National Islamic Bank Improves Security and Reliability During Branch Expansion and Tenfold Growth in Customer Base
 
 

National Islamic Bank Improves Security and Reliability During Branch Expansion and Tenfold Growth in Customer Base

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Founded in 2010, the National Islamic Bank of Iraq, based in Baghdad, has quickly grown from one location with 120 customers to three branches with 1,800 customers throughout Iraq. It provides multiple account services, including current accounts and savings accounts, fixed deposits, letters of credit and bank guarantees, and Islamic financing.

To ensure a secure and scalable branch-banking system, the National Islamic Bank worked with United Arab Emirates-based, Oracle partner Jacquard Systems to deploy Oracle’s Sun Ray 270 clients and Oracle’s Sun 2 thin clients running Sun Ray Software 4.2. The hardware forms the basis of the modular branch-in-a-box (BIAB) system developed by Oracle Partner Jacquard Systems. To bring a new branch online, National Islamic Bank simply ships preconfigured hardware, and technicians plug it in at its destination.

 
 

 
 

Challenges

A word from National Islamic Bank

  • “We highly recommend Oracle Sun Ray clients because they are very user-friendly and perfectly secure. We can quickly install terminals in our branches that securely connect to a central server, allowing us to rapidly open branches to increase customers and revenue.” – Ali Issam, Chief Information Officer, National Islamic Bank

  • Make new bank branches operational, quickly and cost-effectively
  • Ensure security of customers’ financial information
  • Provide a foundation for secure workflow and communication between headquarters and bank branches
  • Provide full service to customers from any branch, regardless of where they opened their accounts
  • Prevent employees from installing unlicensed or unauthorized software that might spread malware on branch computers

Solutions

Oracle Product and Services

  • Deployed Sun Ray 2 Client and Sun Ray 270 Client with Sun Ray Software 4.2 at a lower hardware and configuration cost than desktop computers, helping National Islamic Bank to grow from one to three branches in seven months and increase revenue by 40% in the same period
  • Deployed the modular BIAB system, developed by Oracle Partner Jacquard Systems, providing the foundation for secure workflows and communication between headquarters and branches, as well as identity-based security access for employees
  • Improved security substantially through BIAB’s firewall, smart card access, and multilevel password protection, and secured communication between branches by requiring employees to use smart cards and passwords for terminals and the central server
  • Enabled National Islamic Bank to bring a new branch online by simply shipping preconfigured Sun Ray Clients with Sun Ray Software to the site, where Jacquard Systems consultants and the bank's IT team deploy them
  • Enabled employees to access customer account information stored on a central server through Sun Ray Clients, allowing them to assist customers regardless of account type or branch location
  • Ensured that employees are unable to either remove data from the system or plug in any external drives to install unlicensed or unauthorized software that may infect the system, adding substantially to overall security

Why Oracle

After considering products from Cisco Systems and Hewlett-Packard, National Islamic Bank chose Oracle’s Sun Ray clients, per Jacquard’s recommendation, because they are reliable and secure. They are also affordable and easy to configure and use.

Implementation Process

The bank began its implementation in December 2010 and completed the initial installation in three weeks, on time and on budget. Jacquard Systems’ configured the environment, including its BIAB system, for 60 users, who were trained onsite at National Islamic Bank using Oracle User Productivity Kit.

Partner

Oracle partner Jacquard Systems implemented Sun Ray 2 Client and Sun Ray 270 Client with Sun Ray Software 4.2, which form the basis for its BIAB system designed specifically for the financial sector.

Jacquard Systems also protected the bank against the country’s frequently unpredictable electrical infrastructure by installing an uninterruptible power system (UPS) both on the central server and generators in branches as part of its BIAB system, allowing branches to continue working even if headquarters goes offline (and vice-versa).

“Jacquard Systems made an excellent decision in choosing Sun Ray Clients with Sun Ray Software for its BIAB system. Together, they form a highly reliable and secure system, which helps us operate under frequently difficult conditions in a country rebuilding its infrastructure,” said Ali Issam, chief information officer, National Islamic Bank.