IBM SOA Customer - SOA in Banking - Oberbank AG

IBM SOA Customer - SOA in Banking - Oberbank AG
Improving service and expanding markets with a comprehensive banking platform

"Growth brings challenges, which is why we selected IBM and i-flex. They are both experienced partners that understand our needs and the needs of our customers." - Bernhard Reiter, Manager, Organization Department, Oberbank AG

Customer: Oberbank AG - IBM SOA Customer - SOA in Banking
Deployment Country: Austria
Industry: Banking
Solution: SOA Service Oriented Architecture

Overview - SOA in Banking
Oberbank AG is an Austrian regional bank that focuses on business banking and has designs on international expansion.

Business need: Oberbank wanted to expand into several cities in Hungary and improve customer satisfaction levels, growth and profitability in existing as well as new markets, and customer responsiveness through increased service flexibility.

Solution: Oberbank teamed with IBM Global Business Services, IBM Global Technology Services and i-flex to implement the FLEXCUBE solution, a modern core banking solution with a real-time e-banking module, for its clients in Hungary. The software is based on a service-oriented architecture (SOA) and includes features such as real-time transaction updates of deposits and withdrawals conducted at automated teller machines (ATMs).

Benefits: Account openings through e-banking that used to require several days' lag time to create are now up and running the same day. The solution also enables Oberbank to quickly create new services and products to meet changing client demands.

Case Study - SOA in Banking
With more than 100 locations, Oberbank has operations throughout Austria as well as in the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary and Slovakia. Oberbank units are involved in investment, leasing and real estate lending.

Business Challenge - SOA in Banking
Oberbank prides itself on serving its business customers with agility and efficiency. As it continues to expand, it looks for opportunities to improve its services through technology and automation. The bank was undertaking two important challenges: expanding into several cities in Hungary and looking for ways to quickly implement the most state-of-the-art services for its customers.

Solution - SOA in Banking
The FLEXCUBE solution was created through a joint venture between IBM and IBM Business Partner i-flex solutions, and it acts as a comprehensive banking platform for financial institutions around the world. Oberbank teamed with IBM Global Business Services, IBM Global Technology Services and i-flex to implement the FLEXCUBE solution, deploying the software at its headquarters and piloting it at its first branch opening in Hungary.

The Global Business Services team worked closely with the bank to understand its needs and help it accomplish its goals for expansion and improved customer service. Under the project direction of the Global Business Services team, the Global Technology Services group installed one IBM System p5 570 offering running the IBM AIX 5L V5.3 platform at Oberbank's headquarters in Linz, Austria. The System p5 570 system provides high availability and performance using IBM POWER5+ processing technology. The client is leveraging the platform's logical partitioning functionality to run its FLEXCUBE software as the initial core banking solution at its new Hungary branches, and it intends to expand the solution to other branches over time.

During the nine-month implementation phase, the Global Technology Services group conducted training and related services for Oberbank to prepare it for the launch at its first Hungary bank branch. The Business Partner contributed additional training during this phase, passing on its in-depth knowledge of the FLEXCUBE software.

Benefits - SOA in Banking
The core banking solution and real-time banking modules enable Oberbank to deliver improved service to its clients. Account openings through e-banking that used to require several days' lag time to create are now up and running the same day. The solution also enables Oberbank to quickly create new services and products to meet changing client demands. With its FLEXCUBE software configured on the robust System p5 570 platform, Oberbank is delivering improved services to its customers and venturing into new business territory. The software is able to accommodate banking operations in the areas of retail, corporate, Internet and investment banking, which enables Oberbank to expand its services to other businesses and improve its international presence.

Since the solution runs on the powerful System p5 570 platform at the bank's headquarters using a hub-and-spoke configuration, Oberbank is able to extend the solution to many other branches using the same equipment. This easy transition process, coupled with the SOA configuration of the solution, saves the company resources and time while preserving its IT investment.

Products and Services Used - SOA in Banking
IBM products and services that were used in this case study.
Hardware: System p, System p: eServer p5 570
Operating System: AIX 5L
Services: GBS Finance - Enterprise Applications (FEA) , GBS SOA Implementation Services, IBM Global Business Services, IBM Integrated Technology Services