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M. Ramesh

CHENNAI, June 4

THREE systems integrators — Accenture, IBM and Hewlett Packard — have been shortlisted by Bank of Baroda for implementing core-banking solutions for the bank.

The `request for proposal' has been sent to them for their response, expected to be received in a couple of months.

"We will then know the detailed solutions and consortium partners as also the quantum of investment which will obviously be done in phases recommended by them," Mr V. Chandrasekhar, General Manager and Chief Technology Officer, Bank of Baroda, told Business Line..The approximate cost of implementing the core banking solutions for a bank of BoB's size would come to about Rs 350 crore. It is expected that at least 70 per cent of the software would come from domestic software companies.

The bank expects to be able to achieve 100 per cent computerisation of all its branches by December 2004. It also intends to create a data warehouse.

Answering a question, Mr Chandrasekhar said that most of the core banking solutions products (such as Finacle of Infosys, Flexcube of iflex and B@NCS-24 of TCS) would be able to support the existing legacy systems.

Bank of Baroda is among the few public sector banks which are ahead of others in putting together an enterprise-wide IT overhaul. A key issue in doing this is, to what extent should the existing IT infrastructure in a bank should be scrapped in favour of the newer technologies.

According to a survey conducted by the Asian Banker magazine, existing technology infrastructure and software, even that installed in the late 1980s, "is increasingly irrelevant." It adds that replacing peripheral systems is often viewed as more urgent than replacing core banking systems from a cost-benefit point of view. "Generally, banks view replacing an enterprise-wide core banking system as an expensive undertaking," comments the survey.

This is why at the moment only larger banks are going in for a major IT initiative. "Bank of Baroda and Punjab National Bank have embarked on an enterprise-wide IT overhaul," observes the magazine.

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