Vietnam’s State Bank Takes Steps to Strengthen Communications, Security, Business Resilency

Advanced Technology from Cisco Systems to Help Bank Align with Global Financial Markets

HANOI, Vietnam - August 16, 2006 - The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), the country’s central bank, has selected advanced technologies from Cisco Systems® to help increase operational efficiencies in its countrywide infrastructure and provide a platform to regulate the banking system in alignment with developments in financial markets around the world. The end-to-end Cisco® network will be deployed in SBV’s major hubs and branches around the country.

As the central bank, SBV sets fiscal policies for the banking industry in Vietnam in addition to managing exchange rates and interest rates, issuing policies for commercial banks in the country, and organizing and operating the interbank payment system. All interbank transactions also flow through SBV’s network.

The advanced technologies that SBV is adopting include the Cisco Unified Communications and Cisco Self-Defending Network solutions. Cisco’s Data Center solutions are being deployed at SBV’s three hubs to improve the organization’s disaster-recovery capabilities and operational readiness.

The Cisco Unified Communications portfolio of products will be installed in the major hubs and branches. The system will help SBV employees collaborate in real time, using advanced applications such as videoconferencing; integrated voice and data; IP phones; voicemail; and more - all from an easy-to-use interface.

“SBV plays a critical role in Vietnam’s financial system. We therefore required a state-of-the-art communications infrastructure that was mission-critical, robust, highly secure and flexible enough to accommodate future requirements,” said Ta Quang Tien, SBV’s general director of its informatics technology department. “Cisco was the company that was able to provide a complete end-to-end IP network that met all our needs. We are very pleased with the results so far.”

The highly sensitive nature of SBV’s business requires a security strategy that is integrated throughout the network and adaptive to changing threats. The Cisco Self-Defending Network is a strategic systems approach to security that uses the network to identify, help prevent and adapt to threats from internal and external sources. A Self-Defending Network simplifies the security environment through tight integration, comprehensive security, increased end-to-end visibility and improved total cost of ownership. All components of the network - the highly secure network platform, advanced services and technologies, and operational management and policy control - play a part in helping secure the networked environment.

“Cisco’s highly secure networking solutions have been adopted by leading financial institutions around the world. SBV’s selection of Cisco as its technology partner reflects the high level of trust that has been placed in the solutions that we offer. When the network deployment is complete, SBV will have a communications infrastructure that will be on par with the global financial system,” said James Chia, general director for Cisco Systems Vietnam.

The third important piece of SBV’s infrastructure is a Cisco Data Center Networking solution that will help improve business resiliency at the organization’s three hubs. Based on the Cisco Service-Oriented Network Architecture (SONA) framework, the standards-based Data Center Network Infrastructure enables organizations to provide highly secure, optimized access to applications and data.

The Data Center Network Infrastructure evolves the network into a platform that enhances application, server and storage solutions. This evolved data center equips organizations to manage increased security, cost and regulatory requirements while providing the ability to respond quickly to changing business environments.
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