Financial institutions are rapidly moving to reimagine their operations with generative artificial intelligence, which begins with a governed data platform. But these organizations aren’t chasing hype: They’re demanding measurable value.

Deloitte’s Bibhu Patnaik and Shailender Sidhu talk with theCUBE about overcoming legacy data silos and accelerating AI adoption.

Deloitte Consulting LLP’s data leaders say clients want more than strategies — they expect accelerated delivery, real-time insight and a measurable return on investment. Deloitte’s collaboration with Snowflake meets that demand by building a governed data platform designed to speed time to value, according to Bibhu Patnaik (pictured, left), AI and data principal at Deloitte.

“Gone are the days where two years of data modernization program and [clients] see value past that,” he told theCUBE. “The investment that they’re making, how it is giving them the returns — data service actually is very helpful in that because we can accelerate an entire Snowflake ecosystem in a very fast manner so that they can see the value soon. That’s where we have seen successes with our clients, as well.”

Patnaik and Shailender Sidhu (right), AI and data principal, financial services industry, at Deloitte, spoke with theCUBE’s Dave Vellante and Rebecca Knight at Snowflake Summit, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed overcoming legacy data silos, accelerating AI adoption and building agent-driven systems for the financial services industry. (* Disclosure below.)

Data silos, AI agents and the governed data platform advantage

Legacy data silos remain a major hurdle for financial institutions aiming to adopt AI at scale. Deloitte and Snowflake are working to dismantle these barriers and lay the foundation for a governed data platform that supports both regulatory mandates and innovation goals. The shift enables firms to tap into Snowflake’s scalable architecture while staying compliant with evolving oversight requirements, according to Patnaik.

“Traditionally, especially in the banking space, we see a lot of these data silos,” he said. “That has been there forever, and now they are moving. As they’re growing in their asset size, they’re getting more into a regulatory oversight area. Bank categorization is changing from a category four to a category three … and that’s where Snowflake shines. That’s where we are partnering with Snowflake to create that governed data platform ecosystem: A single source of truth which people can rely on, mainly for our financials and regulatory purposes as well.”

But it’s not just about modernization; it’s also about integration. The success of AI depends on harmonized, high-quality data that can be used across multiple functions, according to Sidhu. Deloitte’s work with Snowflake includes building a governed data platform readiness layer, enabling the delivery of real-time insights and unlocking use cases across customer onboarding, claims processing and underwriting.

“The challenge is not having data,” Sidhu said. “The challenge is how do you stitch the data together, which creates meaningful insights? In banking, let’s say we talk about commercial customer onboarding; it’s a pretty painful process. You can do that by putting [in] these AI agents, but for them to be very effective and the process to be reimagined, they need good data, good quality data to make those right decisions.”

That push toward intelligent automation is accelerating. Deloitte sees financial institutions leapfrogging from outdated workflows to agent-based architectures. With Snowflake Cortex AI and a governed data platform supporting multi-agent thinking entering the mainstream, clients are moving beyond robotic process automation in search of more creative ways to reinvent internal operations, according to Patnaik.

“There are many patterns that we see,” he said. “Some clients who have not even adopted RPA … now they’re moving outside of their comfort zone and talking about agents. There are people who have gone to RPA and then … intelligent process automation. We’ve been, as a firm, investing in [those] kinds of agents and thinking about a multi-agent system for more than a year.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Snowflake Summit event:

(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for Snowflake Summit. Neither Snowflake Inc., the primary sponsor of theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE