People Spotlight Interview: Ross Hamilton, Head of Cloud Infrastructure at GBST
For those who might not be intimately familiar with cloud infrastructure, what exactly is “the cloud,” and why does it matter?
At its simplest, the cloud is computing power you access over the internet, so you don’t have to own or maintain physical servers. Before the cloud, companies typically purchased and housed servers in data centres. That meant significant upfront costs, manual installation, and hardware that had to be upgraded or replaced regularly. With cloud infrastructure, you can scale up or down quickly to meet demand, only paying for the capacity you actually use. It also opens the door to automation. For example, our team can write code to create or remove servers on demand rather than doing it manually. That gives our clients far more repeatability, flexibility, resilience, and speed.
Can you tell us about your journey into cloud infrastructure and what led you to your current role at GBST?
I’ve been working in financial services technology for over 20 years, dating back to what was once called “Bureau” services – effectively, small-scale, multi-tenanted solutions. Over time, as the concept of managed services matured, I moved into designing and running large-scale systems in traditional data centres. About six years ago, I pivoted into building cloud-based SaaS (Software as a Service) platforms. At GBST, I focus on architecting resilient, scalable infrastructure across our product suite to deliver consistent, secure, and future-ready solutions.
What excites you most about working in cloud infrastructure, particularly at GBST?
We’re in the midst of building a unified cloud platform that supports multiple GBST products in a consistent and automated manner. That means everything is defined in code, allowing us to replicate environments quickly and accurately for different clients. It’s exciting to see these ideas, once just a vision, now deployed in real-world scenarios. It’s also about helping GBST evolve from a software and managed services provider to a true SaaS provider. That shift impacts everything, from how we sell services to how we deploy code and support clients daily.
What are organisations’ biggest challenges when migrating to or scaling in the cloud?
The biggest hurdle used to be security concerns, but that’s changed now. Most companies expect a cloud-native approach. The real challenge is ensuring organisations adapt their own processes and mindsets to the cloud’s flexibility. You’re no longer buying servers to keep running 24/7; instead, you “build, use, and burn” environments as needed. Another challenge is maintaining standardisation. Every client has unique needs for a single product. We aim to maintain consistency and operate efficiently at scale while providing sufficient flexibility to meet each client’s unique integration requirements.
How does GBST’s approach to cloud infrastructure help clients meet evolving business and regulatory requirements?
We take a “security-first, compliance-forward” approach. Our platform is ISO 27001 compliant, and we’re working toward additional certifications like SOC 2. Resilience is built into every layer, meaning we design everything across multiple “availability zones” to handle unexpected outages automatically. We also do “threat modelling,” a process where we identify potential vulnerabilities in our architecture by simulating various attack scenarios, and then we layer on controls to address them. Finally, we partner closely with AWS, ensuring our infrastructure design aligns with the global best practices, not just the best we see in the financial services sector.
Many of our clients have transitioned to Composer SaaS through the E-Volve program, with others in the process of doing so. Please share some insights on how many have moved so far and when you anticipate everyone might be fully on the platform.
GBST’s investment into the E-Volve project to modernise the Composer platform is paying off. We have several clients already up and running on Composer SaaS, and several more are in various stages of migration, with some going live this year and others completing their transitions next year. We’re seeing a healthy uptake that validates all that upfront work. Ultimately, our goal is to have all clients benefit from the full SaaS model; however, exact timelines will vary depending on each client’s specific needs and change cycles.
With cyber threats and data security at the top of your mind, how do you ensure robust security measures in cloud solutions?
At GBST, security is everyone’s responsibility. We adhere to a robust controls framework that covers how we handle data at every layer, from the operating system all the way through to our applications. Everything we deploy is done via code, which helps eliminate manual errors and maintain a strong audit trail. outage, to see how quickly our systems detect and self-heal. It sounds dramatic, but it’s a great way to test resilience in real-time. These measures, combined with ongoing audits and penetration tests, give us—and our clients—confidence that data remains secure.
When you haven’t got your head in the cloud(s), what do you like to do to recharge?
When I’m not immersed in the world of cloud infrastructure, I’m a passionate golfer. I’ve recently built a simulator in my back garden, complete with a screen, motion trackers, and swing cameras, allowing me to play courses like Augusta from the comfort of my own home. It’s a great way for me to unwind and work on my swing.
Final Thoughts
Ross’s journey underlines GBST’s transformation into a truly cloud-native organisation. By automating deployments, focusing on security and resilience, and constantly learning from best practices, even in other industries, GBST aims to deliver cloud solutions that our clients can trust and rely on in the long term.
Interested in learning more about our cloud initiatives?
Read more about GBST’s wealth management administration platform, Composer.
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We’d love to hear your thoughts on cloud infrastructure, SaaS adoption, and what’s next for financial services in a cloud-enabled world.
Posted in: Wealth Management Administration
