State Bank of India (SBI), India`s largest bank, today announced a unique milestone of networking 10 000 branches of the State Bank Group across the country.
In achieving this distinction, SBI has partnered with Datacraft India, a Dimension Data Company, and the country`s leading independent IT solutions and services company. This networking project is one of the largest of its kind in terms of technological complexity, geographical reach and benefits that will accrue to the customers of the State Bank group.
Commenting on this milestone, AK Purwar, Chairman, State Bank Group, said: "I am very happy to find today that Datacraft has networked more than 10 000 branches of State Bank Group. All our associate banks and our Kerala and Bangalore Circles have been fully networked. This enables the bank today to render world-class service to the people of the country, to more than 100 million customers of the bank."
The SBI Connect project, which commenced in June 2002, has been executed in three phases. Phase one covered about 1 400 SBI branches in 49 cities and involved network design, implementation and management. In September 2003, SBI and its seven Associate Banks awarded Datacraft the phase two contract to network about 3 400 branches in more than 300 cities. Phase three, which is currently under implementation, will be networking about 6 100 additional branches of the group, further enhancing their national connectivity footprint. The networking of 10 000 branches was accomplished in just 42 months.
RN Ramanathan, Dy, Managing Director (IT) of SBI, said: "This is a very challenging task if you consider the total number of branches which are required to be networked running to almost 14 000. The branches are geographically spread across the country making it extremely difficult to build a very reliable network. Datacraft has already networked 10 000 branches of the group. This network will become the nerve centre for the State Bank Group and will run all the key applications like core banking, trade finance, ATM, Internet banking, treasury solutions, etc."
The prestigious project provides seamless connectivity for SBI and its associate banks using leased lines, ISDN and PSTN links which are managed solely by Datacraft. Adequate security measures have been implemented to ensure confidentiality, integrity and availability of data. This project has got the international recognition of `Outsourcing Project of the Year` by `The Banker` magazine, London, during July 2005.
Bill Padfield, CEO of Datacraft Asia, said: "This landmark achievement is the outcome of foresight from the bank`s senior management. To be entrusted with a key role in the mammoth task of turning this vision into reality has been a real privilege for Datacraft. Over the last four years, we have affirmed the confidence SBI placed in us to meet its expectations by staying within budget and on the project timeline. This is a proud moment for Datacraft and is the most credible confirmation of our capabilities."
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