Hitachi wins Kiwibank virtual storage deal

Hitachi today announced a contract with Kiwibank to address its business growth and data migration requirements.

As part of a two-phased approach, Hitachi Data Systems provided Kiwibank with a Hitachi Adaptable Modular Storage storage system fronted by Hitachi Universal Storage Platforms that will be used to manage all the data storage requirements for the bank’s systems. Hitachi’s Virtual Storage Platforms (VSP) will also be used to host its highly critical applications, such as core bank, payments and treasury systems.

Previously, Kiwibank was using a number of storage area networks (SANs) to house all of its critical customer and business data, including the bank’s Management Information Systems (MIS). However, with Kiwibank experiencing rapid growth since 2002, it required a solution to manage its large number of disparate systems, provision extra storage more quickly and reduce the downtime associated with maintaining its existing SANs.

"Kiwibank is one of the fastest growing banks in New Zealand four years running and a by-product of this growth has meant that we had previously rolled out lower tiered SANs to meet aggressive business critical delivery dates,” says Ron van de Riet, general manager, IT and business, Kiwibank.

"However, having disparate SANs meant that our systems were not being used to their full capacity, leading to numerous cost inefficiencies and outages associated with transferring data between the systems. By deploying the Hitachi USP VM, we’ve been able to move to a storage virtualisation approach, eliminating any disruption to both the business and our customers,” van de Riet said.

"With financial institutions operating in an increasingly regulated environment, competition intensifying and customer expectations at an all-time high, having a reliable and scalable infrastructure to manage information is paramount,” said Neville Vincent, vice president and general manager, Hitachi Data Systems Australia and New Zealand.

"Our comprehensive portfolio of solutions assist financial services organisations such as Kiwibank to improve compliance and business continuity, better manage its mission-critical systems and more effectively utilise its existing assets.”