NEDBANK CAPITAl - Nedbank Group Limited

OVERVIEWOverviewGroup Technology is Nedbank Group’scentralised technology unit withresponsibility for all components ofthe group’s technology processing,development and systems support.The group’s IT systems, databases,technology infrastructure, softwaredevelopment and IT project/programmemanagement are centrally managed toprovide economies of scale and facilitatea cohesive groupwide service-orientedarchitecture (SOA) technology strategy.2009 in reviewWith the global and local recessiontaking full effect during 2009, GroupTechnology faced very different businessrequirements (eg flexible and stabledebt collection processes and systems)and constrained innovation budgets tomaintain service levels to the businessclusters while servicing demand forinfrastructure improvement andinnovation projects. This increased thescale and complexity of the group’s ITenvironment.In terms of IT Infrastructure andOperations the following volumesand services were supported by GroupTechnology during 2009:• Group Technology processedon average 5,6 million financialtransactions daily across429 systems in its mainframeand UNIX environments. Over33 500 online and batch programswere run daily.• Efforts to arrest Microsoft servergrowth have been successful, resultingin the decommissioning of nearly300 servers, leading to the first yearof net negative server growth sincethe inception of Microsoft servertechnology.• A total of 28 900 personalcomputers, 11 700 printers,52 500 voice devices and/or portsand 75 600 data connectionswere supported. In the self-serviceenvironment 1 874 automated tellermachines, 379 self-service terminalsand 42 500 point-of-sale devices weresupported.• The operational quality of service wasimproved for the fourth consecutiveyear. Serious outages and servicedisruptions decreased in number by33% and in time impact by 39%over 2008.These improvementswere achieved despite deploying asignificant amount of change intoan increasingly complex technologylandscape.• No environmental issues wereexperienced due to power outagesat our primary and secondary datacentres throughout the year.• Benchmarks conducted during theyear in the mainframe, midrange,Wintel server, storage, end-usercomputing and other infrastructuralareas continued to reflect GroupTechnology as a cost-effective serviceprovider compared with local andinternational companies.Compliance, risk and fraud containmentremained a key focus, and it is expectedthat the demands for improvedinnovation in these areas will continueto rise. In 2009 the market experienceda continued increase in internet fraudattempts, primarily through phishingattacks. A well-defined phishingresponse process remained effective,ensuring that Nedbank’s losses werewell-contained.Top projectsThe following projects were launchedin 2009:• The Siyakha Programme in NedbankRetail, which is a top-priorityprogramme to take care of thetechnical transition from multiple,disparate architectural frontendsystems to a single, stable, flexiblefrontend system based on theNedbank Channel Framework for allbanking platforms.• The Channel Convergence Programme(commonly known as NetBankBusiness) in Nedbank Corporateand Business Banking, which is acombined effort between theseclusters and Group Technology toconsolidate Nedbank Group’s multipleelectronic banking channels andsystems. This project will ensure thatNedbank Group retains its marketshare and grows in line with themarket, while simultaneously realisinginvestment benefits by rationalisingsystems and optimising operations.The project will also reduce theongoing system implementation costof meeting compliance and regulatoryrequirements.• The Wallstreet Programme inNedbank Capital focused on thedevelopment of an integratedplatform to supply high-volumetrade processing and volume growthby delivering high-performancestraight-through processing and lowtransaction costs. It will help improveproductivity, reduce operational risk,and facilitate client retention and newbusiness opportunities.Africa IT initiativesHaving started in 2008, the AfricaProgramme made significant progressin 2009. The programme consists of thefollowing initiatives:• Africa 1 (crisis), which sought toresolve high-client-impact issuessuch as month-ends, statementmismatches and balance mismatches.The majority of these have beenresolved, as indicated by the reducednumber of incidents and severities.• Africa 2 (stabilisation), which wasimplemented in 2009 and dealtGROUP REPORTSOPERATIONAL REVIEWSGOVERNANCE101NEDBANK GROUP ANNUAL REPORT 2009