Vietcombank set to embark on e-commerce
HANOI - The state-owned Vietcombank (VCB) is deploying a high-speed network to connect its
branches across Vietnam and gear up for e-business.
"The demand for diversification of bank services as well as the high quality and availability is a challenge to banks in Vietnam in
general and our commercial bank individually," said Dao Minh Tuan, director of VCB's IT centre.
"The upgrade of our network aims to support the development of a new range of computer-based services such as on-line
banking services, e-commerce and Internet banking.
"The new network will support better communication between the branches leading to increased productivity, and reduced
costs," he said.
The network, an Internet-protocol based infrastructure powered by US-based Cisco Systems, is being rolled out in phases.
The first stage will see three modular Cisco 3600 routers installed at Vietcombank's Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City offices.
This will be followed by the installation of 13 Cisco 2600 and 23 Cisco 1720 modular access routers at the bank's 34 local
branches and sub-branches.
These offices will be linked to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City via 64 Kbps (Kilobit per second) leased lines and dial-up access
connections.
Within the bank's offices, new local area networks (LANs), based on Cisco Catalyst 3500 switches, provide 10/100 Mbps
and Gigabit.
According to VCB's Tuan, the new network will replace several disparate networks that provided low-speed 9.6 Kbps SDLC
(Synchronous Data Link Control) links to the branches and the automated teller machines (ATMs), consolidating the bank's
data traffic onto one network.
Tuan expects that Cisco's advanced networking solutions will also enable Vietcombank to run its voice or telephony traffic on
the data network, thus lowering business costs significantly.
Vietnam News Agency - September 22, 2000.
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