Shriram Finance's Cloud-Native Super App on Microsoft Azure Achieves Major Milestone
Shriram Finance has successfully developed and launched a comprehensive financial super app named Shriram One, built entirely on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. This innovative application consolidates multiple financial services, including lending, deposits, insurance, and payments, into a single, user-friendly interface. Since its introduction, the app has achieved a remarkable milestone of over 20 million downloads, demonstrating its widespread adoption and impact across India.
Rural and Small-Town Users Drive Adoption
A significant aspect of Shriram One's success is its penetration into non-metro areas. Approximately 63% of the app's users come from small towns and rural regions of India, highlighting its role in promoting financial inclusion. The app supports seven Indian languages, a strategic decision that has been crucial in facilitating accessibility and usability for diverse populations beyond major cities.
Impressive Growth in Financial Metrics
The launch of Shriram One has led to substantial growth in key financial areas. Fixed deposit volumes have experienced a dramatic increase, rising more than three-fold from Rs 80 crore to nearly Rs 300 crore within just two years. Additionally, the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning models within the platform has contributed to a nearly 30% lift in deposit balances, showcasing the app's effectiveness in driving user engagement and financial activity.
Microsoft Azure Partnership Enhances Security and Scalability
The collaboration with Microsoft extends beyond basic cloud hosting. Shriram Finance leverages advanced security and compliance tools such as Microsoft Defender for Cloud and Microsoft Sentinel to ensure robust protection for user data and transactions. According to Gayadhar Behera, Chief Technology Officer at Shriram Finance, the choice of Azure was a practical one, as the company was already operating in a Microsoft environment, allowing for seamless scaling and infrastructure management.
The Azure infrastructure enables Shriram to handle workloads across various financial products in near real-time, facilitating feature updates and risk monitoring without disrupting the customer experience. This capability has been instrumental in supporting the app's rapid growth and reliability.
Real-World Impact and User Stories
The app's practical benefits are evident in user testimonials. For instance, Shivjot Singh, a long-haul truck driver from Punjab, secured a Rs 5 lakh commercial vehicle loan approval within a week entirely through the Shriram One app, without needing to visit a physical branch. "Every day off the road is lost income," he remarked, emphasizing the app's convenience and efficiency in meeting urgent financial needs.
Supporting India's Financial Inclusion Journey
As India's financial inclusion narrative evolves from mere account access to active engagement, Microsoft's infrastructure plays a pivotal role in this transition. By providing the technological backbone, Azure helps facilitate digital financial services for millions of first-time borrowers, particularly in underserved areas. This partnership underscores the importance of cloud technology in driving economic participation and empowerment across the country.
The success of Shriram One on Microsoft Azure not only highlights the potential of digital financial platforms but also sets a benchmark for other institutions aiming to enhance their reach and services through innovative technology solutions.
