OREANDA-NEWS. October 13, 2011. Deployment of a new service format for private customers is being completed at Sberbank's regional branches. The move is part of the strategic program Basic Product implemented by Sberbank of Russia in cooperation with CROC.

Customers who have signed a universal bank service agreement can now access full information about their deposits, accounts, cards and credits via an ATM, an information and payment terminal, or from the comfort of their home via Sberbank Online. They can repay credits and transfer cash online as well. The Momentum card, or any other Sberbank card, is used for customer identification.

"The new private customer service format improves customer relations, expands the range of services and encourages customers to use remote service channels. Many standard bank operations are available 24/7 and do not require a visit to the bank. Customers are happy with the new functionality, and that is what matters most," states Vladislav Kuzmin, deputy head of Sberbank's Payment Instruments and Settlements Department and the person in charge of the program.

"The new service format became possible after the deployment and commercial launch of an enterprise service bus. It connects more than 100 instances of the systems and enables real-time end-to-end operations between regional facilities in nine time zones across Russia," comments Ivan Rubtzov, CROC's Deputy Director General in charge of this project. According to IBM, Sberbank's enterprise service bus is the world's biggest IBM product-based integration solution."

"The integration solution provides a basis for further development of the bank's IT infrastructure, implementation of new products and services, and business process optimization. It is already being used in more than ten projects aimed at improving the bank's internal processes and optimizing customer service," explained Victor Orlovsky, Sberbank's Senior VP of IT.

This system is the first in Russia to be based on IBM WebSphere Message Broker 7.0.

CROC, in cooperation with the Bank's IT divisions and with support from IBM, designed and engineered an integration solution for related bank systems, developed specialized software applications and deployed the software.

"Competition in the bank market calls for a search for new ways to attract customers whose loyalty depends on the quality, reliability and, above all, accessibility of the bank's information systems. IBM software-based solutions help our customers develop effective business tools and enhance their competitive edge," says Andrey Suvorov, Sberbank account manager, IBM Russia and CIS.