly searching for subjectivity in their drifting lives, and the emotional volatility and struggle of Bipolar Disorder.
Strategic Outlook and Future Expansion
SmallRig will continue to support the Family Filmmaking Co-Creation Initiative's deep development through promotional campaigns and practical workshops focused on family movie scenarios.
The overall goal of SmallRig's Global Co-creation Initiative is to continuously explore and meet the growing, diverse needs of global creators across different vertical domains. SmallRig is committed to persistently expanding the co-creation model into more imaging sectors, collaborating with industry partners to push the boundaries of imaging and grant global creators broader creative freedom.
About SmallRig
Founded in 2013, SmallRig is an innovation-driven global company that designs and manufactures comprehensive support solutions and accessories for all content creation needs. Trusted by over four million creators globally, SmallRig pioneered the User Co-creation Design (UCD) philosophy and the DreamRig Program.
For more information, visit: www.smallrig.com.
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
SmallRig and FamilyLens Launch Global Family Filmmaking Initiative at 3rd FamilyLens International Film Festival
SmallRig and FamilyLens Launch Global Family Filmmaking Initiative at 3rd FamilyLens International Film Festival
SmallRig and FamilyLens Launch Global Family Filmmaking Initiative at 3rd FamilyLens International Film Festival
