Kasikorn Business Technology Group (KBTG) Optimizes its Storage Infrastructure with Huawei OceanStor Dorado

Leading the Fintech Business with “Customer First” Mindset

Founded in 2015, Kasikorn Business Technology Group (KBTG) is the technology arm of Kasikorn Bank (KBank), one of Thailand’s top commercial banks that strives to become the most innovative bank through its customer-centric vision. KBTG aims to develop extensive financial technologies and digital banking services that are truly hassle-free and user-friendly. Over the past six years, the company has become a driving force behind the award-winning success of KBank. In addition to building a strong IT fortress for the bank, KBTG is determined to develop advanced innovation that will revolutionize the financial experience to suit all digital lifestyles. Echoing its parent company’s vision, the tech arm puts its customers at the heart of its solution development. The company empowers over 2,000 talented employees to think outside the box and make the impossible possible for their customers as it sets an ambitious goal to become the best technology company in Southeast Asia.

Speed and Reliability Are Key to Delivering Best User Experience in the Age of Digital Disruption

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the need for digital transformation in all business sectors, and financial services are no exception. In 2020, KBTG saw a surge in new users for KBank’s mobile banking app “K PLUS.” The company currently serves more than 15 million K PLUS app users, plus many million more through other digital services with its partners. Processing and recording data of up to 100 million transactions every day, KBTG needed to ensure its storage infrastructure is ultra-fast, reliable, and always-on. The company was seeking a high-performance, all-flash storage system that could support highly critical operations.

Huawei OceanStor Dorado: Supporting the Most Critical Operations with Best-in-Class Performance

To help KBTG provide the best possible online experience at all times, Huawei proposed its high-end OceanStor Dorado 8000 V6 All-Flash Storage Systems that deliver industry-leading performance with 99.9999% reliability. Huawei OceanStor Dorado features intelligent data acceleration purpose-built to meet the demands of large-scale enterprise services. In addition, the systems also use Huawei’s own innovative technology FlashLink®, an intelligent algorithm uniquely designed for flash media, and end-to-end Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) architecture, ensuring all data is accurately processed, in a flash. Offering industry-leading performance with 60% lower latency and 25% higher computing power than the industry average, Huawei’s all-flash storage has set unprecedented standards for reliability and speed. The intelligent systems have helped world’s leading enterprises deliver stable performance while simplifying O&M and reducing IT costs, thanks to its flexible architecture and online hardware update support.

Reliable IT infrastructure a cornerstone of all digital services

Following the implementation of Huawei OceanStor Dorado 8000 V6 All-Flash Storage Systems, KBTG saw a significant reduction in the response latency, effectively resolving the performance bottleneck challenges of the entire storage system. Huawei OceanStor Dorado 8000 V6 all-flash storage helped create a flow of data traffic without any slowdowns or downtimes, enabling enhanced storage capabilities for data that dates back over a decade. The SmartMatrix reliable infrastructure of OceanStor Dorado 8000 V6 helps guarantee fast and secure front-end services for KBTG customers.

Moving Towards a Green All-Flash Data Center

In addition to the high performance and reliability that Huawei OceanStor Dorado 8000 V6 boasts, it also provides a highly effective data solution. With intelligent data reduction technology inside, a data reduction ratio of more than 5:1 is achieved. In addition, KBTG has been able to free up physical space in its equipment room as well as slash power consumption, since its new storage system only requires 6U of equipment space, compared to the two racks the legacy infrastructure occupied. And the end result? KBTG now has a data center that is both energy-efficient and cost-effective.

“When it comes to processing and storing large-scale data, we need a trusted partner like Huawei who understands our needs and requirements to provide smooth online transaction experience for all users. Based on our experience, Huawei’s all flash storage systems provide a very impressive performance that exceeds our initial requirements,” said Mr Jarung Kiatsupapong, Chief Information Officer – KBTG. “For KBTG, building and maintaining a strong and stable ICT infrastructure is an investment that will always be worthwhile. We have a long journey ahead to innovate helpful products that meet new customer demands, and it is always reassuring to know that our storage system is highly capable and future-proof,” he concluded.