In a significant stride towards embracing digital transformation in the financial sector, UnionBank, a prominent player in the Philippine banking industry, has partnered with Red Hat, Inc., a global leader in open-source solutions, to implement Red Hat OpenShift Service on Amazon Web Services (AWS). This strategic move aims to expedite the migration of mission-critical workloads from traditional on-premises environments to AWS, one of the world’s most comprehensive and widely adopted cloud platforms.
Southeast Asia’s digital economy, estimated to be worth a staggering $200 billion in 2022, boasts a substantial base of 460 million digital consumers, along with high internet penetration. However, despite this digital surge, half of the population in the region remains unbanked, while 18% are underbanked, limited to basic bank account services. This presents an opportune moment for the financial services sector to provide millions of Filipinos with access to digital financial products, including bank transfers and money withdrawals, even in remote areas, harnessing the potential of digital technology and data.
UnionBank, operating in one of the world’s most complex and rapidly evolving financial regions, is leading the charge in digital banking by leveraging Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS. This robust platform offers the foundation for constructing cloud-native applications based on a Kubernetes framework. With Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS, organizations like UnionBank can harness a wide array of AWS services, spanning compute, database, analytics, machine learning, networking, mobile, and more to develop secure and scalable applications at an accelerated pace.
UnionBank’s commitment to digital transformation extends to achieving a consistent and unified experience across both public and private cloud environments with Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS. This service enables seamless workload migration to the cloud as business requirements evolve. Consequently, UnionBank has streamlined its operations, significantly reducing the average application deployment time by an impressive 95%, allowing teams to focus on innovation and agility. This opens up opportunities for developing microfinance and microsavings applications to cater to individuals who lack access to traditional banking services.
In a collaborative six-week consultation with Red Hat’s Open Innovation Lab, UnionBank identified and implemented efficiencies in its application development processes, fostering improved collaboration between product, developer, and operations teams. These improvements have not only accelerated internal processes but also promoted stronger DevOps practices, enhancing the bank’s ability to deliver more personalized financial products efficiently.
UnionBank’s forward-thinking approach to digital technology has not gone unnoticed, earning them the prestigious Red Hat APAC Innovation Award 2023 in the categories of Digital Transformation and Cloud-Native Development. UnionBank’s pioneering efforts have paved the way for delivering real-time, online business solutions that cater to the diverse and evolving needs of customers in the Philippines.
Key Quotes:
Dennis D. Omila, Chief Technology and Operations Officer, Union Bank of the Philippines: “Growth of the Philippines economy is projected to bounce back by year-end to 5.3 percent and to 6 percent in 2024. With this encouraging news comes a compelling challenge to all Philippine banks to continue building agile and tailored products catering to evolving customers. Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS allows our teams greater autonomy and flexibility to deliver the latest features and updates to meet market needs. The integration between Red Hat and AWS means we can better focus on delivering products that match our goal to Tech Up Pilipinas – or, enabling customers to live their best lives through the latest financial innovations.”
Prem Pavan, Vice President and General Manager, Southeast Asia and Korea, Red Hat: “60 million people in Southeast Asia became online consumers for the first time during Covid. This represents significant digital commerce opportunities for businesses to tap into, all underpinned by financial services. UnionBank, a digital-forward bank that is rapidly scaling and innovating its products to meet the needs of digital-native customers and emerging business cases, is a perfect example of that. Using Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS, organizations like UnionBank can drive speed to market, economies of scale on cost, and greater flexibility to focus on digital transformation.”
Jerry Bongco, Country Manager, Philippines, Amazon Web Services: “Financial institutions across Southeast Asia are using the transformative power of cloud technology to rapidly deliver innovative new services that empower more people and drive prosperity. AWS works with Red Hat to help organizations like UnionBank increase operational efficiency, refocus on innovation, and quickly build, deploy, and scale applications. This initiative clearly demonstrates how cloud technology is a catalyst for innovation and resilience in a complex and growing region.”
