Karachi, Pakistan–12th Aug 2008: Barclays Bank PLC has signed an agreement with IBM Business Partner whereby IBM will provide IBM System p and IBM System Storage products. Barclays Bank chose one of the fastest growing IBM’s products that are extensively penetrating in the banking industry particularly in their core banking applications, which will help them with their FlexCube Core Banking deployment.
To formalize the agreement, a signing ceremony was held at the Barclays Bank PLC, Pakistan Head Office in Karachi. The MoU was signed between Humayun Bashir, Country General Manager, IBM Pakistan and Mohsin Nathani, Managing Director and Country Head, Barclays Bank Pakistan. This MoU with IBM will give Barclays Bank a national footprint, enabling the company to provide state-of-the-art services to a wider customer base.
Barclays Bank Pakistan chose IBM’s System UNIX-server platform to meet their needs of a scalable database server which is designed to meet the rigors of its Core Banking application. IBM’s offering will provide Barclays Bank with the most cost effective and efficient solution which will incorporate security features designed for system protection. Barclays Bank have also chosen IBM’s SAN Volume Controller (SVC) and Tape Library which shall help combine storage capacity from multiple vendors for centralized management, maintain backups and also increase storage utilization by providing more flexible access to storage assets. IBM will also provide direct support and 24 hours services to Barclays Bank.
Speaking at the occasion, Mohsin Nathani, Managing Director and Country Head, Barclays Bank Pakistan said: “Data is the backbone of any organisation and with the rapidly emerging needs of secured storage, it is imperative for organisations to add layers of data protection. We are committed to providing our customers with data centre services of global standards and this strategic tie-up with IBM reinforces our vision to provide top class solutions to our customers across the country”.
Humayun Bashir, Country General Manager, IBM Pakistan commented that, “IBM believes the coming decade will be defined by a rampant growth in new energy which will be enabled by the application of new business models. We are positive of this partnership with Barclays where we can bring the best of innovation and highly secured data centre solutions”.
In addition, IBM is also taking various initiatives for expanding its global efforts to deliver greater energy efficiency to businesses facing skyrocketing energy costs, environmental concerns and corporate sustainability requirements. IBM has engaged with more than 2,000 clients to deliver hardware, software and services technologies that have helped them reduce data centre energy consumption and cut energy costs by as much as 40 percent.
About Barclays
Barclays is a major global financial services provider engaged in retail and commercial banking, credit cards, investment banking, wealth management and investment management services, with an extensive international presence in Europe, the USA, Africa and Asia. With over 300 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 50 countries and employs 143,000 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for over 38 million customers and clients worldwide.
For further information about Barclays, please visit our website www.barclays.com
About IBM
IBM established its operation in Pakistan in 1952. With a history of over 55 years, IBM has a long-standing business, technological and social heritage in Pakistan. We are dedicated to helping our customers pursue new market opportunities and become more productive through the end-to-end transformation of their business models and the innovative application of e-business technology and solutions.
The country headquarters are based in Karachi with branch operations in Lahore and Islamabad and remote maintenance services in over 30 cities. IBM along with over 20 business partners employing over 500 professionals provides product distribution, sales and technical support, solution offerings, technology and business consultancy services.
For further information about IBM Pakistan, please visit our website: www.ibm.com.pk