How We Helped a Financial Services Firm Take Control of Their Integration Estate 

Introduction 

When a fast-growing financial services firm came to us, they faced a familiar but critical problem: their success had outpaced their systems. Every new service, partnership, or product launch added to a tangled web of integrations. Over time, this complexity created challenges around visibility, control, and compliance. 

The leadership team knew they needed to act. They wanted to ensure their integration estate could scale with the business, keep auditors satisfied, and give developers the confidence to deliver changes quickly. That is where we came in. 

What We Delivered 

We began with collaborative workshops, sitting down with stakeholders to map out their entire integration footprint. This was not a simple documentation exercise but a chance to surface hidden pain points, highlight areas of duplication, and reveal gaps in monitoring and governance. By creating a clear picture of the existing landscape, the team could see where improvements would have the greatest impact. 

Once we had clarity, we introduced GitOps practices to establish discipline and traceability throughout the integration lifecycle. Every change to logic and configuration was routed through version-controlled workflows. This meant that nothing was missed, every update could be tracked, and compliance requirements were much easier to meet. The firm now had a reliable process that built trust both internally and with auditors. 

Visibility across systems was another key priority. By implementing centralised logging, automated alerts, and accessible dashboards, we gave the team the ability to see what was happening in real time. Issues that had previously taken hours to diagnose could now be identified and resolved within minutes. The development team felt empowered rather than firefighting, and operational teams could anticipate rather than react. 

To make all of this sustainable, we grounded the solution in Azure native tooling. This provided the resilience, security, and cost efficiency the business needed while keeping everything consistent within their wider technology strategy. Importantly, this approach created a platform that could evolve, with the potential to integrate AI-driven enhancements in the future. 

Impact 

The impact of these changes was significant. Incident resolution times were cut dramatically, transforming lengthy investigations into quick, decisive action. Developers gained confidence from the rollback capability, knowing that every change could be reversed safely. Auditors appreciated the clarity and governance that were now baked into the system. Perhaps most importantly, the firm established a strong foundation that supports not only current operations but also future innovation, opening the door to AI enhanced systems. 

Why It Matters 

This case study reflects a wider trend we continue to see across financial services. Integration estates are no longer hidden plumbing behind the scenes; they are becoming business-critical assets. Without the right level of control, firms risk inefficiency, non-compliance, and unnecessary costs. With robust practices and the right tooling in place, integrations become a driver of growth, resilience, and innovation. 

Is your integration landscape holding you back? Discover how arrt can help you build your own integration brain, one that delivers clarity, control, and resilience at scale. 

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