New state-of-the-art S.W.I.F.T.-Application at the Austrian Central Bank

The Austrian Central Bank

One of the cornerstones of the OeNB’s strategic positioning is the maintenance of its high reputation with regard to its policy on money and currency.

The essential tasks and strategic aims in this respect are on the one hand the European functions resulting from the monetary integration and on the other hand they are also the national tasks that still remain important to any central bank.

OeNB: Guaranteeing flexibility with regard to IT

The OeNB’s IT matters organize in two departments. The development department makes out internal developments with regard to business; the department for the operation of the computing centre is responsible, among other things, for the professional and trouble-free operation of the IT-applications and basic systems.

New software for S.W.I.F.T.-concerns

From reasons of compatibility the use of new S.W.I.F.T.-software (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications) also had to bring about a change onto another platform.

The S.W.I.F.T.- application is a software-solution for the domestic and foreign payment transactions. By applying highest safety standards payment transactions are effected both between the banks of issue and the national financial institutions. Highest performance and permanent availability of the system are basic requirements in order to smoothly execute these transactions amounting to many billion Euros day by day.

For this aim a project was initiated within which the choice for a Sun Solaris and the partner COMPAREX was made. "This solution", Dipl.-Ing.Franz Zupan, technical SWIFT manager in the computing centre of the OeNB, explains, "was the only possibility for us to meet the high requirements resulting from the framework of our system ".

Safety by clustering

After first meetings concerned with planning at the beginning of 2001, operation of the systems delivered in May was started and the installation of the SWIFT solution began. Currently 3 servers in both sites are being used for the normal day-to-day business. Besides a production system clustered under Solaris, also the additionally available test systems are used, if they are required for production. Via a subordinate Enterprise Storage System, that was also procured by COMPAREX, all sites are always supplied with current data. This concept allows impressive performance connected with highest availability.

Platform: Solaris

Unix-Systems administrator Ing. Karl Flasch stresses: "We have searched for a highly available and highly performing solution and we have found it with fail-over- and cluster-concept. Today there are optimal conditions for an operation that comes up to the strict requirements imposed." For the OeNB Sun Solaris also is a strategic platform that is duly involved in considerations about the future server infrastructure.

Best marks at ISO-9000-Certificate

The OeNB is an especially demanding customer. Thanks to the flexibility and competence of the system integrator, the partnership with COMPAREX developed very well. "COMPAREX is a partner", Dipl.-Ing Franz Zupan, systems manager at OeNB, underlines, "who not only sells products, but provides all-in-all solutions. A partner, who anticipates what the customer will need in the future."
In the OeNB’s business processes involving IT that have received an ISO-9000-certificate since autumn 2001 there is also included a supplier evaluation. "There COMPAREX received best marks" Franz Zupan confirms.

Solution for the challenges of an operation with the ECB

The main benefit of the new S.W.I.F.T.-implementation is in a modern, highly available and highly performing solution for the handling of payment transactions. This solution allows both meeting the special requirements that result from an operation with the European Central Bank and other bank partners of the OeNB and an optimal support of the OeNB’s role in the ESCB .

Amplified Internet Presence

The OeNB will also increase E-business-initiatives in its strategic orientation. Amplified Internet presence and further new service for the customers are being developed. Moreover the dynamic business development of the renowned domestic financial institution Österreichische Nationalbank also keeps facing new challenges within the functional operation.

The Austrian Central Bank

With two imperial patents of 1 June 1816 the "privileged Austrian National Bank" was founded in order to rearrange the Austrian financial system that had been destroyed by the Napoleonic wars. Its most important "privilege" was the right to issue banknotes as the only bank in Austria that was entitled to do so.

In 1922 the Austrian Central Bank (OeNB) was founded and it introduced the Schilling currency in Austria as early as the beginning of the year 1925. On 1 January 1999 eleven member states of the EU introduced the Euro as their common currency. The OeNB’s competences with regard to the policy of money and currency passed on to the European Central Bank. The OeNB is integral component of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB).