Commerzbank Uses Advanced PRIMERGY Technology to Speed up Digitization of Files
The Customer
Commerzbank AG, Frankfurt am Main
The Project
Implementation of infrastructure for economic digitization of files
The Solution
Most advanced server and workstation technology available for scanning lines at three production locations, including PRIMERGY RXI600s with Intel® Itanium® 2 processors and CELSIUS workstations
Economical operation, short response times and the high reliability required for handling confidential files—those are the benefits offered by the digitization solution Commerzbank AG has implemented at three locations in Germany. The solution boasts seamless processes and advanced technology. When it came to choosing the IT infrastructure for the scanning lines, the bank opted for the innovative capacity of Fujitsu Siemens Computers and the outstanding price-performance ratio of systems from Europe’s leading IT vendor. PRIMERGY RXI600 servers guarantee efficient management of the scanning lines that handle a throughput of approximately 100,000 digitized pages per day. The new systems, powered by Intel® Itanium® 2 processors, are configured for maximum performance in terms of processing capacity, storage use, I/O throughput and reliability. Both systems are integrated into a high-performance IT infrastructure with Intel® Itanium® 2-based servers and CELSIUS workstations.
Our client—A major financial institution With balance sheet total of over €420 billion, Frankfurtheadquartered Commerzbank, which was established in 1870, ranks among the leading private commercial banks in Germany and Europe. The Commerzbank Group has more than 32,000 employees, some 7,000 of whom are based outside Germany. A modern, full-service bank, Commerzbank serves nearly 8 million private and commercial clients. The bank maintains 800 branches in Germany and is also present in all international financial centers.
Fast, reliable digitization of files
A modern financial institution like Commerzbank generates huge amounts of paper—transaction receipts, personnel files, loan agreements, credit documents … Since many documents have to be kept for up to 40 years, this represents literally mountains of paper. A few years ago, Commerzbank started to reduce this volume. The bank’s “Personnel Files” project carried out in 2004 is indicative of the dimensions of the problem. This project alone involved assembling, scanning, sorting, classifying and indexing the personnel files of more than 30,000 employees and, finally, integrating the results into a document-management system. And that’s only one example! In addition to these files, it is also necessary to digitize documentation of everyday transactions, including checks, transfer orders and debit card activities in near real time. It may come as a surprise, but Commerzbank doesn’t outsource this work, and not only because of the sensitive nature of the confidential data. The main reason why that is a standardized workflow with virtually total automation also guarantees maximum economy and processing quality. “In addition to quality and security issues, economic considerations play a decisive role when it comes to the digitization of documents” explains Klaus Degen, Commerzbank’s Vice President Transaction Banking. “That’s what makes it necessary to have a seamless solution that lets us cover all of our needs at market conditions.” And scanning lines equipped with advanced scanners and innovative Intel® Itanium® 2-based PRIMERGY servers from Fujitsu Siemens Computers make that possible.
When price and performance counts Fujitsu Siemens Computers and Intel delivers Most recently, Commerzbank decided to reorganize its loan records, which will involve complete digitization of approximately 21 million sheets of paper within a time frame of only 18 months. With Fujitsu Siemens Computers and Intel’s assistance, the bank set up highperformance server infrastructures at three locations in order to be able to implement this project economically and on schedule. Based on the use of PRIMERGY RXI600 servers, these systems were designed for performance- intensive server applications and databases. And that’s precisely where the power of the Itanium® 2 processors and their capacity for parallel processing pay off. Oracle Database 9i under the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 operating system is installed on all systems. A PRIMERGY SX30 storage subsystem is also included to expand disk capacity. The other links in the processing chain are similarly strong. For example, Commerzbank opted for four PRIMERGY RX300s with Intel® Xeon™ processors. Two of these servers are used for post-processing the scanned documents, and each scanning line has 20 CELSIUS workstations for document handling and another 16 for processing. The production environment also includes a test configuration. All in all, Commerzbank’s Klaus Degen feels that he and his team now have optimal resources for attacking their new project: “The solution guarantees us fast access to data, which means short throughput times for the digitization of our files. That’s important because we have to have documents in the archive system within 24 to 48 hours.”
Intel, the Intel logo, the Intel Inside logo, Intel Xeon and Itanium are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.
All rights reserved. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom
© Fujitsu Siemens Computers, 04/2005
Commerzbank AG, Frankfurt am Main
The Project
Implementation of infrastructure for economic digitization of files
The Solution
Most advanced server and workstation technology available for scanning lines at three production locations, including PRIMERGY RXI600s with Intel® Itanium® 2 processors and CELSIUS workstations
Economical operation, short response times and the high reliability required for handling confidential files—those are the benefits offered by the digitization solution Commerzbank AG has implemented at three locations in Germany. The solution boasts seamless processes and advanced technology. When it came to choosing the IT infrastructure for the scanning lines, the bank opted for the innovative capacity of Fujitsu Siemens Computers and the outstanding price-performance ratio of systems from Europe’s leading IT vendor. PRIMERGY RXI600 servers guarantee efficient management of the scanning lines that handle a throughput of approximately 100,000 digitized pages per day. The new systems, powered by Intel® Itanium® 2 processors, are configured for maximum performance in terms of processing capacity, storage use, I/O throughput and reliability. Both systems are integrated into a high-performance IT infrastructure with Intel® Itanium® 2-based servers and CELSIUS workstations.
Our client—A major financial institution With balance sheet total of over €420 billion, Frankfurtheadquartered Commerzbank, which was established in 1870, ranks among the leading private commercial banks in Germany and Europe. The Commerzbank Group has more than 32,000 employees, some 7,000 of whom are based outside Germany. A modern, full-service bank, Commerzbank serves nearly 8 million private and commercial clients. The bank maintains 800 branches in Germany and is also present in all international financial centers.
Fast, reliable digitization of files
A modern financial institution like Commerzbank generates huge amounts of paper—transaction receipts, personnel files, loan agreements, credit documents … Since many documents have to be kept for up to 40 years, this represents literally mountains of paper. A few years ago, Commerzbank started to reduce this volume. The bank’s “Personnel Files” project carried out in 2004 is indicative of the dimensions of the problem. This project alone involved assembling, scanning, sorting, classifying and indexing the personnel files of more than 30,000 employees and, finally, integrating the results into a document-management system. And that’s only one example! In addition to these files, it is also necessary to digitize documentation of everyday transactions, including checks, transfer orders and debit card activities in near real time. It may come as a surprise, but Commerzbank doesn’t outsource this work, and not only because of the sensitive nature of the confidential data. The main reason why that is a standardized workflow with virtually total automation also guarantees maximum economy and processing quality. “In addition to quality and security issues, economic considerations play a decisive role when it comes to the digitization of documents” explains Klaus Degen, Commerzbank’s Vice President Transaction Banking. “That’s what makes it necessary to have a seamless solution that lets us cover all of our needs at market conditions.” And scanning lines equipped with advanced scanners and innovative Intel® Itanium® 2-based PRIMERGY servers from Fujitsu Siemens Computers make that possible.
When price and performance counts Fujitsu Siemens Computers and Intel delivers Most recently, Commerzbank decided to reorganize its loan records, which will involve complete digitization of approximately 21 million sheets of paper within a time frame of only 18 months. With Fujitsu Siemens Computers and Intel’s assistance, the bank set up highperformance server infrastructures at three locations in order to be able to implement this project economically and on schedule. Based on the use of PRIMERGY RXI600 servers, these systems were designed for performance- intensive server applications and databases. And that’s precisely where the power of the Itanium® 2 processors and their capacity for parallel processing pay off. Oracle Database 9i under the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 operating system is installed on all systems. A PRIMERGY SX30 storage subsystem is also included to expand disk capacity. The other links in the processing chain are similarly strong. For example, Commerzbank opted for four PRIMERGY RX300s with Intel® Xeon™ processors. Two of these servers are used for post-processing the scanned documents, and each scanning line has 20 CELSIUS workstations for document handling and another 16 for processing. The production environment also includes a test configuration. All in all, Commerzbank’s Klaus Degen feels that he and his team now have optimal resources for attacking their new project: “The solution guarantees us fast access to data, which means short throughput times for the digitization of our files. That’s important because we have to have documents in the archive system within 24 to 48 hours.”
Intel, the Intel logo, the Intel Inside logo, Intel Xeon and Itanium are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.
All rights reserved. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom
© Fujitsu Siemens Computers, 04/2005
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