BIBF and Microsoft Bahrain team up on digital transformation within financial services industry

The Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF) announced today that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Microsoft Bahrain to develop joint courses and knowledge platforms for the latest information and technology topics.

The agreement was signed at the BIBF campus by Dr Ahmed Abdul Hameed Al Shaikh, Director of the BIBF, and Mr Sherif Tawfik, General Manager of Microsoft Bahrain and Oman.

The two parties agreed to work together to develop learning opportunities surrounding the latest IT trends, especially as they relate to banking and finance. Subject areas include the Blockchain audit-trail methodology, cyber security and cloud-based information gathering and analytics. The partnership will allow Microsoft and BIBF to map hot-button issues to banking and finance IT standards through Microsoft’s Imagine Academy.

As part of the agreement, the BIBF will offer its expertise to ensure the most relevant course content for the financial services industry (FSI). According to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ 2016 Global Economic Crime Survey, nearly half of FSI respondents had experienced economic crime in the previous two years and more than half reported increased spending on compliance as relationships with regulators became strained. Blockchain, a distributed, public auditing technique developed initially to monitor the creation and propagation of the bitcoin cryptocurrency, is now shaking up broader FSI security standards, according to a recent report from Deloitte. Its distributed nature guarantees its incorruptibility when applied to general ledger maintenance – an attribute much sought after by banks and other financial institutions.

Microsoft and BIBF will not only work together to include cyber-security and Blockchain in their joint curriculum, but they will also partner on a Blockchain Event in Bahrain. In addition, Microsoft will develop and propose FSI-specific ICT curricula and professional certifications for BIBF. Microsoft and BIBF will also co-operate on the delivery of professional development programmes that have life-long impact.