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SBIMigrates20,200BranchNetworkstoMPLSCloudin12MonthsCIOIndiaNewson|CIO.in

SBIMigrates20,200BranchNetworkstoMPLSCloud
in12Months
Added16thJan2015

ByYogeshGupta
DimensionDatamigratedStateBankofIndias
networkof20,200branchesandofficesfrom
pointtopointcircuitstoanMPLScloudina
recordtimeof12months.
DimensionDataastheimplementationpartner
ofSBIhadadetailedroadmaptoplan,design,
buildandmanagetheSBIConnectMPLS
basednetworktoitscurrentsizeandtolaythe
foundationforrollingoutinnovativeand
inclusivebankingservices.
Thisprojectisuniquebecauseoftheimpactitwouldhaveonthebanksoverallvisionto
acceleratefinancialinclusioninthecountry,aligntechnologywithotherbusinessobjectiveswhile
improvingtheoperationalefficiencyofthebank.
InanexclusiveinteractionwithCIO,KiranBhagwanani,CEO,DimensionDataIndiaandArundhati
Bhattacharya,Chairperson,StateBankofIndia,explainedtheintricaciesofoneofthefastest
MPLSmigrationsinthebankingindustryinIndia.
DimensionDatahasa12yearassociationwithSBI.Initiallytheprojectappearedfairlydaunting
andverychallengingtoimplementina12monthperiod.Theoriginalprojectplanwastwicethe
oneyearperiod.ButitwasbusinessrequirementwehadtofulfillasSBIwantedtorolloutnew
applicationsmuchfaster,saysKiranBhagwanani,CEO,DimensionDataIndia.
Ifyoulookatthekindofapplicationsthatweareputtingontothesystemandthewaywehave
increasedourbusinessaswell,thiswasreallytheneedofthehour.Weneededtoprovidebetter
customerserviceandalsobeabletocapturevariousdataforriskmanagementinmuchshorter
periodsoftime,saysArundhatiBhattacharya,Chairman,StateBankofIndia.
Thesheervolumesofdatacaptureaswellasthevolumeofbusinesswerethekeyrequirements
necessitatingthemigrationproject,accordingtoBhattacharya.
Thelargeprojectinrecordtimewasakindofworldrecordofsorts.Therehavebeenseveral
largebanksinIndiawithabout3,000brancheswhichhavetakenseveralmonthsandsometimes
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SBIMigrates20,200BranchNetworkstoMPLSCloudin12MonthsCIOIndiaNewson|CIO.in

welloverayeartomigrate,saysBhagwanani.
OvercomingChallenges
DimensionDataraisedtheprojectcriticalityandthetimeperiod
withthechairmanandseniormanagementatBSNLtoenlisttheir
supportandalsoleveragedSBIITteamtoovercomethe
challenges.
Thebiggestapprehensionwastheshorttimeline.SBIhasover
20,200branchesspreadacrossIndia,withbranchespresentin
almosteverypartof35statesandunionterritoriesofIndia.The
otherbigquestionwastheavailabilityofMPLSsignaland
infrastructureineverynookandcornerofIndia.Thethird
concernwasgettingtheprojectunderwaywithoutcausing
disruptionstothebanksexistingnetwork.
Wewerequitesurethatmigrationwastheonlyrouteforus.Wewantedanagileandsecure
networkandalsocostefficienciesandlesserdowntime,saysBhattacharya.
TodeliverthisprojectDimensionDatahadtoaugmentthenumberofresourcestheyhadon
groundaswellastheirNOC.Thebigchallengewasrunningtwoparallelnetworksacrossthe
brancheskeepingthemissioncriticalapplicationsrunningwhilecreatinganewnetwork.We
couldntaffordtohaveadverseincidentsonthelivenetworkaswewerecreatinganewone
duringmigration,saysBhagwanani.
DimensionDatasubstantiallyaddedresourcestotheirteamof650peoplethatoperatestheSBI
network.TheserviceprovideralsoaddedmanpoweratitsNOCtoensuresmoothbranchby
branchmigration.AprojectofficecreatedatSBIsglobalITcenteratBelapurinNaviMumbai
conducteddailytracking,communicatingdailyprogressreportstoSBI.
ThephasewiseapproachincludedmigrationofmetrosandtierIcitiesfollowedbytierIIcities.
AvailabilityofMPLSinfrastructureinasmallpartofthecountrywasachallenge.Theservice
providersteamworkedincloseassociationwithBSNLengineerstomeetprojectgoals.
Theteamalsofacedchallengesintheformofunpredictablenaturalcalamities.BeittheVizag
CycloneortheJ&KFlood,theytooksomefocusawayasprojectplanshadtoredrawnafew
timesfortheseunexpectedsituations,saysBhagwanani.Inhisviewimmaculateplanningwas
criticaltocompletingtheprojectontime.

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SBIMigrates20,200BranchNetworkstoMPLSCloudin12MonthsCIOIndiaNewson|CIO.in

ITenabledBank
AtSBIbandwidthisnotaconstraintanymoreforanyapplication,
beitvideo,oraudio,acrossits20200branches.Somebranches
whichwereon128kbpsorlesserbandwidthnowgetaccesstoa
multichannelenvironment.Bandwidthhasbecomefasterand
networkhasbecomemoreagile.Secondly,theuptimeonthe
networkbecomesbetterbecauseofmoreredundancybuiltinto
MPLStechnology.ItalsohelpsSBIwiththeiropexasnetworkis
simplified.Electricityandutilitycostscancomedownbecauseof
thesimplifiednetwork,saysBhagwanani.
WenowgetbetterbandwidthwhereverweneeditgivenBSNLs
capabilities.Whenwearerollingoutmoreapplications,wecan
increasethebandwidthinthosebranches,saysBhattacharya.
SBIdeliversitsbankingservicesallacross,includinglargeandsmallcities,smalltownsand
villages.Themostcommonproblemfacedattheremotebranchesisslowapplicationaccess
leadingtodisruptioninservices.WithMPLSthebankhopestominimizedisruptionsanddeliver
superiorcustomerexperience.
Thereislessdowntimenowandthemaintenancecostsarecomingdown.Weareseeing
businessbenefitsfromdayoneasweenablethebrancheswithmanymoreapplicationswhich
earlierwasnotpossibleduetolimitedbandwidth,shesays.
BhagwananisaysSBIsnetworkisreadytoscaleuptohandlemassiveamountsoftrafficlikelyto
begeneratedoncetheaccountsopenedunderthegovernmentsfinancialinclusionschemeJan
DhanYojnabecomeactive.
Hesaysthatthecriticalsuccessfactorsofthismassiveprojectweretheextremelydeep
commitmentofSBIand100percentsupportgivenbyBSNL.
Wewereawareofthepainsinvolvedinmigrationprojects.Consideringthetypeofpainpointswe
couldhaveencountered,theexperiencehasbeenmuchbetterwhatwehavefeareditwouldbe,
saysBhattacharya.

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