The Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) has announced the completion of the migration of its ADA (Analytics, Data, AI) data platform to Amazon Web Services (AWS), covering its operations in Europe and Uruguay. This milestone marks a significant advancement in the bank’s technological strategy but also raises questions about the role of European companies in the continent’s digital transformation.
A large-scale migration to optimize resources
The ADA migration project began in February 2023 with the aim of optimizing high-performance computing (HPC) resources for critical applications, such as evaluating complex transactions, risk analysis, and regulatory compliance. In less than two years, BBVA has migrated tens of thousands of processes and thousands of users to AWS, achieving a 94% reduction in the latency of analytical work environments.
The ADA platform, now based on AWS infrastructure, not only improves the performance of internal systems but also allows for scaling resources based on demand. According to the bank, this change has been crucial in positioning BBVA as a leader in the democratized use of data in the banking sector.
Carlos Casas, BBVA’s global engineering director, stated: “This milestone underscores the bank’s commitment to technological innovation and its vision for the future as a leader in the digital transformation of the banking sector globally.”
Expansion to Latin America
Following the successful migration in Europe and Uruguay, BBVA plans to expand the use of the ADA platform to Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and Argentina in 2025. AWS’s ability to offer a flexible, scalable infrastructure has been key to this project. Scott Mullins, AWS’s managing director for financial services, emphasized: “The ADA platform is a pioneering project in the adoption of cloud technology within the banking sector, transforming internal processes and positioning BBVA as a benchmark in the use of advanced technologies.”
The cost of yielding to American dominance
While the migration represents a significant technological advancement, it also highlights a worrying trend in Europe: the growing dependence on American companies to meet critical technological needs. AWS, along with other tech giants such as Google Cloud, dominates the cloud infrastructure market, sidelining European companies that could provide similar solutions.
The preference for American providers not only implies a drain of talent and capital to the United States but also reinforces American technological hegemony, leaving Europe in a position of dependency. This phenomenon is not exclusive to BBVA; other major European financial institutions, such as Danske Bank and The Co-operative Bank, have also chosen contracts with AWS.
An uncertain future for European innovation
Europe has tech companies capable of offering cloud services and advanced solutions, but the constant choice of American providers is weakening the continent’s technological ecosystem. Instead of strengthening collaboration among local companies and promoting a framework of technological sovereignty, current decisions perpetuate a dynamic that could have serious economic and strategic consequences.
If this trend continues, Europe could face a future where technological innovation is beyond its control, limiting European companies’ ability to compete and grow. Although BBVA’s migration to AWS is an example of efficiency and modernization, it also underscores the urgent need to reconsider technological priorities in Europe to ensure that digital progress directly benefits the region and not just companies from abroad.