Higher Uptake For Oracle's Banking Solutions In APAC

Oracle has reported a marked increase in customer adoption of its banking industry solutions in the Asia Pacific region. Complex global operations and increased compliance pressures are driving more banks to standards-based, off-the-shelf, end-to-end integrated banking solutions. As Asia becomes a major powerhouse in the global economy, Asian banks are facing increasing organizational and IT challenges caused by greater customer demands, regulatory requirements and ever-stiffer competition. The strong GDP and increased cross-border trade activities across Asia Pacific countries provide banks with new customer opportunities, but at the same time, also result in increased demand for innovative customer service. Security threats, identity fraud and compliance regulations bring new pressures to banks. Implementing technology solutions is part of the banks’ response to these challenges. But today, forward-looking banks realize that the traditional approach of solving problems on a piecemeal basis with standalone solutions no longer works. Visionaries see standards-based, integrated end-to-end banking applications as the cornerstone of the bank’s core business strategy, enhancing their competitiveness through increased customer knowledge, streamlined operation and greater corporate transparency. Financial Insights, an IDC company, pointed out that most banks in Asia continue to focus on the fundamentals such as core banking, data infrastructure, channels, financial systems, payments, and initiatives to understand the customer. These issues will continue to absorb the majority of new spend. “Banks in Asia Pacific continue to invest in financial technology,” said Douglas A. Jaffe, associate director for Financial Insights Asia/Pacific Banking Advisory Service. “More work needs to be done to improve IT governance, procurement practices, and business processes. Technology remains a primary enabler to achieve these objectives.” “Industry challenges are driving banks to rethink their long-term corporate IT strategy. We are seeing a continuous upswing of technology spending in the banking sector,” opined Ash Khalek, vice president, Service Industries, Oracle Asia Pacific. “Banking is one of the fast-growing industries for Oracle in Asia Pacific. The growth is fueled by the demands from mature financial service markets like Australia, Hong Kong, Korea and Singapore as well as the high-growth economies like China, India and South East Asian countries.” According to Oracle through focused vertical software development both organically and through acquisitions, it delivers a combination of technology and pre-integrated business applications specifically designed for banking enterprises"including analytics, core banking and payments, corporate administration, customer channel management, as well as technology infrastructure software. Oracle Applications, combined with i-flex banking solutions and the Oracle database and middleware technologies, provide a consolidated overview of the banking enterprise with details. “We see increasing activity by Asia’s banks to distinguish themselves in both the front and back office,” said Khalek. “We believe technology will pay a crucial role to improve banks’ business processes and drive greater profitability in this highly regulated global environment. Oracle is committed to provide focused industry expertise and innovative technology and applications to help banks win the battle.” Banking is a strategic industry for Oracle with 17 of the top 20 banks globally already running Oracle Applications. In India, banks that have adopted Oracle applications and technology solutions include: ABN Amro Bank N.V; Andhra Bank; Bank of India; Bank of Maharashtra; Canara Bank; Central Bank of India; Centurion Bank of Punjab Limited; Development Credit Bank; HDFC Bank; ICICI Bank; Indian Bank; Industrial Development Bank of India Limited; Kotak Mahindra Bank; Punjab National Bank; Reserve Bank of India; Saraswat Bank; Syndicate Bank; The Dhanalakshmi Bank Limited; Union Bank of India; UTI Bank.