Ajman Bank recently partnered with Schneider Electric to implement a co-location datacenter and a holistic range of IT infrastructure management solutions at its premises, seeking to streamline operations.

Tailored to the bank’s requirements, Schneider Electric installed a holistic network architecture from its StruxureWare for Datacenters suite.

The 1000-sq-m tier-III datacenter comprises of the biggest co-location datacenter in Ajman (and the Northern Emirates), state-of-the-art physical infrastructure including cabinets, cages and suites, and Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) and cooling solutions to maximum uptime.

The company has also implemented CCTV security equipment to tighten building access and facilitate monitoring of the premises.

Salem Al Shamsi, chief operating officer at Ajman Bank said: “Ajman Bank is still paving the way for a sustainable banking solution, offering its clients integrated and competitive online banking services which can promote the ambitious transformation toward a green economy, as per the Ajman Vision 2021.

“Ajman Bank has harnessed technology and digitization to enhance the customer experience. Through introduction of online banking services, SMS and phone banking and by regulating sustainable practices within the organization, we support the government’s vision of becoming a critical link to the UAE’s smart city vision. In the coming years, Ajman Bank will continue to invest in technology and expertise which can make this a reality.”

Abdul Rahman Jaroudi, head of IT, Ajman Bank said: “In the past few years, we have made significant technology investments to keep up with the evolving customer needs and their high industry benchmarks of service and availability.”

“Today, we need to adapt to digitization in the IT while addressing privacy, security, building and environmental regulations.  Creating an IT system which would cater to these needs in a balanced way was a priority for Ajman Bank. This is when we brought a partner – Schneider Electric – on board. The colocation datacenter is an ideal model for Ajman Bank, given the reduced capital expenditures (CAPEX) and the flexibility to scale-up based on our growth,” he added.  

The new Ajman Bank datacenter is built at sea level and designed with flood control as well as fire detection and suppression features. The implementation currently included 220 racks, each with a capacity of 10 kilowatts (kW), CCUs more than 1800 kW, and a UPS offering 2400 KVA will full redundancy and a proven record uptime of 99.9999 per cent. In order to manage power density, the facility includes robust heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. It includes recovery software and storage space.

The revamped IT ecosystem will enhance Ajman Bank’s ‘Space Rental System’ that allows its customers to deploy critical operations within (or close proximity to its datacenter) 24 x 7. The two-room design equipped with high-tech audio visual monitoring, simplifies business continuity and crises management, offering peace of mind to customers. The entire facility is complemented by a redundant disaster recovery site in the UAE.

Ziad Youssef, vice president of ITD, Gulf Countries and Pakistan at Schneider Electric said: “Ajman Bank came to us with a specific mandate– they required a robust system to protect their digital assets, sensitive data and customer information.”

“Being a financial services provider with no luxury of business downtime, they were looking for a solution that would withstand both planned and unforeseen crises. As they are an organization committed to becoming sustainable both operationally and environmentally, we identified with their goals and proposed a combination of solutions that would best suit their needs. Since its implementation, we believe it has served them well in managing and protecting their data and creating a digital wall of resilience against threats.”

Financial institutions, among other sectors such as IT, telecoms, healthcare and government, are gravitating towards the co-location datacenter model to serve their business needs of safety and reliability.

According to 451 Research, this market is expected to reach $36 billion worldwide by the end of 2017. To cater to this growing market, Schneider Electric provides a range of co-location services to multi-tenant providers. The product gives them insight into their operations round-the-clock and remotely, reduce their energy usage and create a safe bank for their critical data – helping them redirect their focus on business development. – TradeArabia News Service