Financial Services

Financial services organizations operate under strict regulatory requirements, including SOX, PCI-DSS, and banking-specific regulations. These requirements affect how software is deployed, updated, and licensed in financial environments.

Big Picture addresses financial services regulatory requirements through SOC2-aligned security design, comprehensive audit trails, vendor-controlled mirrors, and policy-driven update governance that respects banking IT controls.

When This Scenario Applies

This scenario applies when you ship software to:

Banks and financial institutions
Trading platforms and financial exchanges
Fintech companies operating in regulated markets
Organizations subject to financial services regulations
Companies handling financial data or payment processing

Financial services customers typically require strict security controls, comprehensive audit trails, high availability, and the ability to operate within their own network boundaries.

Regulatory Requirements

SOC2 and Banking-Friendly Design

Financial institutions require systems that meet SOC2 security standards. Big Picture’s architecture aligns with SOC2 requirements:

Cryptographic signing of all update decisions and license leases
Comprehensive audit trails of all system activity
Role-based access control for administrative functions
Secure key management for signing and license operations
Separation of concerns between update governance and licensing

Big Picture’s design emphasizes security, auditability, and operational controls that meet banking security requirements.

SOX Compliance

SOX requires public companies to maintain internal controls over financial reporting. Software used in financial reporting must:

Maintain audit trails of system changes
Support change management processes
Provide evidence of system integrity
Document access controls and authorization

Big Picture supports SOX compliance through:

Comprehensive audit logs of license usage and update activity
Policy change logs that document who changed policies and when
Signed update metadata that provides cryptographic proof of update sources
Role-based access control that restricts administrative functions

PCI-DSS Compliance

Organizations handling payment card data must comply with PCI-DSS. While Big Picture does not handle payment card data, it supports PCI-DSS compliance by:

Not requiring sensitive payment data for license verification
Supporting network segmentation through vendor-controlled mirrors
Providing audit trails that support PCI-DSS audit requirements
Enabling secure update processes that don’t introduce security risks

Audit Readiness and Reporting

Financial institutions must demonstrate compliance during audits. Big Picture provides:

Comprehensive audit logs that document all license and update activity
Exportable logs that integrate with financial compliance systems
Signed update metadata that provides cryptographic proof of update sources
Policy documentation that shows how updates are governed
License usage reports that support compliance audits

These capabilities help financial institutions demonstrate that software updates and licensing are managed according to regulatory requirements.

How Big Picture Addresses Financial Services Requirements

Vendor-Controlled Mirrors

Financial institutions can mirror Big Picture’s signed snapshot bundles into their networks. This allows:

Updates to be hosted entirely within financial network boundaries
IT departments to test updates before deployment to production systems
Compliance with network security policies that restrict external dependencies
Complete control over when updates are made available to trading or banking systems

Mirrors verify vendor signatures before accepting updates, maintaining trust while operating within financial network boundaries.

High-Availability Requirements

Financial systems require high availability:

Trading systems must operate continuously during market hours
Banking systems must be available for customer transactions
System downtime can have significant financial impact

Big Picture supports high-availability requirements through:

Local license servers that operate independently of cloud infrastructure
Vendor-controlled mirrors that provide redundant update sources
Cached update metadata and license leases that allow operation during brief network outages
Staged rollouts that allow testing before production deployment

Update Governance for Financial Software

Financial software requires careful update management:

Updates must be tested before deployment to production systems
IT departments must approve updates before deployment
Different update policies may apply to different financial systems
Emergency security patches may need expedited approval processes

Big Picture’s policy system supports these requirements:

MANAGED_BY_IT mode allows IT departments to control when updates are deployed
Staged rollouts allow testing in non-production environments before production deployment
Tenant-specific policies allow different update rules for different financial systems
Kill switches allow immediate blocking of problematic updates

Security Controls

Financial institutions require strict security controls:

All system access must be authenticated and authorized
Administrative functions must be restricted to authorized personnel
System changes must be logged and auditable
Cryptographic verification must be used for all critical operations

Big Picture provides:

Role-based access control for administrative functions
Comprehensive audit logs of all system activity
Cryptographic signing of all update decisions and license leases
Secure key management for signing and license operations

Key Considerations

Network Security Policies

Financial networks often have strict security policies:

Outbound-only connectivity may be required
Network segmentation may isolate trading systems from administrative systems
External dependencies may be restricted or prohibited

Big Picture’s mirror architecture and local license servers support these requirements, allowing software to operate within financial network boundaries.

Change Management

Financial institutions require formal change management processes:

Updates must be approved through change management workflows
Testing must be documented before production deployment
Rollback procedures must be available

Big Picture supports change management through:

Policy controls that prevent unauthorized updates
Staged rollouts that allow controlled testing
Audit trails that document update approval and deployment
Version pinning that allows staying on approved versions

Emergency Updates

Security vulnerabilities may require rapid deployment of patches:

Emergency update processes must balance speed with safety
Trading systems may require special handling for emergency updates
Audit trails must document emergency update processes

Big Picture supports emergency update workflows while maintaining audit trails and policy controls.

Next Steps

Review Regulated Environment Deployments for comprehensive guidance on regulated environments
See Syncing Local License Server for deploying license servers in financial networks
Review Audit Readiness for audit trail and compliance capabilities
See Compliance Reporting for reporting capabilities
Review Common Regulatory Requirements for cross-industry regulatory themes