Banking transactions system benchmark demonstrates over 16,000 transactions per second

TEMENOS delivers increased operational efficiency and business agility to banks with Oracle technology and HP Integrity and Superdome servers

Dubai, UAE July 7, 2004 - TEMENOS today announced the results of a benchmark test utilizing Oracle and HP technology which simulates the use of a core banking information system by a large bank. Two key tests were undertaken during the benchmark to demonstrate the ability of TEMENOS T24 on HP Integrity and Superdome servers running Oracle Database 10g and HP-UX 11i v2 to improve the performance of a bank's close of business and process volumes of online transactions commensurate with a retail banking environment. The results demonstrate that a bank could perform account accruals across 13 million accounts in less than 14 minutes and process over 55 million online transactions per eight hour day.

The TEMENOS benchmark established proof points for two key core banking system requirements - Performance and Scalability.

The first test evaluated the speed at which account accruals could be processed for a 13 million account database and resulted in 16,250 accruals being processed per second, enabling this portion of the close of business to complete in less than 14 minutes.

The second test involved injecting online transactions into the banking system. These transactions comprised a portfolio of balance enquiries, cash withdrawals, and accounting updates. A rate of 2,153 transactions per second was achieved with CPU utilisation across the available server capacity ranging between 40% and 60%, providing considerable additional capacity for further increases in transactions.

"By using a single, always available database, in a standards based architecture we were able to consolidate a financial institution's global processing needs through a shared service centre model, thus reducing overall costs significantly," said Andr Loustau, TEMENOS' Chief Technology Officer.

The benchmark tests highlighted the scalability of the TEMENOS T24 banking system as a linear relationship was demonstrated between the processing capacity of the hardware and the number of transactions processed per second. This gives clients the option of using existing and new hardware simultaneously. Furthermore, it showed that banks can build resilient architectures while at the same time increasing the number of transactions they are able to complete in a working day.

"The TEMENOS alliance with HP and Oracle provides customers with experience, expertise, global reach, financial stability and product leadership. As a single solution provider, this partnership ensures 'non-stop' computing in a massively scalable, resilient, and performance focused environment," concluded Loustau.

"These tests provide factual information about modern core banking system capabilities at a time when replacement of long-established systems is increasingly a key issue and consideration to the industry," said Ayman Abouseif, Senior Marketing Director, Oracle Middle East and Africa. "The benchmarks show the agility and scalability of the technology, offering banks considerable reassurance as they approach infrastructure decisions which will have a major impact on their current and future competitiveness."

"These results clearly demonstrate the capability of open systems to help banks manage costs, increase quality, mitigate risk and improve agility," said Joseph Hanania, Managing Director, HP Middle East. "HP Integrity and Superdome servers running HP-UX 11i v2 affords our customers a level of scalability and efficiency that enables them to respond quickly and easily to change. HP is proud to be working with TEMENOS and Oracle on a solution that aligns IT infrastructure with business needs, all at a reduced cost."

These benchmark tests were done on Itanium 2-based HP Integrity servers running HP-UX 11i v2. The infrastructure included the HP Integrity rx7620 mid-range systems and partitioned and non-partitioned high-end HP Integrity Superdome servers. The storage solution was comprised of the HP Storage Works Disk Array XP 1024.

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About TEMENOS
Founded in 1993, TEMENOS Group AG is a provider of integrated, modular core banking systems to over 300 financial institutions worldwide. TEMENOS software provides banks with a single, real-time view of the client across the enterprise, enabling banks to maximize returns while streamlining costs. Whether providing 24/7 functionality to the wholesale, retail and private banking sectors or partnering with central banks on core system replacement, TEMENOS knows banking. The company has a transparent approach to its operations and brings to bear its experience, expertise, commitment and professionalism on every project.

Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the company has 34 offices in 29 countries and is listed on the main segment of the SWX Swiss Exchange (TEMN). www.temenos.com

About Oracle
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Contacts:
Ayman Abouseif
Oracle
+971 4 331 3828
ayman.abouseif@oracle.com

Patricia Trodd
Hill & Knowlton for HP
+971 4 391 6000
patricia.trodd@hp.com

Briony Peters
HP
+ 971 4 33 44 930
briony.peters@hillandknowlton.com

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