YANGON, Myanmar, Aug. 21, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Kanbawza Bank (KBZ Bank), Myanmar's largest private bank, today announced a partnership with VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW), a global leader in cloud infrastructure and business mobility, in a move to virtualize its data center and meet the business demands of Myanmar's growing digital economy. KBZ Bank will be modernizing its IT infrastructure for the benefit of all 482 branches and representative offices in Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.
Controlling more than 40 percent market share of the commercial and retail banking business in Myanmar, KBZ Bank recognizes innovation and digital transformation to be crucial in its expansion at home and abroad, being Myanmar's only bank with an international presence. The virtualized and agile environment provides the Bank's employees with a digital workspace and the freedom to work on any device, giving them more opportunities to collaborate internally with others at the Bank.
When asked about KBZ's broader digital plan, KBZ Bank's CEO and Advisor to the Chairman Mike De Noma replied, "This is just one of the many steps we will be taking to do our part to support the government's efforts to make Myanmar a digital leader in the decade ahead and to maintain its position as a mobile first nation."
Virtualization across the entire infrastructure from compute to storage and network allows KBZ Bank to scale up or down based on business needs, driving down operational and ownership costs significantly and simplifying I.T. management. The stability of the environment also ensures system up-time of its ATMs and branches, and boosts the bank's ability to respond faster to demand spikes.
VMware will be supplying its software-defined data center (SDDC) stack of solutions including vSphere® with Operations Management™, vCloud®, vRealize® Operations Advanced, NSX®, Site Recovery Manager™, AirWatch® and Horizon® to help KBZ Bank deliver even more secure services and new applications to cater to the growing demand for digital services from corporate, SME and retail customers.
As Myanmar opens up further to foreign investment, the risk of cyber-attacks also increases for businesses. Staying one step ahead of this, KBZ Bank is strengthening the security of data and processes through a virtualized network with the use of VMware NSX® which tags specific IT policies to each individual workload. The granular security capability means, unlike traditional IT networks, each workload is protected from attackers who manage to breach the perimeter defenses of a data center, enhancing the security of KBZ Bank's IT infrastructure and better safeguarding the confidential information of its customers.
"KBZ Bank is a prime example of how businesses in Myanmar are innovating and capitalizing on consumer simple and enterprise secure IT solutions to drive solid business results," said Duncan Hewett, Senior Vice President & General Manager, APAC & Japan, VMware. "Our customers are on a transformation journey and VMware is committed to helping businesses in Myanmar surge forward with our solutions", he added.
