Truist Acquires Arena Platform to Boost Data Management

In a bid to expand its data management capabilities, Truist Financial has acquired the Arena platform from data tech company Zaloni.

According to a Monday (Aug. 22) news release, the acquisition will let Truist “accelerate its data governance, metadata management, advanced analytics, and artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) programs.”

As part of the deal, Zaloni founder and Chief Product Officer Ben Sharma, Chief Technology Officer Ashwin Nayak and a group of the company’s product, engineering and data professionals will join Truist’s enterprise data office.

Per the release, the Arena platform delivers data for advanced analytics and AI/ML use cases using an “intelligent and collaborative” data catalog, automated governance and “unified observability” to lower IT costs and speed time to insight.

Zaloni CEO Susan Cook said the acquisition “validates our philosophy that data is a strategic asset and requires a product-oriented mindset and discipline. Our Arena product and our incredibly talented people will serve as a catalyst for Truist, accelerating its growth and vision of becoming a leader in data.”

Earlier this month, Truist named J. Christopher Ward as the new head of its wholesale payments business, including its merchant services, treasury and commercial card solutions.

Read more: Chris Ward Will Lead Wholesale Payments at Truist

A 30-year payments industry veteran, Ward comes to Truist following a 10-year stint with PNC, where he was most recently executive vice president and head of data, digital and innovation for treasury management.

Additionally, in July, the North Carolina-based company unveiled two new account options designed to extend banking services to new customers under the banner Truist One Banking.

See also: Truist Debuts Digital Consumer Accounts With No Overdraft Fees

Truist One Checking offers eligible customers a buffer of up to $100 for accidental overspending, while the Truist Confidence Account is a checkless account that gives consumers access to mainstream banking without overdraft fees.