The SD-WAN project allowed Novo Banco to evaluate, in practice, the software-defined wide area network solutions that could best meet its needs in terms of faster access, enhanced security, and streamlined daily management. Demonstrated skills, interaction between both teams, planning rigor and technological independence were crucial to the success of Warpcom’s collaboration with Novo Banco, which resulted in the decision for Cisco SD-WAN.
Lisbon, February 9, 2021 – Warpcom, the Iberian technology integrator with 100% Portuguese capital, was selected by Novo Banco to support the renewal of its WAN network in order to respond to technological evolution and the growing digitalization of its services.
The main goal was to have a more resilient, secure, fast, and scalable solution. At the same time, the banking institution wanted to reduce complexity in daily management, achieve better monitoring and alarming, and ensure scalable authentication to the Group’s universe.
Given the opportunity to invest in a technological renovation, as normally happens in this type of evolutionary projects, the engineering team prepared a market research and made a pre-selection of equipment and manufacturers, in order to develop a proof of concept.
“Following the selection process, Warpcom being a technology integrator with deep experience in technology and communications, it was very natural that we invited them to participate in this strategic initiative. In addition, the fact that it has close partnerships with the main players in the area, ensuring the necessary expertise and independence, also weighed in. Since it was an innovative, disruptive and still inexistent technology in the Portuguese market, it was an excellent opportunity for both teams to work together on a practical case and in a ‘laboratory’ with a network the size of Novo Banco”.explains Paulo Henriques, Director of Novo Banco.
Warpcom was thus the partner chosen to support Novo Banco throughout this process. Warpcom’s methodology was based on three stages: technical workshops to gauge existing needs and expected results, presentation of the SD-WAN approach as the best response to the challenges of the New Bank, and identification of the main differentiating characteristics between the various manufacturers. Using its in-house technological laboratories, Warpcom tested, in a preliminary phase, the solutions that best met Novo Banco’s requirements. Subsequently, the solution that was chosen, Cisco SD-WAN, was tested in the banking institution’s environment, with the support of Warpcom’s specialized engineering team.
Regarding the selection of the manufacturer/solution, Novo Banco’s responsible reveals that “The process wasn’t easy because, besides having to overcome the bugs we found and adapt to the changes that all the selected manufacturers regularly introduced in their equipment, in the end all the proofs of concept were successful, despite some functional and operational differences between the various participants. Cisco’s reputation and local representation in Portugal were also important to the decision”..
Thanks to Warpcom’s approach, it was possible to improve in Novo Banco the internal technical knowledge about SD-WAN, test the maturity level of the solutions in technical, operational and support terms, and protect the return on investment.
Users immediately perceived faster application navigation and, as the implementation was aligned in time with that of a collaboration solution (email, videoconference, file-share), it was possible to avoid constraints with potential impact on the success and adoption of these new tools, without having to scale up the infrastructure or increase communication speeds.
As for the immediate benefits that this change brought, the most important are the facilities derived from a centralized management of the equipment park and its configurations, which allows for the reduction of errors associated with manual work and/or inconsistencies that severely impact security and operability. In the medium term, in addition to the “service layers” that may be added to the handling of traffic at the branches, Novo Banco will address on a larger scale the possibility of using diversified and lower-cost means of communication, thus further lowering the solution’s TCO.
“The success that made a complex extended infrastructure project, implemented in an adverse context with the pandemic, simple and ‘silent’, resulted mainly from the excellent interaction between the Warpcom and Novo Banco teams, in the design and sizing of the solution, together with the rigor of planning and the professionalism and competence of execution in the field”, concludes the responsible of Novo Banco’s about the partnership between both companies.
About Warpcom
With a team of over 120 employees and over 20 years of experience in the market, Warpcom is the leading technology integrator in the development of solutions in the areas of Networking & Infrastructure, Collaboration & Customer Experience, Data Center & Multi Cloud and Cybersecurity & Public Safety.
About Novo Banco
Novo Banco is a reference institution in the Portuguese financial sector, recognized for the high standards of service quality and commercial dynamics with which it serves its customers. Operating transversally in all areas of financial services, Novo Banco ensures that its customers’ financial needs are fully covered. In Portugal, Novo Banco has an important network of branches, Business Centers and one of the most innovative digital banking systems. More information at https://www.novobanco.pt/
