Techcombank

Transformation story

Newfound speed, scalability and savings

Techcombank undertook a rigorous selection process to find the perfect technology fit for its needs. IBM quickly emerged as a strong contender, proposing a solution built around the enterprise-grade IBM LinuxONE system.

“We were looking for a platform with the performance and flexibility to handle very large and variable workloads, combined with strong security and cost-efficiency – IBM LinuxONE delivered on all fronts,” recalls Gorski. “We need to protect our customers’ data security, and as a bank it’s vital that we maintain the highest possible standards in this area.

“And, technology aside, we were blown away by the professionalism and commitment of the IBM team. Unlike other vendors, who made us feel like little more than a transaction, IBM took the time to actively listen to and understand our needs, and brought in people from across the global business to help us explore our options. We found a true partner in IBM, and we knew that they were invested in our success from the outset.”

The IBM team rounded out its rock-solid proposal with a carefully crafted total cost-of-ownership (TCO) model for the solution, which played a key role in helping Techcombank secure the all-important buy-in from the business.

“When the TCO model came out it was jaw-dropping: we stood to make substantial savings by moving away from a distributed infrastructure to LinuxONE, particularly in terms of software licensing costs,” confirms Gorski. “The IBM offering was already very solid, and having these very compelling economic figures to back it up was the icing on the cake. The TCO model was a huge enabler for us, and we moved through a substantial systems purchase without any pushback or issues.”

Working closely with local and regional IBM teams, Techcombank implemented two IBM LinuxONE Emperor II servers, running Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The new servers feature proprietary IBM Secure Service Container technology to increase protection against cyber-security threats both internal and external, meeting Techcombank’s requirements. The bank then started the ongoing process of migrating its Temenos core banking systems, the supporting databases, and other production workloads to the new platform.

In addition, Techcombank refreshed its storage infrastructure, replacing legacy disk storage with powerful and efficient all-flash IBM DS8886 arrays. These systems provide the necessary speed and availability to deliver data at the speed the LinuxONE landscape can process it, closing the loop and optimizing performance.

Gorski says: “Techcombank is a bank of many firsts. For example, we were the first local bank to bring a global core banking system and a digital payment system meeting global standards to the local market. IBM is helping us continue that tradition of innovation, as we are the first company in Vietnam to deploy a LinuxONE system. We are also among the first wave of companies worldwide to deploy Temenos core banking on LinuxONE, and the performance we have seen so far completely vindicates that decision.”

In the near future, Techcombank plans to move all Tier-1 workloads to LinuxONE, and have all critical customer-facing applications running on the platform. It will also make use of IBM GDPS® to automate failover and recovery procedures, helping enable round-the-clock availability for key business applications and seamless disaster recovery. In fact, the bank anticipates that it will improve its recovery time objective to 60 minutes or better, helping it rapidly resume normal operations in the event of a disaster.