We are migrating to a virtual private Cloud with multi-Cloud provider architecture. Our Cloud partners are Google and Amazon Web Services.

• Better operational efficiency and performance: improved uptime reliability and access to data and applications.
• Scalable capacity: efficiently accommodate batch processing for changing business demands.
• Security that’s built-in, not bolted on: advanced security features for data storage, backup and recovery.
• Quality data – how and when you need it: maintain consistency in data quality and access data from anywhere, at any time for improved workflow and collaboration.
• Innovation now – not in months or years: new features and functionality released quickly, improving customer service and reducing time to market.

Our transformation initiative is more than a move to the Cloud. We are investing heavily in our technical infrastructure with the goal of delivering additional value to the customers who use our services.

As an enterprise-wide initiative, all Equifax customers’ data is being migrated to the Cloud. If you have concerns, your Equifax Account Manager will be happy to set up further discussions for you with our technology or security teams at your convenience.

Our digital transformation is designed with our customers in mind. As much as possible, we are preparing for the effort to be low-impact.

You can expect to be shifted from one platform to another. It could be from an existing platform to a newly-built one, or it could be from one existing platform to another existing platform. Some migrations will be invisible to you, as we are simply moving back-end processes over to a new platform. In these cases, your user experience will not change.

We anticipate limited interruptions to our services while we migrate to a new, multi-Cloud environment. You will receive regular updates and information about what to expect as we move through our roadmap.

Our digital transformation has begun and is progressing in carefully managed stages. You will be notified before a product or service is moved and once again after the migration is complete. We will also reach out to your technical team when the change is available in the test environment should you choose to undertake optional testing.

Stage 1 - Data fabric: Migrate data in a structured, multi-step process, which includes extensive validation and testing.

Stage 2 - Products: Establish product lines in the Cloud with detailed processes focused on quality, governance and security.

Stage 3 - Customer delivery: Move on-premise delivery platforms into Cloud-native environments with new API connectivity for our products.

The majority of the consolidation and migration work will happen behind the scenes, and we expect limited interruption to our services. We will continue to communicate with you throughout the process. These changes are about creating a better experience for you, so we’re making a significant effort to keep the impact to you and your team to a minimum.

The Cloud provides the scalable capacity to help support our “always-on” commitment to you. For example, we can run multiple instances of our services while troubleshooting or patching without having to schedule maintenance downtime. We can also more quickly process larger than normal requests or spikes in use without slowing down system response times.

We understand how crucial it is to have strong business continuity and disaster recovery plans in place to ensure data is always available in the event of unforeseen outages. Our Cloud architecture provides maximum resilience to safeguard against downtime and improve the availability of business-critical services and infrastructure. Redundancy is built into our Cloud infrastructure and reinforced by our:

• Fault-tolerant applications that offer high availability, protection against unexpected failures and improved response times.
• Multi-step deployment process (testing, execution, monitoring) and stringent quality engineering steps (code quality reports, regression, performance and vulnerability testing).

In many cases, you won't need to take any action to benefit from the exciting changes coming your way. Depending on what Equifax products and services you use, there may be portal sign-in or API structure alterations, but we will inform you directly if this is the case.

We will provide you with a secure and scalable path to migrating to the Cloud with confidence. This includes expert help, supporting information and technical detail for affected customers.

Our quality controls and assurance includes technical controls, validation, verifications and user testing before deployment. There are quality checks throughout to ensure an optimal migration experience and a continuous support system during your migration, including enhanced service support and partnership if required.

Yes, security was one of our considerations when deciding to move to the Cloud. Major Cloud providers manage dozens of compliance programs in their infrastructure. According to Gartner, through 2020, public Cloud Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) workloads will have more than 60 percent fewer security incidents than those in traditional data centres.

In addition to the security protections built-into the Cloud environments, data will be further enhanced by our own rigorous security controls, ultimately creating a strong security framework.

We are deploying a geo-centric Cloud initiative, which means that the data that originates from, and functionality offered in Australia, will operate from the Australian Cloud.

Yes, security is integrated into everything we do.

The Cloud is a broad-based term for the environment which includes built-in security, data storage, data and analytics, and machine learning. Central to our improvements is using features of the Cloud to implement robust security solutions and create an environment that combines redundancy and automation, security layers and controls to ensure your data is secure at all times.

• Better customer clarity across the full value chain to deliver greater opportunities for all
• A more precise understanding of your customers will enable better-informed commercial decisions to support market share and growth.
• Stronger insights from leading real-time analytics, perpetually increasing in quality
• With our advancements in analytic capabilities, continuously strengthen your ability to detect and predict consumer needs for competitive advantage.
• A more open, integrated platform that works the way you do.
• A single coordinated framework to improve your ability to embed analytics throughout your business for enhanced performance and maximum impact.

You can expect to see an expanded offering of flexible, configurable solutions tailored to specific industries. Our data fabric services and analytics platform will ingest, store and process a multitude of data formats at speed, allowing us to predict and react quickly to market needs and changes. Our innovation roadmap for 2020-22 includes:

• Next Gen Scores – consumer scores that will incorporate comprehensive credit reporting data and additional demographic and utility data into bureau scores to create a predictive and reliable credit score for Australian consumers.
• Fraud and identity solutions - using new ID data sources and predictive analytics, allowing customers to improve and optimise the customer experience while ensuring compliance requirements are met, fraud losses are reduced, and reputational risk managed.
• Enhanced decisioning – an increased level of self-service, flexibility and powerful capabilities to enable stronger customisation, faster speed to market and better risk management.
• Income and employment verification exchange – an industry-first automated and accurate view of income and employment.

Data fabric simplifies and integrates data and analytics management across the Cloud for quick decisions.

As part of re-architecting our systems, we have developed a data fabric that incorporates data governance, security and privacy by design. Our local instance of the data fabric allows us to better harness our unique global data assets and applications for seamless deployment and integration.

For you, it means an improved ability to meet business demands and gain a competitive edge with consistent, controlled and secure access to a rich palette of data, best-in-class insights and services.