mBank strengthens cloud capability through upskilling with Micr…

mBank is one of the biggest banks in Poland. For years, it has been a symbol of innovative financial solutions. It was a pioneer of digital banking and today, it is a leader in mobile banking. It serves over 5.6 million customers in three markets – Poland, Czechia, and Slovakia.

Committed to efficiency, sustainability, and flexibility in its services, mBank decided to move its on-premises legacy systems to the cloud. “The cloud is a state-of-the-art, complex technology,” says Adam Ksit, IT Deputy Director at mBank. “It is imperative for us to educate our employees on how to take full control of the infrastructure and the services so that we can minimize our errors.”

mBank wanted to establish a Cloud Center of Excellence and upskill its staff. Hence, it turned to long-term partner Microsoft for its training needs. “Microsoft has demonstrated a great deal of openness and readiness to support us, so it was only natural for us to turn to them for our educational goals,” Ksit shares.

Supported by Microsoft, mBank launched a tailored, holistic skilling initiative on cloud technologies, IT infrastructure, data analytics, and security. Starting with a detailed preparation period and raising awareness among employees on available resources through campaigns, mBank employees started taking advantage of instructor-led classes. “Our employees can take both open and custom lessons. They can also schedule sessions with Microsoft trainers and even take practice tests to prepare for the certification exam,” says Kacper Szczurek, IT Project Manager at mBank.

Microsoft supported mBank’s learning journey through resources like Microsoft Learn—an interactive, hands-on training platform—and tailored learning path recommendations. To enable community-based learning, Microsoft brought CloudTeam on board to deliver a developer Bootcamp. The monthly events featured a self-paced program and weekly mentoring sessions with a trainer. “We have recently started to promote blended learning,” adds Szczurek.

mBank invests in the development of its employees. That’s why everyone in the bank can use the learning tools. “Our team can easily access courses on Microsoft Learn anytime, anywhere,” says Ksit. “And having visibility over these learning tools also helps managers build a growth and career path for their teams. As a result, some of my colleagues could have moved to new roles after receiving training. This focus on staff development has made us even more attractive to future recruits.”

“In my experience, giving secure access to learning materials to so many staff takes a lot of time. Thanks to Microsoft’s technical support, we launched the entire program quickly and painlessly,” says Ksit. This transition has brought amazing results very quickly. “As of this writing, more than 40 percent of employees in the IT department—and a total of more than 800 people—have taken advantage of the courses. Among these, more than 550 employees have already received at least one Azure certificate,” shares Szczurek.

Thanks to the acquired knowledge, mBank’s team is ready to fulfill the goal of moving applications to the cloud. The bank is also looking to strengthen its operations with Azure, Power Apps and Data Warehouse solutions. “Now that our team knows cloud technologies inside out, we can make sure that everything goes according to the plan. We also know how to avoid making mistakes,” concludes Ksit.