Bank to replace key IT systems globally

Standard Chartered to cut total cost of ownership of banking systems by half

Standard Chartered Bank has signed a deal with IT suppliers Atos Origin and Fujitsu Siemens Computers to overhaul its retail banking systems in 50 countries.

Atos Origin will install the core banking systems, which will support internet, branch and phone banking activities at 1,200 international locations.

The bank will replace teller and back-office systems with Fujitsu’s single Primergy BladeFrame system, and expects to make significant cost savings.

Jan Verplancke, chief information officer, group head for IT and operations at Standard Chartered, says the technology will cut total cost of ownership by half compared with using a traditional x86 system.

‘We expect that ratio to improve further as we get more countries up and running and can use the system’s repurposing capabilities across various time zones,’ said Verplancke.

The bank opted for Fujitsu Siemens’ server virtualisation technology after concluding that hardware and software licensing costs would make it too expensive to deploy the retail banking application physically in offices across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas.

The virtualisation technology will also help the bank set up in new markets faster, and it will cut the time it takes to bring a new country online from 45 days to just nine.

Some countries will be able to get by without physical IT facilities and support, which can take up to six months to establish.

‘Now, when deciding whether or not to open a bank in a country, technology is not on the critical path,’ said Verplancke.

The technology will also provide the bank with greater system reliability and faster recovery times should a failure occur.

‘We are also looking at our ability to recover from a failure. The Fujitsu Siemens Computers platform enables us to recover very rapidly,’ he said.

Atos Origin will also provide ongoing support for Standard Chartered’s Asian datacentre.

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