How IBM zSeries is leading the evolution to on demand banking. · 7 IBM middleware enhanced for...
Transcript of How IBM zSeries is leading the evolution to on demand banking. · 7 IBM middleware enhanced for...
IBM zSeries software solutions for bankingExecutive brief
How IBM zSeries is leading theevolution to on demand banking.
January 2005
Executive overview
Rarely has the banking industry faced such a daunting combination
of challenges.
Topping the list, of course, is rigorous competition. As the marketplace
becomes increasingly transparent, competitive intensity grows in severity,
with existing players and new entrants alike scrambling to provide value to
customers. Traditional brick-and-mortar institutions and Internet banks
are locking horns. Financial institutions are looking for every angle to develop
new products and better service for their customers—or lose them.
With competition, there comes a related challenge: financial pressures.
Economic uncertainties and demanding investors are impacting growth,
revenues and margins. Many banks are looking to add revenue streams by
getting into other businesses, such as insurance and securities.
Meanwhile, consolidation is creating huge regional and national banks in
an attempt to gain a competitive edge in offering products and services. Plus
changes in customer demands, technological innovations and government
regulations are increasingly sudden and dramatic, prompting banks to evolve
from being reactive to proactive.
As if the marketplace weren’t posing enough challenges, threats have emerged
from more insidious fronts. Pervasive dangers become real and prevalent as
global firms see increased exposure to disasters, unstable geopolitics and other
market shocks.
It’s a sobering list of challenges—in large part, challenges that have emerged
rather suddenly. (Ask yourself whether you were dealing with these issues just a
few years ago.)
2 Executive overview
3 Responding quickly to demands,
opportunities and threats
4 zSeries is the on demand platform of
choice
5 Platform readiness: New business
value for the on demand environment
7 IBM middleware enhanced for business
advantage
8 IBM DB2 for z/OS V8.1 opens the door
to future scalability
9 IBM DB2 II helps speed application
deployment and control IT costs
9 IBM CICS V3.1 fosters reuse of existing
CICS assets
10 Integrated tools for development,
testing, deployment and management
10 Subcapacity pricing bases software
charges on LPAR utilization
11 For three business goals, a single
platform emerges
12 Real-world examples of the power of
zSeries
14 Security: A definitive platform for
business continuity
15 The difference between flawless
execution and slow response times
16 Flexibility: Move mass amounts of data
in and out
16 Simplify infrastructure and reduce TCO
17 Easily integrate new solutions with
legacy systems
18 zSeries: Platform of choice for
IT management
Contents
How IBM zSeries is leading the evolution to on demand banking.Page 2
And in boardrooms around the world, banking executives are swiftly
coming to the realization that they must respond by beefing up three critical
characteristics of their organizations:
• Efficiency. In a highly competitive environment, operations must run
leaner. Banks are analyzing every part of their organizations to gain
efficiencies and better compete. And they’re realizing that cost structures
must fundamentally change—by eliminating some processes and
automating and integrating others. IT budgets are being cut or leveled off,
yet IT must support the needs of the business and prepare for the future of
the business.
• Resiliency. “May you live in interesting times,” according to an old
proverb. From a security and risk perspective, these are interesting times
indeed. Banks are stabilizing their earnings by reducing capital reserve
requirements associated with all forms of risk. They’re also stabilizing
their IT environments to help eliminate downtime and fend off intrusions
that could cripple business.
• Differentiation. Growing revenue requires becoming attuned to customer
insights and demands and finding new ways to distinguish products and
services from the competition. Banks are becoming more customer-
centric, developing new and innovative offerings, networking with other
providers and opening up multiple channels to reach customers.
Responding quickly to demands, opportunities and threats
How are these goals being achieved? With nothing short of a dramatic business
transformation. Individual banks are compartmentalizing themselves into
component-based businesses, leveraging best-in-class components from
sources throughout the networked industry. Some are even choosing to become
more specialized—in distribution, product manufacturing or processing—and
abandoning nonpriority functions.
How IBM zSeries is leading the evolution to on demand banking.Page 3
Internal restructuring isn’t the only trend. Banks are also focusing outward,
abandoning independent, vertically integrated business models and building
networks of affiliated financial institutions. The seamless connectivity and
efficiencies that were previously confined to a component-based business are
now being combined with the specialization and scale made possible by a fully
networked industry.
In short, banks are breaking down both internal and external walls, then
integrating processes end to end—within the organization and with key
customers, partners and suppliers—to respond quickly to any customer demand,
market opportunity or external threat. They’re making full use of resources to
be more productive and innovative and differentiating their offerings to capture
new value. They’re re-evaluating their business processes, technological
infrastructure and corporate culture.
This new business flexibility requires new IT flexibility, and technology
resources must be aligned with modified strategic priorities. IT infrastructure
must evolve to cost-effectively support component-based businesses, to
automate and virtualize resources, and to enhance business performance
management. Banks are transforming the way they are run.
There’s a term for all this. It’s called “on demand.”
zSeries is the on demand platform of choice
In an on demand banking environment, everything happens at an
accelerated pace—and with good reason: Customers’ needs change. The
regulatory environment shifts. The marketplace evolves and expands. And
IT professionals must anticipate and rapidly respond, as well as streamline
and integrate core applications and systems to maximize their technology
resources. And, of course, they must do all this based on a rock-solid, high-
performing and secure architecture.
How IBM zSeries is leading the evolution to on demand banking.Page 4
For such a critical business initiative, IT executives in the banking industry
are understandably seeking the inherent strengths of the mainframe built
specifically for on demand banking. And they are finding it in the
IBM ® zSeries® which offers a powerful platform for on demand
banking—a platform on which many institutions are relying on 99.999
percent availability, fortress-like security and performance under extremely
demanding conditions.
It stands to reason that the zSeries platform is well-equipped to handle
sophisticated banking applications. After all, it was designed and built by a
company with decades of deep experience in banking technology.
IBM mainframes form the IT backbone of many of the world’s 500 largest
banks, including titans of the industry such as Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase,
HSBC, Mizuho, Bank of China and UBS. Our client roster also includes
financial services firms such as Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and Morgan
Stanley, as well as online brokerages such as Charles Schwab, ComDirect,
E*TRADE and Deutsche Bank24. IBM IMS™ and IBM DB2® Universal
Database™ systems currently manage the vast majority of banking data
worldwide.
IBM mainframes form the IT backbone of many of the world’s 500 largest banks.
Platform readiness: New business value for the on demand environment
In order to fully exploit zSeries platform capabilities, ready integration,
improve management and control costs, one must understand the importance
of platform readiness. A platform-ready business acknowledges the importance
of keeping its IT environment current. While enjoying the features and benefits
of new technology and enhancements, a business also will discover new levels
of business value in platform readiness that can help take full advantage of the
on demand operating environment.
How IBM zSeries is leading the evolution to on demand banking.Page 5
Platform Readiness Is Key
To handle new workloads and manage existing workload while keeping costs
controlled, platform readiness is an important step.
Platform readiness has multiple layers. Two of them, the hardware (the
platform itself) and the operating system, are inextricably linked. The
platform’s fundamental assets center on workload sharing, security,
availability, scalability and the ability to run multiple-mix, mainframe-unique
workloads. IBM drives these forward to meet the ever-increasing demands of
extreme commercial computing.
The relationship between the two layers demonstrates the value of running the
latest zSeries 890 and zSeries 990 along with the IBM z/OS® operating system.
The innovative new zSeries Application Assist Processor (zAAP) facility lets
organizations run Java™ workload with no additional software costs and
enhanced performance capabilities. These can help drive down the cost of
running the zSeries platform while helping increase throughput—significantly
improving the economics of running new workloads on the zSeries platform.
How IBM zSeries is leading the evolution to on demand banking.Page 6
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zSeries users have a long history of developing mission-critical applications
on the platform. Many z/OS customers have millions of dollars invested in
business-critical applications that operate and evolve on z/OS, having started
on its predecessors more than 20 years ago.
IBM middleware enhanced for business advantage
Another platform-readiness layer is middleware, enhanced so that zSeries
middleware components—IBM CICS®, DB2 Universal Database, IMS, IBM
WebSphere® MQ and IBM WebSphere Application Server—can interact
with each other, as well as with Java through service-oriented architecture
techniques and Java links. Java’s industry-standard open interfaces let users
transparently download and seamlessly run applications. The IBM middleware
products continue to be enhanced. New capabilities are enabling composite
applications to be created and added, with years of legacy applications and data
assets quickly turned into business advantages.
Today, IBM provides the most comprehensive information management
solutions in the industry—just as it has for the past 40 years and will continue to
do so far into the future. These solutions span the entire spectrum of enterprise
information requirements, from extraordinarily high-volume, ironclad,
transaction-driven systems, to universal storage and retrieval of diverse
unstructured content, to deep-dive, introspective business intelligence analysis
and ad hoc rapid-response inquiries that help business professionals make
better decisions.
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Key to these middleware products are the open industry standards upon which
they are built. When solutions are architected on open standards, no single
vendor owns or controls the technology used to build the software. That allows
bankers to choose the best and most cost-effective banking applications and
integrate them easily with existing infrastructure. The benefit: freedom to cost-
effectively create innovative, revenue-producing customer solutions.
IBM DB2 for z/OS V8.1 opens the door to future scalability
The DB2 Universal Database for z/OS Version 8.1, which shipped in March
2004, and Information Management System (IMS) Version 9, which shipped in
October 2004, have been designed and developed as key building blocks for the
on demand operating environment of zSeries.
The DB2 for z/OS Version 8.1 represents a complete rewrite of the DB2
platform, opening the door to future scalability and making it much more
common with distributed SQL implementations. This is the first middleware
product to break the 31-bit computing bonds and begin exploiting the
enormous scalability of IBM’s 64-bit zSeries machines—allowing customers to
drive greater workloads through their systems and do more with less.
DB2 and IMS are integrated with the z/OS operating system and with each
other. High-volume, real-time transaction data from an IMS system can be
immediately propagated to DB2 for business intelligence and random inquiry,
and both can be managed from the same operator console interface. Both also
reap the benefits of a sophisticated z/OS workload management system, which
can be tailored to each business’s specific needs.
Major advances in DB2 V8.1 include improving data availability, reducing
planned downtime and allowing today’s demanding 24x7 applications to stay
active longer. As a result, businesses can implement changes to databases
more frequently and react faster to changing market conditions or unexpected
performance issues.
How IBM zSeries is leading the evolution to on demand banking.Page 9
The move to a 64-bit environment offers significant performance
enhancements in DB2 V8.1, many of which can be realized with few or no
application changes. The performance enhancements drive down the total
ownership cost for DB2 applications, making each transaction more cost-
effective to execute and allowing a given server to handle greater workloads.
No matter where data resides, DB2 and IMS work collaboratively to provide
solutions to effectively run and manage enterprise operations. Together, DB2,
IMS and WebSphere ensure that online and Web transactions are processed
with optimal performance, in a secure environment, with the capacity to grow
databases, concurrent users and applications as business needs dictate.
IBM DB2 II helps speed application deployment and control IT costs
The recent launch of IBM DB2 Information Integration (DB2 II) provides a
strategic framework to help businesses speed new application deployment and
control IT costs. The DB2 II federation capability for enterprise information
integration allows applications to access and integrate diverse data—distributed
and mainframe, structured and unstructured, public and private—as if it were a
single resource, regardless of where the information resides. The cornerstones
of the DB2 II framework include data and content federation, replication, event
publishing and enterprise search.
IBM CICS V3.1 fosters reuse of existing CICS assets
The new IBM CICS Transaction Server for z/OS V3.1, due in early 2005,
provides a set of strategic access options to support modern TCP/IP
connectivity, including Web services, J2EE IIOP and JCA. With the right
external connectors and internal adapters, businesses can maximize the reuse
of existing mission-critical CICS assets.
How IBM zSeries is leading the evolution to on demand banking.Page 10
Moving forward with new versions of DB2, IMS, WebSphere MQSeries® and
Lotus® Domino®, IBM continues to implement commonalities between host
and distributed middleware, enable more seamless movement of data and logic
and screens, and provide aggressive price/performance levels to make the
mainframe more affordable.
Integrated tools for development, testing, deployment and management
To help organizations further optimize their IT environments, IBM offers
a complete set of integrated mainframe tools that provide all the required
utilities for development, testing, deployment and optimized transaction
management, as well as database, infrastructure, application and
performance management.
This broad toolset provides deep function and affordable development,
integration and management of an on demand IT environment. It also
offers cross-tool integration and timely middleware and operating system
support. The entire zSeries complex provides progressively more advanced
service-oriented architecture capability for new levels of integration to users,
productivity and business benefits.
Subcapacity pricing bases software charges on LPAR utilization
In 2001, IBM introduced subcapacity, workload-based pricing to help
businesses optimize their data center investments and prepare their platforms
for new workloads. Since then, IBM has enhanced the program, extending
workload-based pricing to the entire IBM integrated tools portfolio. Sub-
capacity pricing, which bases software charges on an LPAR utilization
measurement, has also been extended to various zSeries International Program
License Agreement software, including CICS, IMS, Tivoli®, WebSphere and
application development tools. An IBM z800, z890 or z990 running z/OS in 64-
bit mode is the only requirement.
For three business goals, a single platform emerges
How are IBM zSeries hardware and software helping today’s banks achieve
their three primary on demand goals? Here’s how:
• Efficiency. zSeries allows banks to more effectively adapt to market
changes by moving from fixed to variable cost structures. Variable cost
structures combined with business process flexibility allow banks to
accommodate fluctuations in market demand and consumer product
preferences. Then, thanks to the resulting lower cost structure, savings
can be shared with customers through attractive rates and better-
priced products.
Savings can be shared with customers through attractive rates and better-priced products.
• Resiliency. With zSeries computing, banks can recognize and respond
to potential exposures to credit, market and operational risks—in near
real time—and reduce their capital requirements through robust risk
management. They can deliver consistent, reliable 24x7 service access
across the organization and around the globe. They can prepare for
unforeseen events and protect the firm’s assets, safeguard customer and
employee privacy, and reduce all types of operational risk, including those
presented by staff attrition.
• Differentiation. zSeries can help banks re-platform their core systems to
produce a leaner, more efficient infrastructure that moves faster and opens
up new revenue streams. Sales and service personnel can communicate
seamlessly with customers through multiple channels. Banks can provide
the right products and services at the right time to increasingly demanding
How IBM zSeries is leading the evolution to on demand banking.Page 11
How IBM zSeries is leading the evolution to on demand banking.Page 12
customers. They can sense and dynamically respond to internal or external
changes and gain the organizational capacity to act quickly based on
analysis and insight. They can choose to focus on core competencies
and build differentiating competencies where value can be added and a
sustainable competitive advantage can be achieved.
Real-world examples of the power of zSeries
The most robust mainframe ever to hit the market, zSeries is a highly
scalable system that integrates and manages diverse applications and storage/
network resources. Around the world, large financial institutions are using
it as the foundation on which to transform their organizations and enhance
their business processes. Just a few of the many examples of the power of
zSeries follow:
Multichannel capability. Call it reinventing the front office. Banks are creating
new ways to reach their customers and enhance the customer experience.
To generate multiple customer channels, zSeries offers industry-leading
virtualization capabilities and open standards. It provides a highly available,
robust and scalable infrastructure for consolidating and integrating disparate
applications—including branch workloads—on a centralized server. With this
kind of power to repurpose business processes, branches can be transformed
into full-service relationship centers custom-tailored to location and customer
base. Self-service capabilities can be expanded, offering a wider range of online
transactions. Optimal customer service can be offered through contact centers.
And consistent, informed services can be delivered across more channels
so customers can manage their banking activities how, where and when it’s
convenient for them.
Core banking. Thanks to ever-increasing processor performance and
scalability, bulletproof security and autonomic (self-healing, workload
balancing and self-configuration) capabilities, zSeries is an excellent choice
for customer insight and other core banking business intelligence. It’s also the
Better information, informed decisions for
Agricultural Bank of GreeceFollowing market deregulation, the
Agricultural Bank of Greece S.A. (ABG) faced
increasing competition, diminishing
revenues and eroding market share in its
loans and insurance-based service. The
bank also lacked a consistent long-term IT
strategy. As a result, it had only a vague
picture of its account information, with just 2.5
million out of 7.5 million registered accounts
assumed active. Without clear customer
information, the bank couldn’t provide timely
loan approvals—and even risked providing
loans to customers in default.
IBM provided ABG with an enterprise data
warehousing solution plus the tools to clean
up and optimize its relational database
system. Components included an IBM
zSeries 900 server running both Linux™ and
IBM z/OS operating systems, as well as a
software palette that included IBM DB2
Warehouse Manager, IBM Data Propagator
for z/OS, IBM WebSphere Application Server
Network Deployment Edition, SUSE LINUX
Enterprise Server for z/OS and Ascential
QualityStage Enterprise Edition applications.
With the IBM solution, ABG improved its
market position, reduced loan risks and
increased revenue. And by cleansing the
5 million dormant accounts in its database,
it ensured accurate reporting for issuing
loans, reduced the number of unsecured
loans not repaid, helped develop targeted
and relevant marketing campaigns,
and increased revenue from customer
target groups.
premier database server for key integrated application suites. With the IBM
DB2 Universal Database application, for instance, zSeries provides a rock-solid,
centralized access point for the customer while providing internal corporate
data required for analytics and segmentation modeling.
Payments. Banks are restructuring their payment systems—streamlining
front-to-back-office processes and allying with external partners—for
higher accuracy and accelerated service delivery. zSeries is facilitating that
transformation with leading-edge security technologies, including high-
performance cryptography and supporting middleware. That enables more
secure, efficient processing of large volumes of retail payment transactions,
including card management and ATM point-of-sale transactions, in a
continuously available and resilient environment.
Risk management. Is there another industry with as great a need to never, ever
let down its constituents—employees, shareholders, auditors, customers and
regulators? zSeries provides a secure, scalable platform for risk management
and compliance solutions, which require analytics applications to understand
and manage credit, market and operational risk. And the availability of the
zSeries Business Continuity and Recovery Services enables banks to offer 24x7
customer service, minimize vulnerability and restore operating conditions if a
disaster occurs—all critical factors in today’s environment.
“Not only is the security and solidity of IBM systems extremely high but also their quality of service is excellent.”Andrés Modet, Director of IT Architecture, Grupo Banco Popular
How IBM zSeries is leading the evolution to on demand banking.Page 13
Banco de Brasil gets Web-enabledBanco de Brasil has a large and growing
customer base, and it wanted to let cus-
tomers perform basic financial transactions
through multiple channels, including home
banking over the Internet. While the bank had
an online presence, the site’s functionality
could not accommodate customer demand
or handle the demand of traffic spikes.
The result: poor response times, occasional
outages and unhappy customers.
The bank decided to replace its servers
with 16 IBM eServer™ zSeries servers
running IBM WebSphere Application Server
for z/OS software. With the robust zSeries and
WebSphere solution in place, customers
can now perform financial transactions and
obtain information via a link on the site’s
home page—with consistently outstanding
response times.
By improving its Internet-based banking
services, Banco de Brasil has seen
increased use of its Web channel by
corporate and personal banking customers,
reduced foot traffic at its branch locations,
made its services easy to use and saved its
customers valuable time. Since implemen-
tation, transactions have peaked at 2.2
million per day, compared with 1.8 million in
2003 and less than 600,000 in 2001. And the
bank now has a more secure, stable and
available environment that has been outage-
free since implementation.
How IBM zSeries is leading the evolution to on demand banking.Page 14
Security: A definitive platform for business continuity
As banks increasingly conduct business over the Web, they increase
their exposure to external unauthorized access and potential disruptions
of IT infrastructure; stories of hackers, viruses and worms continue to
make headlines.
Now another threat has emerged: insider attacks and other white-collar crimes.
Last August, the U.S. Secret Service and Carnegie Mellon University’s Software
Engineering Institute issued a report titled “Insider Threat Study: Illicit
Cyber Activity in the Banking and Finance Sector.”* The report examined 23
incidents carried out by 26 insiders in the banking and finance industries from
1996 through 2002. Its findings: “Insiders pose a substantial threat by virtue
of their knowledge of and access to their employers’ systems and/or databases
and their ability to bypass existing physical and electronic security measures
through legitimate means.”
Combine insider threats with ongoing attempts by outsiders to intrude on
and disrupt a bank’s IT infrastructure, and it’s easy to see why data security
and business continuity are such top-of-mind issues among financial
services professionals.
In light of this, zSeries provides the most high-level security in the industry.
Consider that the traditional costs of a security breach range from $2 million
to $5 million. zSeries is designed to help prevent such breaches, as well as to
automatically manage high-security access and transactional integrity. Its co-
processing capability can execute a high number of encrypted Web sessions,
which means banks can manage security statements automatically instead of
having to staff up with security administrators and invest in outboard hardware
such as SSL accelerators.
*Available at http://www.secretservice.gov/ntac/its_report_040820.pdf
How IBM zSeries is leading the evolution to on demand banking.Page 15
Bulletproof security isn’t limited to zSeries hardware. It’s built into all zSeries
software as well. Core IBM middleware—WebSphere, DB2 Universal Database,
Tivoli, Lotus and Rational®—protects applications and data from unauthorized
access. And the z/OS operating system lets businesses dynamically change
security mapping, such as authorizing only certain individuals to access certain
information at pre-defined times.
The difference between flawless execution and slow response times
In China, international banking requirements recently hit the mark of 50
million transactions in one day. This is the kind of load created by 24x7x365
banking on demand. And it is the kind of scalability that zSeries servers can
uniquely offer.
zSeries provides one of the world’s most reliable and scalable environments
for running new on demand applications alongside core business applications.
It helps simplify management of multiple diverse workloads while balancing
resources across those workloads for optimal performance and maximum
utilization. zSeries manages these capabilities through advancements in the
operating system and supported systems management software.
One example is the zSeries Intelligent Resource Director, which combines
three key zSeries technologies—z/OS Workload Manager, Logical Partitioning
and Parallel Sysplex®. Together, they ensure that the most important workloads
have full access to the resources they need by constantly managing those
resources according to the changing priorities of the business. zSeries systems
management solutions have also evolved from technology monitoring to
end-to-end application workload management, enabling IT professionals to
proactively detect and resolve problematic transactions and system resource
issues before customer service levels are affected.
During spikes in demand, the ability to scale up and out at a moment’s notice
can make the difference between flawless execution and slow response times—
or even system crashes. A single zSeries server can scale up to millions of
transactions per day or scale out to manage tens to hundreds of virtual servers.
Flexibility: Move mass amounts of data in and out
“Flexibility” refers to the variable amount of data that an application needs
to retrieve from multiple, external sources. A metric indicating 5 percent in a
simple workload, for example, means that the application tends to have all its
data available without external access requirements; 75 percent means that a
high amount of expensive search and retrieval operation is required to retrieve
and process the data.
The zSeries is the industry-standard workhorse in the world of heavy input/
output (I/O). For 30 years, it has stood alone in its ability to process transactions
that require massive amounts of I/O.
Simplify infrastructure and reduce TCO
As on demand banking evolves, “server sprawl” and infrastructure complexity
can emerge as problems. Distributed server farms, with dozens or hundreds
of dedicated machines handling single applications or population inevitably
create increased complexity. This translates into time lost, increased
administrative burdens, unplanned downtime, weak security, unstable
transaction paths—essentially the same list of problems that accompanied early
client/server architectures. The penalty is higher total cost of ownership (TCO)
and the lack of a stable foundation for steady growth—even though the cost of
acquiring the individual “commoditized” servers is relatively low.
Enter zSeries, the centerpiece of a simplified, end-to-end infrastructure
solution that eliminates server sprawl and all its associated complexities.
Leveraging virtualization capabilities, the zSeries solution is a natural
choice to simplify IT infrastructure solutions, including hardware, operating
How IBM zSeries is leading the evolution to on demand banking.Page 16
Grupo Banco Popular scales up to
reduce risk Grupo Banco Popular’s online business
increased by 45 percent in 2003, encom-
passing 1.2 million users. Combined with
the workload generated by business growth,
the bank’s IT infrastructure had reached
capacity. Senior management was also
concerned that its lone mainframe server
represented a single point of failure, putting
the business at risk.
The bank met the challenge with an
innovative IBM zSeries Parallel Sysplex
solution. All of Banco Popular’s customer
account transactions now are managed by
two zSeries servers—its existing IBM zSeries
900 server and a new zSeries 900—which
run IBM CICS and WebSphere MQ. Creating
a Parallel Sysplex environment, the bank
solved the immediate issue of scalability
and fault tolerance, thus opening the way
to future growth and exceptional customer
satisfaction.
Now Banco Popular delivers always-on
banking services with robust support for
round-the-clock business operations. It has
increased its processing capacity with the
same staffing and support levels. And it has
helped reduce business risks associated
with single point of failure.
environments, data management, transaction processing facilities, application
development and systems management. The result: completeness with vastly
diminished complexity and lower total cost of ownership.
“We have an architecture that handles both legacy and new applications and offers robust and cost-effective disaster recovery capabilities.” Giorgio Seronello, IT Director, Banca Carige
Easily integrate new solutions with legacy systems
To achieve the flexibility and componentization that are the hallmarks of
an on demand environment, a bank’s IT infrastructure must evolve from
silos of complex, over-provisioned, proprietary hardware and software to a
standards-based infrastructure where capacity can be optimized across the
entire organization and beyond. And that is no small task for institutions with
decades-old legacy systems in place.
Over the years, multiple banking services have been deployed on disparate IT
platforms. Legacy core checking and savings accounts were placed on many
different IMS systems, acquired at different times from different sources for
different functions. Then loans and other financing services were offered,
with the new functionality deployed on CICS-based infrastructure. Inevitable
mergers and acquisitions added still more layers of complexity in the form
of new, often incompatible IT systems. The result is a morass that must be
deconstructed to understand the relationships between banking operations
systems and customer-facing applications and services.
How IBM zSeries is leading the evolution to on demand banking.Page 17
Raiffeisen automates and simplifiesThe Raiffeisen Group, a Swiss banking
concern, had grown to 1,300 branches,
serving 2 million customers and managing 82
billion Swiss francs (US$54.7 billion). With
that kind of growth, it needed to integrate
disparate banking applications and prepare
its IT environment for future needs.
Raiffeisen found the answer in a central
communications platform, or “banking bus,”
based on an IBM zSeries server running IBM
WebSphere MQ and IBM WebSphere MQ
Integrator software.
Now its business processes are readily
automated and simplified, reducing manual
tasks for nearly 900 employees while
increasing time available for personal
customer service. Automating its business
processes has accelerated execution of
customer orders and yielded better
customer service.
So how does a bank combine core services into one system without having to
reinvent the wheel? The answer lies in integrating and redeploying critical
financial applications on the zSeries mainframe running the z/OS operating
system. The goal: Leverage the power of the mainframe to increase the value
and accessibility of existing applications by integrating them into the new on
demand business IT environment.
If a bank chooses, it can begin by transforming business application
components on a small scale. A single vertical silo or process can be integrated,
and the rewards can be reinvested in the next business improvement. In this
manner, a cycle begins, improving the bank’s competitive position for years
to come.
zSeries: Platform of choice for IT management
Competition. Demanding customers. New channels. Consolidation. Security
threats. As banking enters a new world—the on demand world—the ability
to detect and respond to changing market conditions, customer needs and
external threats is a critical factor in determining success or failure. Business
processes must become more flexible—and so must technology infrastructure.
Your customers want dependable services that allow them to get the most
out of their business relationship with you, just as your company should be
getting the most from your investments of capital, time and personnel. To
ready your business for the on demand operating environment, you must keep
your IT environment flexible, integrated and supported by the latest enabling
technologies.
In the new on demand environment, you must make full use of your resources
in order to be more productive and innovative and to differentiate your
organization to deliver new value. You must transform business designs by
breaking down internal silos and integrating business processes end to end and
by outsourcing noncore processes to strategic partners.
How IBM zSeries is leading the evolution to on demand banking.Page 18
Banca Carige retools its legacy systemGenoa, Italy-based Banca Carige was
growing at nearly 15 percent a year, and its
managers were looking for new ways to
improve the efficiency of its legacy system
and provide additional offerings to
customers.
To meet its combined needs for openness
and resilience, Banca Carige selected an
IBM zSeries solution running both IBM z/OS
and Linux. The environment runs IBM CICS
for legacy workload, with IBM WebSphere
Application Server for Web workload. This
combination allows the bank to preserve its
investment in existing legacy systems while
taking advantage of open systems to
minimize business risk and enable dynamic
new services to be developed.
Now Banca Carige runs legacy applications
alongside new Java applications within the
same robust environment. Its dual, redundant
zSeries servers give it a cost-effective
disaster recovery option, as well as highly
stable and reliable systems for assured
business continuity.
To reach these goals, you need a platform that seamlessly integrates not only
hardware, operating system and middleware but also people, processes and
information. Your platform must do so in a way that allows your bank to become
more flexible to the dynamics of the markets, customers and competitors
around you.
The platform of choice to achieve this integration? IBM zSeries, which delivers
the capabilities to facilitate:
• Business modeling, which enables the graphical depiction and simulation
of a business process, including task descriptions, resources required and
decision points.
• Process transformation, which enables existing applications and
information to be reused in new ways.
• Application and information integration, which enables multiple
information sources and business applications to be combined.
• Access, which extends data and information to new classes of devices and
methods of interaction, regardless of connection type.
• Collaboration, which allows users to interact in a personalized way with
dynamic information, applications, processes and people.
• Business process management, which lets you model, deploy and analyze
processes with the goal of managing the end-to-end business process.
IBM encourages you to take a look at your IT environment and ask yourself:
Is your platform ready for on demand? Is it ready to become more open,
virtualized and autonomic? Can it simplify business integration and, in turn,
enable business flexibility?
One platform can: zSeries, helping banks better manage IT—and, in turn,
achieve business transformation for the on demand marketplace.
For more information on IBM software for zSeries, visit ibm.com/software/
zseries.
How IBM zSeries is leading the evolution to on demand banking.Page 19
© Copyright IBM Corporation 2004
IBM CorporationSoftware GroupRoute 100, Building 1Somers, NY 10589U.S.A.
Produced in the United States of America01-05 All Rights Reserved
CICS, DB2, DB2 Universal Database, Domino, e(logo)server, eServer, IBM, the IBM logo, IMS, Lotus, MQSeries, NetView, the On Demand Business logo, Parallel Sysplex, Rational, Tivoli, WebSphere, z/OS and zSeries are trademarks or registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries or both.
Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds in the United States, other countries or both.
Java and all Java-based trademarks are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States, other countries or both.
Other company, product and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.
References in this publication to IBM products or services do not imply that IBM intends to make them available in all countries in which IBM operates.
The IBM home page can be found on the Internet at ibm.com.
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