FNB localises operations

IT took N$120 million, just more than a year and a trip with Government’s Lear jet to get the data on more than 400 000 local accounts to Namibia, but FNB Namibia manage to complete the project to upload Namibian client data onto an IBM Z-series server on Sunday.

This means that FNB Namibia is now compliant with the requirements of the Bank of Namibia (BoN) and that all its core banking functions are now localised. FNB Namibia Head of Marketing Dixon Norval said one of the most amazing specifics about the localisation process is the fact that throughout the whole development, the bank experienced only one hour’s downtime when the stand-in box and the new server had to be synchronised on Saturday night.’This means that clients effectively have been able to transact throughout the last 14 and a half months without the slightest hiccup on our side. This is truly an amazing achievement by our IT department and the support units at FNB SA and ITN (Internet Technologies Namibia).’ FNB Namibia, through this project, has also managed to generate some historic moments and facts in Namibia. These include the fact that no other African country, except for South Africa, can boast with an IBM Z-series server, Norval said.Furthermore the complete communication infrastructure has been revolutionised with microwave connections which enable real-time transactions through air and ground, he said. FNB Namibia’s Head of IT, Steven van Rhyn, explained the weekend’s procedures which brought the data to Namibia: ‘The new FNB IT infrastructure was finalised approximately two weeks ago. Our planning then began to get the Namibian customer data, which had until then been stored on a separate system in South Africa, to our country as quickly, safely, cost effectively and efficiently as possible. ‘The downloading of the FNB Namibia data took about three hours in South Africa. We then packed the box with six terabytes of data within half an hour, loaded it onto the Namibian Government’s Lear jet (which had been especially hired for transporting this sensitive information) and within a matter of one hour and 20 minutes this precious cargo arrived in Namibia. By 22h56 that night, the uploading of the data onto the FNB Namibia system was complete,’ Van Rhyn said.’While this N$120 million investment might not bring us immediate efficiency gains, as a Namibian bank it reinforces our commitment to this country and its people as we reiterate our promise to this country and our existing and potential clients,’ Norval said. ‘The localisation project has also contributed to enhanced technological advancement as Namibians have gained invaluable knowledge and experience, while job creation in the IT industry is another bonus as FNB Namibia has employed new staff, while local resources also had to expand as they are being used to keep all operations going. ‘One of the biggest advantages is probably the fact that should an optic cable to South Africa be out of action again, this will no longer affect us here,’ he said.