Nationwide moves online banking to Microsoft Azure

Nationwide has moved its public-facing website to Microsoft Azure, marking the building society’s first application to be hosted in the Microsoft cloud.

The move is expected to improve security, usability and provide more stability to better cope with spikes in demand.

Peter Nutton, the website’s senior manager, says: “Over time, our website has grown in size and complexity. So, we took the decision to build a new site from the ground up and simplify. We interviewed members on what they wanted from a new website and observed how they used it.”

To ensure a smooth cutover to Azure, Nationwide’s in-house engineers, architects and delivery teams partnered with consultancy Contino to run a series of test scenarios, using the principles of ‘chaos engineering’, to ensure the website worked effectively and reliably on its new cloud platform.

“We’ve been modernising our branches, so our website was the next logical step,” says Lottie Coleman, who’s in charge of the Nationwide website’s look and feel. “The design was focused on improving our members’ experience by simplifying what you see on the screen. But as well as refreshing Nationwide’s look, it was equally important to make sure the website was accessible for everyone. And by implementing new technology, we’re able to stay modern and react quickly to the ever-changing needs of our members and the industry.”

The website move comes a year after Nationwide revealed it had seen record use of Microsoft Teams as employees worked from home during the pandemic. The building society also revealed its ambition to integrate Teams into every meeting room.