Garanti Technology

Garanti Technology (GT), which is a Doğuş Group company and a subsidiary of Garanti Bank, provides technology infrastructure, software development on various platforms, Internet applications, integration, system management, security management, project management, and office application services to companies that are in the banking and financial services, automotive, construction, media and tourism industries. The company also provides consultancy services related to these sectors.

GT develops IT strategies for the institutions it serves, turns solutions into value-added services, creates and manages change and quality and ensures sustainability. GT’s corporate governance is based on the ITIL process model and built on the principle of “Design-Operate-Support”. Every single project is prepared in accordance with quality standards such as COBIT and ISO, to ensure the most appropriate solutions that meet the requirements of the institutions served.

At the end of 2007, Garanti Technology had 631 employees, competent in all platforms and equipped with the ability to provide creative technological solutions.

Activities in 2007

Software Development

Cep Şube (Mobile Phone Branch): This is a system designed to allow customers to monitor the markets, obtain information about Garanti Bank services and perform CepBank transactions, including five minute loan applications and all basic transactions that can be performed on the Internet Branch, using a mobile phone. The Mobile Phone Branch can be accessed through all GSM operators and is compatible with more than 4,400 mobile phone models.

Bonus Trink: A credit card with a “contactless chip” allows users to make small payments with a single touch on a special device. This card functions without the need for a pin code or signature; and it is also available in the form of key chain, sticker and watch.

CepBank Shopping: An application that provides for safe shopping on e-commerce sites using demand deposits, credit cards and Paracard products authorized for CepBank Shopping.

Garanti Discount: A system that allows suppliers to factor their future receivables online without any additional collateral, and to manage their cash flow and working capital more efficiently. It also makes it possible for buyers to establish long-term, long-lasting relationships with their suppliers.

E-signature: Designed to allow companies, which are using cash management products, to electronically sign their data files while sending to Garanti Bank for processing. This application is used for checks, bulk import payments and bulk money transfers.

Derivatives Exchange: An application that allows Garanti Bank customers to trade on the Turkish Derivatives Exchange using the Bank’s Internet Branch. Garanti Bank was the first bank to provide this service online.

GBI Romania: New products and applications customized for the Romanian market were introduced as part of the international banking package. Bonus Card was adapted for Romania and both acquiring and issuing transactions were introduced. Individual and Commercial Internet Branches and ATMs were provided with a bilingual interface, in both Romanian and English.

• Other software projects:
• Mortgage Loans
• Foreign Currency Loans with Sweep Option
• Self Closing Export Loan
• Consumer Loan with a Car as Collateral
• Supplier Finance
• Fund Basket
• Gold Accumulating Fund
• Instant Cash System
• Dynamic Offer
• Fraud enhancements
• Legal Monitoring System
• Basel II enhancements
• Customer Documentation System
• Online customs duty payments
• Bilgi University Campus Card
• Payfly – payment integration with Turkish Airlines
• Social security payments
• Integration with Hürriyet Real Estate
• New Teller Queuing System
• New Fax Software
• Mobile Signature
• Referenced Transactions at ATMs
• Internet Branch and ATMs in English
• New ATM functions
  • Cardless Donations
  • Russian language support
  • ATM login with mobile signature and one-time pin
  • Time deposit opening
  • Gold deposit and accumulating savings account opening
  • Cash withdrawal for fractions of a lira
  • Pre-defined money transfer
  • Motor Vehicle Tax payments
  • Biletix ticket sales
• Inclusion of Şekerbank in the Bonus network
• Sale of Private Pension Plans through POS terminals.

International Business Consulting and Project Management

- Banking system application, product and process catalogues were prepared.
- Functions to be included in Garanti Technology International Banking Solution were identified.
- Methodologies for overseas projects, approaches to be adopted in gap analyses and templates for presentation, question and screen sets were prepared.
- IT Service and Software contracts were updated.
- Gap analyses were completed for T-Bank, Garanti Luxembourg Branch, Budapest Bank Hungary and Motoractive Leasing Romania.

Strategy and Application Management

- Security policies, critical sites and all applications that require supervision were analysed and required revisions and improvements were made.
- E-signature data transfer infrastructure was established for corporate customers and the corresponding processes were improved.
- Cryptographic infrastructure was established for Şekerbank’s integration with BonusNet.
- Cryptographic infrastructures were established for pin code usage in Romanian Internet Branch, monitoring of Romanian Internet access with IDS and third party integration, card printing, approval and POS management in Romania.
- Risk Management processes and systems were improved.
- Service contract and service catalogue were prepared.
- SMS (Service Management System) integration of websites and SSL certification were completed; annual leave processes, activity and performance screens were transferred to the SMS.
- Requirement gathering and Project Management Processes were developed for Garanti Bank and affiliates.
- CMMI Certification project commenced.
- Product version management policy was established; coding and design standards were revised.
- Source code revision and data model management processes were introduced.
- End-users’ problem reporting process was automated.

System and Operation Management

- Mainframe systems had their processing power improved by 39%, to 12,134 MIPS (million instructions per second) and their data storage capacity by 40%, to 45 TB.
- The number of centrally supported clients (PCs, laptops) and servers increased to 15,000 and 1,095, respectively.
- A daily average of 87 million transactions were performed through the mainframe system, with the figure reaching 107 million in peak days. Average number of daily visitors logging to the Internet Branch was 901,000.
- With the third enveloping machine renewed at Printshop, average daily enveloping rate went up from 45,000 envelopes per hour to 56,000 envelopes. Monthly average figures for printouts and envelopes were ten million pages and 7.3 million envelopes respectively.
- The infrastructure on which banking, credit card and ATM applications will run was prepared for the branches of GarantiBank International Romania and services began to be provided from Istanbul in January 2007.
- The database (DB2) used in the mainframe was upgraded to a new version (V8).
- A quality assurance environment synchronized with the production environment was established to be used with acceptance tests.
- SQL databases were consolidated on HP Itanium 64-byte systems in order to ensure centralized management, scalability, performance and accessibility.
- SAS Enterprise Miner was installed on Sun Solaris servers for data mining and the necessary infrastructure for data transfer from the mainframe environment was prepared.
- 40 servers and an archive unit for storing and accessing call records were installed for the new IP-based Call Center.
- Servers at Garanti Bank Headquarters began to be backed up through the TS3500 Tape Library, which offers data encryption features.

Service levels:

- Interbank Credit Card Center usability rate 99%
- 7x24 banking systems usability rate 99,99%
- 7x24 banking applications average response time 95.16 ms
- Internet Branch average response time 22.85 ms
- Branch applications response time 274.8 ms
- Batch jobs error-free completion rate 99.95%

Network and Field Management
- Number of domestic communication centers reached 15 and these centers were provided with faster access at 34 mbps with back-up.
- In 80% of the branches, connection speed was increased to at least 256 kbps.
- Metro Ethernet connections were activated at network communication centers.
- To allow the 18 branches of GBI Romania to do banking through the mainframe at GT Istanbul, a network center was established in Bucharest and the branches were connected to the center. Additionally, access infrastructure for POS terminals was established in six cities.
- A Joint IP POS project was put in service with HSBC, YKB, İş Bank, Finansbank and Akbank, while a BonusNet infrastructure was established for Şekerbank.
- The number of GPRS POS terminals increased to 36,700, Dialup POS to 192,000, IP POS to 18,200 and ADSL POS to 26,100. Number of stores with IP POS was 675.
- To ensure the security of IP communications of mainframes, a security wall was placed between mainframes and the headquarters and also between mainframes and branches (finalist project for the 2007 Cisco Data Center Innovation Award).
- Wireless network connection provided at private wealth management branches switched to Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA).
- During 2007, the Call Center received an average of 5.5 million calls per month.
- At the end of 2007, 420 branches and regions were included in the VoIP network.
- Customer Satisfaction, Banking Helpdesk and Card Sale units were aligned with the new IP Contact Center infrastructure.
- The IP Video Conferencing system made it possible to carry out multi-user conferencing simultaneously from 13 end points to up to 40 points through the network.
- The capacity of the MeetingPlace Audio Conferencing System was increased to enable simultaneous execution of 90 audio and 45 web-based conferences.
- 106 new branches were opened and 473 new ATMs were installed.
- IP LAN POS was installed at 228 locations.
- With the renewal of UPS and battery systems, the capacity of the Data Processing Center reached 3x300 and 2x300 kVA.

Future Outlook

As a pioneering institution, Garanti Technology has adopted the mission of keeping Garanti Bank, its subsidiaries and other companies of the Doğuş Group one step ahead at all times. Garanti Technology will continuously invest in state-of-the-art technology, uninterrupted transaction competency and infrastructure security, maintaining its leadership in technology.