MANILA, Philippines -- 3 February 2000 -- AsianBank, one of the country's largest commercial banks, has implemented its biggest networking project, with equipment from Cisco Systems, Inc., which will enable the deployment of internal services and operations to run on the Intranet and the Internet.
Edward Go, AsianBank President said that the bank made the move to remain competitive in the market. "The upgrade has likewise brought favorable changes in client service and bank revenues. With our partnership with Cisco, the bank is now experiencing an increase in the number of clients and deposits," he said. "We are happy with the Cisco products we are using."
Go disclosed that previously, AsianBank was utilizing a star network that connected the bank to its branch offices and to Megalink, a bank consortium where AsianBank is a member. "During that time, communications were anchored on 9.6 Kbps modem and port sharing devices. When a line to a certain branch is down, the bank would utilize a PLDT dial up line for back-up."
With the Cisco network up and running, Go added that the bank is now able to efficiently manage all of its 64 branches. The new network is deploying a 64 Kbps line and is based on IP (Internet Protocol) over Frame Relay. AsianBank offices in Baguio, Binondo, Quezon Avenue, Ortigas Center, Cebu and Davao act as nodes for three delta networks with the Head Office as the common hub.
"The existing setup enables us to ride voice traffic on the network. We are able to call Cebu or any of our branches free of charge using Cisco's MC3800 concentrator and KTS equipment," Go said. Aside from the MC3800, AsianBank is also using Cisco routers, switches and hubs to interconnect the head offices to its other branches.
AsianBank is also set to deploy more powerful network systems, which according to Go, will be Cisco-powered virtual LANs (local area networks) to improve the capacity and efficiency of the bank's network.
Communications via videoconferencing are also part of the bank's plans. Go added that AsianBank will integrate security features via firewall installation to allow only authorized user access to the network and as preparation for the bank's move to an Internet infrastructure.
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