CASE STUDY innovation to our customers , including content through wearable fitness devices .”
This shift to a cloud-native , microservices-based architecture has also improved collaboration between internal teams by supporting a shift from traditional , waterfall methods to agile and DevOps approaches .
“ To completely change our infrastructure and evolve toward microservices and APIs , we had to create a new organisational structure . We now have agile teams with product owners and business owners working together ,” he said . “ Developers are working according to a backlog that is decided and prioritised collaboratively with our bank stakeholders .”
With these capabilities , Emirates NBD can rapidly take advantage of the best digital innovation in financial services , whether from employees , fintech partners or even customers .
Faster , iterative development
With Emirates NBD ’ s traditional IT systems , creating and updating applications took months . Setting up a server could take two months while making changes to large , monolithic applications took over six months .
OUR PRIVATE CLOUD
IS A FIRST FOR THE MIDDLE EAST ’ S BANKING SECTOR . AS A CRITICAL PILLAR OF OUR FOUR-
YEAR TRANSFORMATION , IT HELPS US DELIVER
SIGNIFICANT , INNOVATIVE BENEFITS TO
OUR CUSTOMERS .
Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform gives the bank the flexibility to use private cloud resources while preparing for a hybrid cloud future that includes public cloud computing . Supported by Red Hat Enterprise Linux , the bank created a stable , reliable foundation to support use of Sahab across environments .
Now , iterative , agile development practices-supported by containers , microservices and APIs through Red Hat ’ s platforms let Emirates NBD ’ s developers provision and allocate resources in hours , rather than months . A continuous integration and delivery ( CI / CD ) pipeline , supported by automated testing , compiling and transfer of code and containers , means faster development innovation without affecting availability for partners or customers .
“ We did a proof of concept ( PoC ) for WhatsApp banking in three days ,” added Rio Tinto . “ Previously it would have taken six months to get the infrastructure , set up connections and programs , then test and launch . Instead of operational tasks , we can focus on how to enhance Sahab and provide new technology , while making sure customers can always rely on us , even at the busiest times .”
More secure , stable cloud access
As a result , the bank can use its private cloud to offer similar experiences to non-traditional , less-regulated competitors-such as rapid launch of new applications and features , personalised interactions , and 24x7x365 service availability at scale .
Initial project successes build path to meet ambitious deadlines
Emirates NBD plans to transition 95 % of its more than 300 applications to Sahab by 2020 . These efforts include supporting Liv in its expansion to new markets to achieve its goal of serving more than one million customers in three countries in the next three years .
“ It ’ s paramount that we move along with our customers ,” added Patel . “ That ’ s been the focus of our transformation project : making sure we can adapt to all of the changes in the market and still offer the same service quality .”
Emirates NBD sought to take advantage of cloud development capabilities while complying with government data regulations for the financial industry . “ Auditing , compliance and risk prevention are extremely important for banks ,” he said . “ But we wanted to take advantage of data technology innovation now , instead of waiting to use a public cloud .”
To continue its successful transformation , Emirates NBD is considering adding Red Hat AMQ to enhance integration in its workflow infrastructure . “ We ’ ve seen our relationship with Red Hat mature from a supplier interaction to a close partnership ,” said Rio Tinto . “ They understand where our business is going and we want to continue to work with them to enhance our use of their products as we expand to public cloud and beyond .” p
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