OREANDA-NEWS. December 25, 2012. Daiwa Institute of Research Ltd. (DIR),Fujitsu Limited, and KDDI Corporation today announced that they have collaborated to build the Republic of the Union of Myanmar's first cloud computing environment. Built for the Central Bank of Myanmar, the new cloud environment is designed to improve efficiency in the bank's operations. It consists of a private cloud platform designed, constructed, and operated in compliance with the Alliance Cloud, a standardized cloud model certified by the DIR-led Global Alliance for User-driven Cloud Computing, as well as a desktop service that features security countermeasures.

In advance of the fast-approaching economic integration of ASEAN nations scheduled for 2015, Myanmar, now rapidly implementing democratic reforms, has been actively seeking to modernize its financial sector by relaxing financial regulations, making preparations to establish a stock exchange(1) and taking other initiatives. Under these circumstances, operating stability at the Central Bank of Myanmar is ever-more crucial to the country's financial system given its pivotal role in issuing and managing currency and implementing monetary policy.

Up until now, many aspects of the Central Bank of Myanmar's complex operations were being performed by hand. With the volume of the bank's work expected to rapidly increase in line with the country's economic development, handling a higher volume of paperwork was considered a potential problem. In addition to significantly improving the bank's operational efficiency, the new computing environment incorporates high-grade security levels required by government financial institutions, and allows for the quick and stable implementation of monetary policy measures by the central bank, thereby supporting the sustainable growth of Myanmar's economy.

In introducing the new computing environment, DIR was in charge of designing and building the cloud platform and terminal environment. Fujitsu was responsible for providing hardware equipment, such as servers and computer terminals as well as building and delivering palm vein authentication systems. KDDI was responsible for designing and building the bank's local area network. Going forward, the three companies intend to use Japanese-level quality, highly reliable solutions to promote the adoption of ICT within Myanmar's finance industry as well as among a variety of other companies, thereby contributing to the further development of Myanmar's economy.