Grace Ashiru
Absa Bank Kenya and Huawei have announced a new partnership to build a new digital foundation for branch networks using an SD-WAN Solution.
To meet the digital transformation requirements, the technical teams from Huawei and Absa Bank Kenya talked and surveyed in depth. Absa Bank Kenya got a customized NCE-Campus-based SD-WAN solution from Huawei.
This was based on the bank’s real needs and digital strategy, as well as Huawei’s technical solid resources and construction experience in the enterprise network and digital financial transformation.
In addition to the features that all SD-WANs have, this solution has some unique benefits.
As a result of the ongoing growth of the business, Absa Bank Kenya is making concerted efforts to find the best suitable network infrastructure.
We work hard to provide a streamlined digital experience for each customer. Moses Okundi, the CIO of Absa Bank Kenya, said, “We want them to be able to bank and do business without a hitch and in a smooth way, wherever they are.”
To do this, the bank had to build a new infrastructure that would improve the efficiency of different banking services, cut O&M costs, and make it easier for customers to use branches.
Intelligent application routing makes sure that users of critical applications have a good experience:
Intelligent traffic steering at the application level, 5G, Fiber on-demand scheduling, and A-FEC make it possible to lose 20% of video packets without frame freezing or artifacts.
Multiple ZTP modes are supported, such as emails, USB flash drives, etc. It only takes minutes to set up a network at a branch. The status of the branch, the device, the application, and the link can all be seen. Capable of being managed from one place and making O&M easier.
Lastly, Absa Bank Kenya chose Huawei as its digital transformation partner to build a cloud-based network between its headquarters and branches. This shows that Absa Bank Kenya values Huawei’s SD-WAN solution to meet its digital innovation and service expansion needs during its digital upgrade.
Fast-Tracking Absa Bank Kenya’s Digital Evolution
We’ve reached a point where we can manage traffic and spread it evenly among different technologies or connectivity options from various providers.”The significance of this is that it provides us with strong resilience in controlling that continuity,” Okundi says.
Absa Bank Kenya’s branch network will be able to handle traffic better in the future. This means that the network can prioritize MPLS connections over Internet connections depending on the application’s needs and the MPLS connection’s reliability. This makes sure that links with good quality are used for crucial services.
Also, Huawei’s exclusive algorithm support means that communication quality can be guaranteed even if the quality of the internet link isn’t so good. This means that MPLS has a cheaper alternative that doesn’t sacrifice quality.
Absa Kenya uses the master NCE-Campus O&M platform from Huawei. This platform can show key O&M quality information about devices, applications, and traffic. This platform lets all branches’ application traffic be seen. This allows the IT team keep an eye on the changing data and adjust each branch’s bandwidth promptly.
As Okundi explains, this results in more efficient and more intelligent operations. “Now that we have acquired connectivity partners, my IT staff understands how those connections are being utilized. We can figure out the traffic is coming from and where they are going.
In the worst case, when manual intervention is needed, our team can pinpoint the problems, making their intervention very accurate and effective.
These benefits are just the tip of the iceberg regarding what SD-WAN can do for you. The intelligent, cloud-based branch network of Absa Bank Kenya will be a vital part of the financial giant’s digital transformation. Okun says, “I see it like Lego blocks. The bottom layer is a strong technology foundation that gives us a place to offer our customers cutting-edge digital solutions.” And there is a strong connection right at the bottom.
In the future, Absa Bank’s branch network will continue to help them become more intelligent and will eventually help them become intellectual customer experience centers. This digital foundation will continue to help Absa Bank Kenya grow its business and develop new ways to help its customers and businesses get the best and most advanced financial services.
