SVC Bank Embraces IBM BladeCenter

IBM has announced that Shamrao Vithal Co-op Bank (SVC), has chosen IBM’s BladeCenter solution to optimise their IT infrastructure to support their branch expansion plans. Shamrao Vithal Co-op Bank embraced IBM BladeCenter to run their virtualisation solution and gain operational efficiency. The bank aims to grow to 250 branches across the country and achieve Rs.25000 crore business turn over by 2014.

With over 125 branches spread across the country, the Mumbai-headquartered Shamrao Vithal Co-op Bank has traversed a long way since its inception as the Co-operative Credit Society in 1906. Prior to IBM, the new applications that were developed to cater to the growth resulted in a server sprawl which started introducing multiple operational and management inefficiencies resulting in lack of utilisation of resources. It also started consuming high power that led to difficulty in managing data.

To meet these challenges, Shamrao Vithal Co-operative Bank selected IBM’s BladeCenter solution after a detailed evaluation of vendor capabilities from hardware and software perspective, to support their needs. The most important criteria of selection was the solution partner’s experience to understand, size and implement a virtualisation solution on the scale that SVC was expecting. IBM’s BladeCenter solution was the best choice as it consisted a stack of servers, storage, virtualisation, networking and backup functions that would enable a modular scalable growth plan. All the servers and applications can now be managed and monitored through a single console which resulted in an easy administrable IT system.

IBM’s BladeCenter solution resulted in 1:8 ratio consolidations and virtualised servers, paving way for new stream of business. It reduced server count; 85 servers reduced to 13 handling higher workload and consist of a cost-effective IT infrastructure. There was also a 15 percent reduction on power consumption, improved cooling with optimum application performance and improved manageability. IBM’s BladeCenter solution also helped Shamrao Vithal Co-op Bank to derive quicker ROI while being able to predict growth at the same time.

“Our vision for future growth is based on providing our customers with the best financial services. As we expand our branches across the country, the aim all along is to adopt the best cutting-edge technology and serve the customers better,” said Ravikiran Mankikar, General Manager, IT, Shamrao Vithal Co-operative Bank. “We are happy to work with a technology leader like IBM as they understand our business and focus on putting our growth aspirations for the solutions they proposed and implemented. The IBM System x solution has not only helped us consolidate our IT infrastructure, but also open an entirely new stream of business for the bank.”

“Shamrao Vithal Co-operative Bank is a fast growing financial institution and we are delighted to be part of their aspirations. The IBM Bladecenter provides a fully integrated set-up that caters to their entire computing needs and supports their aggressive expansion plans. It provided great scope for the bank to offer an enhanced customer experience,” said Satyen Vyas, Country Leader - System x, Systems & Technology Group, IBM India South Asia.