SEYLAN BANK PROPELS BUSINESS GROWTH WITH DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
• First Bank in Sri Lanka to modernize their data center with VMware solutions (Hyperconverged Infrastructure and VMware vRealize Operations Manager) to enable innovation and seize opportunities.
• System performance improved by at least five times and app availability up by 90 percent over legacy infrastructure.
SRI LANKA – March 28, 2019 – VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW), a leading innovator in enterprise software, today announced that Seylan Bank PLC (Seylan Bank) is the first enterprise in Sri Lanka to adopt VMware’s vSAN Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI) and VMware vRealize Operations Manager. The adoption of VMware’s flexible and more secure technology platform has allowed Seylan Bank to scale quickly and efficiently, enabling it to accelerate innovation while enhancing its service offering to corporate, small, media enterprises (SMEs) and retail customers.
With the implementation of VMware’s vSAN HCI, Seylan Bank said it is better positioned to serve a burgeoning population of mobile and internet banking consumers, driven by increased connectivity, and high server demands from incremental digital banking and application growth. Mobile broadband penetration in Sri Lanka has grown over the five years from 8% in 2012 to 21% in 2017 (1). Although this is still in the early stages, the industry is expected to continue this strong growth trajectory over the next five years (2). With assistance from Softlogic Information Technologies, a renowned Systems Integrator and an Enterprise level partner in Sri Lanka, the bank deployed VMware’s vSAN HCI and vRealize Operations Manager solutions which allowed it to run, manage, connect and secure applications in a common operating environment. This allowed the bank to drive innovation and reduce time-to-market for new experiences such as digital banking services, by meeting the growing demands of compute power and storage on demand.
Before the deployment of VMware’s solutions, the bank said it relied on traditional servers and storage, which had limited capabilities to support its ambitions for scale and expansion plans. The legacy infrastructure also reduced performance levels and system uptime, hindering IT staff productivity and server provisioning speed.
Moving to a software-defined infrastructure enabled services that were previously available only via hardware to be delivered through software. This removed server downtime and increased application availability by 90 percent, according to the company. Additionally, the virtual machine provisioning saw an improvement of 70 percent – this means that a more efficient use of computing resources and significant reduction in the energy needed for power and cooling. The bank also saw improved system performance – at least five times better than the legacy infrastructure. It had also cut total cost of ownership significantly, and reduced physical space through server virtualization, and thereby reducing the overall server footprint.
“As the industry moves to the next level of connectivity and service levels, sharpening our digital capability is the only way for us to win more customers, serve them better, entrench loyalty and maintain our momentum. VMware’s Hyper-Converged Infrastructure solutions are more than just an IT fix, they deliver an unparalleled competitive edge and brings us closer to achieving our business targets and fulfilling our vision to become Sri Lanka’s best financial institution,” said Harsha Wanigatunga, CIO, Seylan Bank PLC.
“Sri Lanka’s banking sector is brimming with potential and in order to harness this, financial institutions need the right network foundation to enable innovation and scale at disruptive speed. Seylan Bank exemplifies this and we are very heartened to witness the bank’s immense progress in its digital transformation journey, and how that has paid off in enabling them to move fast and seize opportunities,” said Sanjay K. Deshmukh, vice president and managing director, SEAK, VMware.
Sidantha Peeris, Director – Sales & Marketing, Softlogic Information Technologies, remarked that Seylan Bank had carefully evaluated all options before investing and they were confident that the new software defined storage architecture is the way forward. He commented on how transparent and opened Seylan Bank was to embrace relevant ICT technology that can give their bank a competitive edge. He added that this is the first implementation of VMware vSAN HCI (i.e. software-defined storage) in a Sri Lankan bank, and this architecture will help the bank to grow seamlessly as their business expands. The team, together with VMware, were fully responsible for the implementation and has expressed delightness that Seylan Bank had chosen Softlogic Information Technologies as their preferred partner for this landmark project.
About Seylan Bank PLC
Seylan Bank Plc engages in the provision of commercial banking services and related financial services. It operates through following segments: Banking, Treasury and Property/Investments. The Banking segment includes loans and receivables; leases and bills; margin trading; insurance; deposits and other transactions; and balances with corporate and retail customers. The Treasury segment involves funding and centralized risk management activities through borrowings, issue of debt securities, use of derivatives for risk management purpose and investing in liquid assets such as short-term placements and corporate and government debt securities. The Property/Investment segment consists of property investment income, expenses, assets and liabilities. The company was founded on August 28, 1987 and is headquartered in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
About Softlogic Information Technologies
Softlogic Information Tecnolgies is a subsidiary of Softlogic Holdings PLC, which is recognized as one of Sri Lanka’s most diversified and fastest-growing conglomerates, with interests in Healthcare, Retail, ICT, Leisure, Automobiles and Financial Services. Significant stakeholders in the company also include FMO and DEG, who are rated ‘AAA’ Development Financial Institutions from the Netherlands and Germany, respectively.
About VMware
VMware software powers the world’s complex digital infrastructure. The company’s cloud, networking and security, and digital workspace offerings provide a dynamic and efficient digital foundation to over 500,000 customers globally, aided by an ecosystem of 75,000 partners. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, VMware is committed to being a force for good, from its breakthrough innovations to its global impact. For more information, please visit https://www.vmware.com/company.html.
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Media Contacts
SEYLAN BANKCONTACT Anubha Pandey SEAK Communications, VMware
Phone: +65 8113 5721
Email: anubhap@vmware.com
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[1] Sri Lanka - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses, Report Linker, September 2017
[2] Sri Lanka - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses, Report Linker, September 2017