How Finacus ensures 99.99% uptime with Nutanix Cloud

Finacus Solutions, a Mumbai-based provider of digital banking solutions, embarked on an IT transformation journey to tackle issues related to system manageability and downtime caused by ageing infrastructure. In an interview with TechCircle, Rahul Ayyappan, co-founder and chief technology officer (CTO) at Finacus Solutions, detailed how the digital banking provider migrated to Nutanix’s cloud platform, which enabled the firm to manage approximately 15 million transactions daily for over its 200 banking clients, leading to an improved customer experience.

“As a technology service provider catering primarily to the banking and financial services segment in India, we faced several challenges with our previous infrastructure. Our core business involves processing mission-critical banking applications that must run 24/7 without interruption. With over 200 banks relying on our services and processing approximately 15 million transactions daily, system manageability and downtime became major concerns,” explained Ayyappan.

Finacus struggled with the manageability of its VMware stack. While performance was adequate, scaling storage or compute capacity, and applying firmware and patches, led to system downtime, which was unacceptable for mission-critical financial applications, said Ayyappan. “We needed a solution offering better manageability, seamless scalability, and near-zero downtime to support rapid transaction volume growth,” he added.

The cloud migration began with a 3-4 months proof of concept, rigorously testing manageability, operations, database performance, load, and business impact. According to Ayyappan, “The actual migration of 1,500-1,600 virtual machines was remarkably smooth, with only 15-20 minutes of downtime per VM, crucial for minimising disruption to banking applications. The direct integration between Nutanix and VMware facilitated the transition.”

Ayyappan noted that the primary challenge was organisational. He had to convince the business team of the total cost of ownership (TCO). Once the long-term benefits of reduced maintenance, improved uptime, and operational efficiency were understood, the business team fully supported the investment.

The entire migration was completed in approximately four months. “This dramatically improved manageability and seamless scalability, enabling node additions with zero downtime. This is essential as transaction volumes grow by 35-40% annually. Maintenance operations also improved, with firmware updates and patches having minimal operational impact,” he said.

Most importantly, Finacus has maintained its commitment to 99.99% uptime. Since the initial deployment of eight nodes in 2022, the infrastructure has expanded to 28 nodes, supporting growth while maintaining performance and reliability, informed Ayyappan.

Discussing the long-term investments in technology, he believes the company plans its technology investments with a minimum 10-year horizon in mind. “We're only 3-4 years into our Nutanix journey, with another 6-7 years ahead in our strategic planning. Our confidence in the platform continues to grow as we expand our deployment,” he said.

“Currently, we're conducting a proof of concept for Kubernetes with Nutanix, which represents our next evolution. This might require re-architecting some of our products, but if we achieve better performance, improved uptime, and cost optimisation, we'll gladly make that transition. This evaluation will take approximately six more months,” he said.

Moving forward, Finacus is also exploring Nutanix's automation capabilities to streamline operations. As transaction volumes and the number of banks served continue to grow, rapid resource provisioning becomes increasingly important. According to Ayyappan, "While the focus remains primarily on India for the next 36 months, Finacus is simultaneously exploring international markets, including Southeast Asia, and neighbouring countries of India, Africa, and Latin America."

Speaking about the company’s technology priorities focus, Ayyappan highlights three key areas: expanding the Nutanix infrastructure to support growing transaction volumes, prioritising the Kubernetes evaluation and implementation, and investing in security enhancements, particularly around eKYC solutions. Finally, while cautious, Finacus is watching developments in blockchain for specific use cases. “The common thread is building infrastructure that can scale efficiently while maintaining absolute reliability,” he said.

Finacus has a highly competent technical team managing its infrastructure across 33 data centres in India. The team combines expertise in financial services applications with strong infrastructure management skills. “We have invested significantly in upskilling their team and are continually expanding in areas related to automation, security, and containerisation. We are also strengthening our dedicated audit team. Their understanding of both the technical and business aspects of financial services drives a culture of excellence and proactive management,” said the CTO.

Ayyappan also said that while always evaluating emerging technologies, the company’s approach is always measured and focused on delivering tangible value. “We’re cautious about how we implement it in our core banking operations. We distinguish between true artificial intelligence (AI) and more traditional algorithmic approaches. For example, we currently use AI internally for some development activities, but we take a deliberate approach before implementing it in customer-facing applications. In banking, we can't afford to experiment with unproven technologies on live systems,” he said.

“Our innovation is also centred on enhancing customer experience through improved reliability, faster transaction processing, and seamless scalability. The migration to Nutanix has significantly improved implementation timelines and customer onboarding. eKYC solutions are also innovating to improve customer experience.

That said, the most significant ROI comes from the ability to maintain 99.99% uptime for critical financial services while processing 15 million transactions daily and growing at 30-40% annually, he summed up.