Innovative Middleware Offers Extended Reach and Superior Protection for Leading Pakistani Bank
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Synergy Computers (Pvt.) Ltd., Sun Microsystems' channel partner for Pakistan, announced today the successful completion of a comprehensive middleware solution for Soneri Bank, a leading financial institution in Pakistan, powered by Sun Microsystems technology and deployed by leading solutions company TPS.
To boost Soneri Bank's connectivity and reduce communications costs, TPS has installed Phoenix, a transaction authorization and switching middleware solution running on the Sun Solaris platform. Front end delivery channels including ATMs, POS Terminals, IVR systems, and call centers can now communicate with Soneri Bank via Phoenix, providing the bank with connectivity to 1 LINK switch, the largest shared ATM switch in Pakistan, which is also powered by a Sun platform. The new Phoenix solution enables Soneri Bank to significantly extend its customer reach in Pakistan beyond its current 46 branches and own network of 28 ATMs in addition to the more than 700 ATMs on its shared network.
"TPS' Phoenix solution was chosen primarily because of the reputation it enjoys as the market leader in middleware for financial institutions in the region. As the only local solution providing switch connectivity to nineteen banks in Pakistan alone, and deployed by 50 banks worldwide, Sun-based Phoenix was the cost effective and reliable option," said Haider Devjianie, Senior Vice President and Head of Information Technology, Soneri Bank.
"The Sun Solaris Servers capability in implementing the business continuity planning solution in the bank makes it possible to run our ATM network effectively 24 hours a day, reflecting our corporate ethos - We have more time for you."
With Sun Solaris, organisations such as Soneri Bank can update multiple environments, quickly create and modify virtual environments and host multiple applications on a single server.
"Sun Solaris delivers superior performance, which is especially important for banks like Soneri, which have very high transactional volumes. Its reliability is unsurpassed as it provides superior safeguards against internal and external threats far beyond the protection commonly found in standard operating systems, a requirement that is essential in the banking sector. We have now successfully migrated at least four clients onto the Sun platform and are actively encouraging others as well," said Mohammad Sohail, CEO, TPS.
"Soneri Bank has chosen the most comprehensive solution on the market today and we are committed to providing our full support to them beyond the implementation process, to ensure they generate full benefit from Sun technology," added Mr. Iqbal Ahmad, Chief Executive, Synergy Computers (Pvt.) Ltd.
Tech Access - Sun Microsystems' Channel Development Provider (CDP) played a key role in the development process and implementation of the Soneri Bank solution as well, offering ongoing support for TPS in the development of the Phoenix solution, and providing technical support to ensure smooth execution via Sun technology.
"A major part of our role at Tech Access is to provide Sun partners with a number of critical services, including pre-sales technical support, training, marketing and high-level product service. As companies in the banking sector and other key industries look to extend their performance at a lower operating cost, Sun is set to remain the platform of choice," said Shomail Ghalib, Managing Director, Tech Access.
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About Soneri BankLaunched on September 28, 1991 the first branch of Soneri Bank Limited formally opened doors for operations in Lahore on April 16, 1992 followed by a Karachi Branch on May 09,1992. The bank now operates with 44 branches spread all over Pakistan including the Northern Areas of the country where no other private bank has ventured so far. Expansion of branches is based on a policy of maintaining a balance between the urban and rural areas with a view to offering services even in the remote areas of Pakistan. Pleasant and sophisticated atmosphere has been provided in the branches, which are all fully air-conditioned and computerized.
The essence of our business philosophy is to cater to the banking requirements of small & medium sized entrepreneurs, providing them qualitative & competitive services with emphasis on encouraging exports. Nearly forty percent of our credit portfolio is related to export financing and credit decisions are taken within 48 hours that is why we say:
About Tech Access
Tech Access has shown commitment and dedication to Sun Microsystems by currently being the only Datacenter Channels Development Provider of Sun products in the GCC, Levant, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and North Africa regions. By achieving this certification, Tech Access is able to provide the highest levels of technical and sales support to Sun's reseller channel in our target markets. Tech Access is also a solution provider. Where possible, Tech Access will use Sun or Sun-Alliance products in building a solution. This unequalled support made available to its strategic partners in the region is further complemented by superior logistics and warehousing facilities, almost tailored to the resellers' individual requirements, at a level never before offered in the industry.
About Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision -- "The Network Is The Computer[tm]" -- has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW) to its position as a leading provider of industrial-strength hardware, software and services that make the Net work. Sun can be found in more than 100 countries and on the World Wide Web at http://www.sun.com.
About TPS Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd.
TPS Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd. is software, systems and consulting firm providing technology solutions for the financial industry.
TPS was formed in 1996 with a vision to enhance the growth of the financial sector by filling a very crucial gap, for an affordable, flexible and advanced middleware software to take the level of Consumer Banking to new heights through offering technology related products and services.
Today, through continuous research, development, innovation and dedication TPS can offer to its customers a whole range of products through which a financial institution may offer Value Added Services to its customer base. www.tpsonline.com
About Synergy Computers
Synergy Computers (Pvt) Ltd is a well-recognized IT player in Pakistan. It has been providing high quality services IT services to banks and financial institutions for over 20 years. Synergy Computers (Pvt) Ltd provides extensive pre and post sales services to its customer base through its 6 offices. Synergy Computers (Pvt) Ltd is a Sun Enterprise partner in Pakistan, selling and supporting all Sun products in the country.
© Press Release 2004
