Alfa-Bank bought the source codes of the British ABS, which it has been using for many years

2016

Alfa-Bank bought the source codes of ABS Equation from Misys

In 2016, Alfa-Bank completed the purchase of Equation source codes from its developer, the British company Misys. Alfa-Bank announced this in its annual report, published at the end of June 2017. Alfa-Bank notes that for Misys this is the world's first precedent for such a format of cooperation.

The bank bought the core codes of the central banking system Equation, including more than 33 thousand objects. Alfa-Bank IT specialists have developed tools in a short time to reconcile the correctness and completeness of the programs provided.

Applying their own innovative solutions and based on many years of experience with ABS Equation, they thoroughly checked and analyzed each purchase object, and then recompiled them and implemented them for their own purposes.

Alfa-Bank bought Equation codes to quickly update the functionality of its ABS

Alfa-Bank notes that they have been using the system for many years, but the Equation program code has always been closed, which prevented the operational update of the system functionality. That is why the bank decided to purchase all the Equation source codes.

Now the IT unit has the opportunity to quickly investigate and correct errors in the Equation software, quickly make any improvements without involving expensive vendors, optimize and accelerate the problem areas of the ABS, remove the architectural restrictions laid down by the manufacturer, and use modern programming languages ​ ​ for the development of Equation, - Alfa-Bank explains the advantages of buying source codes.

Through the acquisition of "sources," the bank also had the opportunity to integrate improvements into the ABS core without using workarounds, accelerate training and entry of new employees into the process of maintaining or developing Equation.

All this allows the bank to seriously save on support and development of the system, Alfa-Bank notes in its annual report.

At the time of publication, Alfa-Bank could not answer TAdviser's questions about the amount and other terms of the deal with Misys.

Plastic Card Module Upgrade

Since November 2016, Alfa-Bank has been issuing and servicing Perekrestok cobrand cards together with X5 Retail Group and Mastercard. This became possible after the modernization of the plastic card module, in which OTR took part.

Advertising "Alfa-Bank," (2011)

The plastic card module automates the full life cycle of working with cards, contains a database. Its user interface provides the ability to configure, view logs and file sharing with the processing center. It also contains up-to-date information on the status of cards and the status of the SMS information service from the processing system and provides the necessary reports on cards, applications and operations, taking into account the ABS data.

The modernization of the module affected the procedures for filing applications, interaction with the processing center and linking accounts to Perekrestok cards. To implement the requirements for storing prepaid cards, the functionality of issuing and servicing cards, file exchange with the processing center has been improved. Now the module allows you to issue an unlimited number of cards of any type.

The module was introduced by OTR in Alfa-Bank in 2009. It uses IBM Power Systems servers, DB2 database and Misys Equation ABS as a hardware and software platform and is integrated into the bank's organizational and technological architecture.

2011: Upgrade to a new version

In 2011, Alfa-Bank completed the upgrade of ABS Equation, switching to its new version 3.9. The new version provides, first of all, advanced functionality, as well as a higher level of reliability and performance. In addition, it has improved the ability to refine application systems.

Compared to the previously current version 3.4.2, there have been major changes in the new version. In particular, the formats of calling the functions of the system by application programs have changed, and the data model has also undergone some processing. In this regard, it was necessary to carry out a lot of work on the conversion of software in order to ensure the interaction of ABS with numerous applications developed by both the bank and other suppliers.

The migration process, supported by OTR, lasted from the fall of 2009 and was completed in March this year. In its course, it was necessary not only to convert, but also to refine the software - where this was due to a change in the data model or the structure of calling functions.

1999: Start of implementation

In 2004, Victor Orlovsky, at that time - Director of the Quality Management Department of Processes and Projects of Alfa-Bank, in an interview with the iOne.ru portal (ID project Kommersant), said that the introduction of the Equation platform in the bank began at the end of 1999^[1]part of the planned reorganization, IT infrastructures which at that time "was far from perfect," IT management decided to introduce a new Western-style automated banking system (ABS). The choice was made in favor of the Equation product of the British company Misys.

This is one of the most popular banking systems in the world, with wide functionality covering most of the bank's retail and commercial business operations. Its cost is estimated at millions of dollars. For the bank, these were unprecedented costs for IT, but the management could afford such expenses, - said Orlovsky in 2004.

The installation at Alfa-Bank was the first large-scale implementation of Equation in Russia (an earlier project at SBS-Agro Bank was accompanied by a strong modernization of the system, without agreement with the vendor).

Victor Orlovsky noted that the implementation was not easy. Equation is a powerful system, and the IT department, presenting it at the bank, painted a rosy picture of new opportunities, but failed to convey how difficult the implementation process will be and how much effort it will require, including from business units, Orlovsky explained in an interview. In his opinion, expectations were greatly inflated - "the business was waiting for something incredible." Not without mistakes in the management of the project.