Back to Case studyLeading Bank in North India Connects its Inter-State Branches on a Private Network Supported by Smart VPN
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The bank was established in 1922 to cater to the financial priorities of people in the Kumaon region. In 1973, it became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Bank of Baroda.
Today, the bank has more than 100 branches located in the states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan. It actively uses digital technologies to provide online banking, mobile banking, Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS), National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT), Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card services and SMS-based transaction alerts to its customers.
Tata Tele Business Services (TTBS) had the opportunity to serve the bank when it had to build a private network to help connect its branches. The regional offices needed secure and seamless access to the core banking applications stored in the main data centre.
The bank was already a client of another established Information and communications technology (ICT) service company that recommended TTBS to help build a resilient Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) based network. Our pan-India presence and years of experience in configuring customised Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) made us the reliable service provider for the bank.
TTBS has built private digital networks for several other banks in India and holds vast expertise in fulfilling complex orders with different last-mile connectivity options securely.
Business Challenges
The bank had invested in sophisticated Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and other core banking software systems that were needed to be accessed seamlessly by all branches to serve their customers.
It was looking for a single service provider to connect 148 of its regional offices. As the workplaces were located in different states, bringing them into an integrated network was a complex task. The bank stressed that it was also essential to complete the project in a short turnaround time.
The service provider also had to address some other challenges:
- In banking operations, financial details are routinely accessed and shared across branches, which is why data security was a critical concern.
- The bank needed reliable uptime to keep workflows uninterrupted and build optimal customer experiences.
- It also sought the Quality of Service (QoS) attribute to prioritise mission-critical traffic when required.
Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) is a proven technology for building highperforming virtual private networks and it is commonly used by Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) companies to connect their branches. TTBS uses the same technology with its Smart VPN which also has additional elements to ensure the security of networks. It is a Service-Level Agreement (SLA) backed service with carrier-grade capabilities for the smooth performance of any cloud application.
After a brief discussion on the suitability and benefits of our solution, the bank asked us to implement the same.
Our MPLS-based Smart VPN builds private networks for enterprises with a particular focus on speed, security and high uptime while also enabling IT administrators to monitor network performance via DIY portals.
We helped the customer be connected on a private and high-performing network and help their branches to securely access the data they need in their day-to-day workflows. TTBS Smart VPN also provided them with good uptime for service continuity.
TTBS Solution
TTBS deployed Smart VPN with Layer 3 MPLS and a Committed Burst Size (CBS). Our solution architects used a dual homing configuration for Data Centre (DC) and Data Recovery (DR) to add path-level redundancy in active-passive modes.
We used hub and spoke network topology model with a static routing protocol to connect the 148 locations.
Our solution architects leveraged a fast Ethernet handoff at the hub site (that had DC/DR) for quick transfer of data packets and usual Ethernet handoffs for the spoke sites.
TTBS handled the responsibility of installation and of the last-mile connectivity.
Our team successfully met the bank’s expectations and resolved the issues it had highlighted earlier:
- With its Secure Connect feature, Smart VPN made data access secure against data breach attempts and other cyber risks that threaten networks relying on vanilla internet services.
- We offered Smart VPN with an end-to-end SLA wherein network uptime was guaranteed at 99.5% and TTBS was committed to resolving any performancerelated complaint within the documented meantime-to-resolve.
- Our MPLS network came with QoS enabling IT personnel to prioritise the functioning of mission-critical applications during peak hours.
TTBS was able to build the bank’s private network within the stipulated timeline. Our infrastructure also allowed for scalability to bring more branches into the network when required.
In addition, the network throughput was improved with a perceptible reduction in latency, jitter and packet loss.
Benefits
- Productivity improved by direct access to banking apps and seamless collaboration between branches
- Resilient business continuity enabled by SLA-backed uptime
- Highly Secure data exchange with end-to-end encryption on the network and robust safety from cyber threats
- Future-ready infrastructure to scale the network whenever required
- Enhanced customer experience with quick data access resulting in uninterrupted bankin
