Desktop Virtualization Empowers the Co—operative Bank

Desktop virtualization has proved to be a boon for a cooperative bank, helping to manage leakages, contain cost, and resolve issues. Owing to its traditional IT infrastructure that had gone obsolete overtime, the Bhavasra Kshatriya Co-op Bank (BKCB), Bengaluru was inundated with issues related to the maintenance of slow machines, management of financial data, information security, and preparedness against virus attacks.

The Bhavasara Kshatriya Co-operative Bank was established in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India on March 13th, 1916, as a co-operative society with an initial share capital of just `813 from 30 members. It was converted to a co-operative bank in 1966 with an aim to serve the poor and middle-class people and enable them to have a better future. The bank currently has its head office and three more branches situated in Bengaluru that cater to cover 150,000 customers.

CHALLENGES THAT CALLED FOR A LASTING SOLUTION

The BKCB is a technology savvy financial institution and was computerised in the year 1996. The bank also implemented core banking solution to automate its banking operations in May 2012. Overtime, as the BKCB's IT set up (which mainly comprised traditional PCs) became obsolete, it started affecting the bank's operations. "We wanted to enhance our services, for which we needed better solutions and systems. We were facing problems like-frequent downtimes and wear and tear, slow machines resulting in slow operations, cumbersome management of individual PCs, virus threats and issues related to data security. It is at this stage that we sought to deploy an agile technology that addressed these challenges, squarely," shared Gopinath TK, Head, IT, Bhavasara Kshatriya Co-op Bank.

After evaluating many computing solutions, including a couple of thin client options, the bank selected NComputing's L300 for vSpace-an affordable and energy-efficient desktop and application virtualization solution that fitted BKCB's requirements like a glove. It served the bank's requirement post the core banking solution implementation. "For a period of 3 months, we tested the NComputing solution for its effectiveness, fitment, and compatibility in a Wide Area Network (WAN) environment with-different operating systems, several browser applications, laser and dot matrix printers, and other devices. Once we were satisfied on all accounts, we deployed 10 seats of L300 virtual dekstops during the first phase of deployment, we further added 35 NComputing seats and replaced obsolete IT infrastructure across all four locations," said Gopinath TK.

IT CAN'T GET ANY BETTER!

Currently, all four BKCB locations, comprising the head office and three branch offices, have NComputing powered workstations, Gopinath TK enumerates the ROT that the bank is recording on the deployment.

• The solution is easy to deploy and manage

• It is easy to monitor each user's activity, control access to applications, and ensure data security

• There are virtually no failures or downtimes

• The new devices boasts of extremely low carbon footprint when it comes to energy consumption.

We are observing significant reduction in power consumption and backup costs. So much so, the bank has reduced UPS size from 6kVA to 3kVA at each branch.

"Other banks are amazed to see the quick and cost-effective manner in which we have successfully revamped our computing infrastructure by deploying NComputing solutions. Now, for the IT team at BKCB IT infrastructure expansion means virtual desktops," he concluded.
The co-operative bank has boosted the bank's courage and so is planning to start a network of ATMs for its customers at all branches.