PKO BP to open up to $100 million tender for new IT system
The system will allow the bank to keep track of all accounts in its more than 1,000 branches and switch funds through one electronic network. The bank wants the system up and running in the next 18-24 months, a source at the bank said last week. Deloitte & Touche will advise on the tender, the source said. The source and computer companies interviewed estimated the job could be worth around $100 million.
The bank's decision to go ahead with the tender follows statements by PKO Deputy President Slawomir Lachowski that the bank needed to get all of its branches on-line to effectively compete with other retail outfits. PKO Ňis mature enough to install a new, centrally-integrated IT system,O he said.
Lachowski said PKO has Ňa very good branch system,O but the inability of the branches to interact makes it difficult for the bank to develop new distribution channels or launch new products. ŇRetail banking needs centralized IT systems because only then the customers can be served everywhere, regardless of the branch where their accounts are located,O Lachowski said.
In 1995 PKO signed a long-term cooperative agreement with software maker Softbank for systems used in its branches. Softbank is still installing its ZORBA software.
ŇThe whole process is to be completed this year,O said Janusz Ostaszewski, PKO BP spokesman. The idea behind the present system is to cluster PKO's 1,000 branches into 170 regional back offices, Ostaszewski said. ŇThat has already happened,O he added. ŇRight now, we're Ôgluing' these back offices together.O
According to a source within the bank, PKO would need a system compatible with the branch systems already in place. To meet the tight schedule, a provider would have to use an existing system, already ŇPolonized,O or ready to be used in a domestic bank with the Polish language. Those constraints, the source said, give an edge to companies who have already installed their systems in banks here. For example, the U.S.' Sanchez Computer Associates in conjunction with ComputerLand has already developed a system for use here called Profile.
This system has been installed in Bank Przemyslowo-Handlowy (BPH) and partly in Handlobank, Bank Handlowy's retail arm. ComputerLand has also won a tender for Kredyt Bank PBI and Bank Zachodni in which it will use Profile.
Another likely bidder is Softbank, who through its partnership with U.S. firm Alltel won a similar-sized tender for Bank Pekao.
The bank's decision to go ahead with the tender follows statements by PKO Deputy President Slawomir Lachowski that the bank needed to get all of its branches on-line to effectively compete with other retail outfits. PKO Ňis mature enough to install a new, centrally-integrated IT system,O he said.
Lachowski said PKO has Ňa very good branch system,O but the inability of the branches to interact makes it difficult for the bank to develop new distribution channels or launch new products. ŇRetail banking needs centralized IT systems because only then the customers can be served everywhere, regardless of the branch where their accounts are located,O Lachowski said.
In 1995 PKO signed a long-term cooperative agreement with software maker Softbank for systems used in its branches. Softbank is still installing its ZORBA software.
ŇThe whole process is to be completed this year,O said Janusz Ostaszewski, PKO BP spokesman. The idea behind the present system is to cluster PKO's 1,000 branches into 170 regional back offices, Ostaszewski said. ŇThat has already happened,O he added. ŇRight now, we're Ôgluing' these back offices together.O
According to a source within the bank, PKO would need a system compatible with the branch systems already in place. To meet the tight schedule, a provider would have to use an existing system, already ŇPolonized,O or ready to be used in a domestic bank with the Polish language. Those constraints, the source said, give an edge to companies who have already installed their systems in banks here. For example, the U.S.' Sanchez Computer Associates in conjunction with ComputerLand has already developed a system for use here called Profile.
This system has been installed in Bank Przemyslowo-Handlowy (BPH) and partly in Handlobank, Bank Handlowy's retail arm. ComputerLand has also won a tender for Kredyt Bank PBI and Bank Zachodni in which it will use Profile.
Another likely bidder is Softbank, who through its partnership with U.S. firm Alltel won a similar-sized tender for Bank Pekao.
