From breakout sessions, to the solution keynotes and exciting product launches, VMworld 2021 was packed with tons of great content. Among the many highlights were our customer conversations, in which we heard new stories about how customers around the globe use VMware technologies to reach unprecedented heights.
We heard from Dennis D. Omila, EVP and Chief Information & Operations Officer of Union Bank of the Philippines, about his experience driving industry-leading technological advancements in banking. Union Bank of the Philippines has consistently been recognized as one of Asia’s leading banks for profitability and efficiency – a direct result of embracing technological innovations to empower their customers.
Despite UnionBank’s incredible progress, there’s one figure that still stands out to the organization – almost 70% of people in the Philippines are still “unbanked”, with limited to no access to banking services. One of UnionBank’s biggest priorities is financial inclusion, ensuring that everyone in the Philippines has access to banking regardless of their background. To accomplish the task of providing access to all, they’ve prioritized four key focus areas throughout their digital transformation journey: agile & hyperscale, operational resilience, role transformation, and cost savings.
Agile & Hyperscale
Moving to DevSecOps has accelerated UnionBank’s journey to the cloud by providing additional speed and agility in their operations. In addition, powering full force towards public cloud has made accessing online services such as digital account opening and mobile check uploading a seamless experience for every customer, regardless of unexpected spikes in demand.
Operational Resilience
Being fully operational 24/7 and applying six sigma to security measures is a critical part of UnionBank’s success. Long gone are the days of banks closing at 5:30 pm each day – now, they believe banking services should always be digitally accessible.
Role Transformation
There are new competencies, capabilities, and tools required during this digital transformation journey. Ensuring that each team is equipped with the right resources and support plays an essential role in the bank’s strategy.
Cost Savings
It’s a well-known fact that moving to the cloud can save organizations money, and UnionBank is no exception. By moving to the cloud, the organization has saved over 40% through reduced data center costs and improved operational efficiency.
How Cloud Adoption Will Shape the Future of UnionBank
Public cloud plays a crucial role in UnionBank’s technology strategy, and they have committed to migrating hundreds of mission-critical applications to public cloud – a forward-thinking decision that can reap bountiful rewards if done successfully.
As opposed to refactoring and replatforming every single application, which would be time-consuming and full of risk, UnionBank adopted a hybrid cloud approach to migration with VMware. As UnionBank is already running 97% of their operations on private cloud by VMware, migrating to AWS is as simple as it gets – no need for refactoring or replatforming. Simply moving applications from their VMware stack on-premises the same stack running on AWS, maintaining uptime, security, and networking, while gaining the economic and innovation benefits of the public cloud.
Importance of Partnership
By leveraging VMware as a trusted advisor and partner throughout the entire digital transformation process, UnionBank was able to achieve results that would have been challenging if done alone. UnionBank involved VMware early in the planning stages and beyond, aligning on a shared purpose at the beginning and optimizing their cloud journey along the way. In addition, board commitment was key. All stakeholders, partners, and management were aligned early-on, increasing the chances of success dramatically.
Ultimately, Union Bank of the Philippines’s commitment to technological innovation and financial inclusion is empowering folks across the Philippines with access to banking services and financial confidence. To learn more about the successes and challenges of UnionBank’s digital transformation journey as they took hundreds of mission-critical applications to the cloud, watch here:
