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Projects Search Public Sector Clients & References Case Studies Websites Showcase	Client The Royal Bank of Scotland International Project The Royal Bank of Scotland International Website Overview The Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBSG), founded in 1727, is one of Europe's leading financial services groups. By market capitalisation, as at 22 February 2002, RBSG is the second largest banking group in the UK and in Europe and ranks fifth in the world. The Royal Bank of Scotland International Limited (RBSI) came into being on 1 March 1996 following a re-structuring operation and is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Royal Bank of Scotland plc, a part of RBSG. Client quote Making business information more accessible Background RBSI is an independent, full service bank offering a wide range of general and specialist products, through dedicated teams of relationship managers, for both retail and corporate customers. RBSI and its associated offshore companies deal solely with the requirements of the offshore market. It has operating bases in Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and a sister company in Gibraltar - jurisdictions which are known for their political and economic stability. RBSG has grown through a combination of innovation and client recommendation. After inventing the concept of the overdraft in its first year of business, it went on to introduce the first multicoloured banknotes in 1777 and pioneered the printing of double-sided notes in 1826. It was the first British bank to put its entire branch network online via a central computer, and the development of the new IT system reflects the Bank's commitment to spearhead the adoption of latest technologies. Challenge The RBSI Information Technology Services division oversees the daily operation of the Bank's information processing systems. The division stores information residing in its databases, file servers, web pages, e-mails, enterprise resource planning (ERP), and customer relationship management (CRM) systems. RBSI approached PDMS to help develop a system to enhance the information resources in the Bank. The challenge for PDMS was to make this information accessible to all employees when they need it and in the required format. This has the double advantage of reducing time spent searching for particular data, while improving the quality of business decisions. Solution PDMS worked with RBSI's IT Services to develop a system based on open standards such as XML (extensible mark-up language) and WebDAV (distributed authoring and versioning) built on top of the existing RBSI infrastructure. The aim of PDMS was to build a solution to sit on top of existing RBSI hardware, thus cutting costs of set-up and maintenance. The existing infrastructure, based on Windows 2000 Servers and SQL Server 2000 database systems, was found to be both robust and flexible enough to implement an effective solution. However, it was necessary to identify, evaluate and recommend extra components such as a graph generator and a portal type application to distribute reports. To meet RBSI's specific requirements, PDMS identified Dundas Chart and Microsoft Digital Dashboard respectively. An extra generic layer, sitting on top of the web and database servers, was brought into play to improve analysis of interdepartmental data. This was developed in ASP and XML to provide dynamic, end-user-driven querying tools, delivering relevant enterprise data to a greater number of knowledge consumers. A process of gathering and analysing business requirements identified what reports were required and how they would be filtered. PDMS worked closely with RBSI developers to become familiar with and author queries for internal systems, such as Sunrise Enterprise by Sunrise Software - a CRM system. Hydra by the Program Management Group - an ERP system. Incident Manager by RBSI - a system for logging technical events. Barometer by RBSI - a system for reporting employee feedback. Tumbleweed Secure Web by Tumbleweed Communications - a system for controlling web access. Insight Manager by Compaq Computers - a device management system. The web-based architecture used allows for scalability without a proportionate increase in IT resource overheads. Deploying a system with a thin client architecture has meant that no software installation is required on the part of the client. PDMS worked closely with RBSI to encourage active participation in the development of a new solution. The establishment of a knowledge management system is an evolving process, great care being exercised in documenting the new system and training RBSI developers with regard to future enhancements. Benefits The solution was aimed at putting the big-picture knowledge, necessary to improve the quality of decisions, into the hands of as many members of the IT services department as possible. Benefits of the system will increase still further when users know where the information is, how to get at it, how it will help them, and - importantly- are in a position to keep it current, practical and useful. The solution delivered improved efficiencies resulting from the cumulative effect of users making more informed, cost saving and revenue enhancing decisions. The Royal Bank of Scotland International Limited. Registered office: Royal Bank House, 71 Bath Street, St. Helier, Jersey, JE4 8PJ. Regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission for carrying out banking and investment business. Principal places of business: Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Licensed under The Banking Supervision (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law 1994. Registered with the Isle of Man Financial Supervision Commission to conduct Banking and Investment Business. Products of The Royal Bank of Scotland International Limited are not offered to US residents. The products mentioned in this material are by The Royal Bank of Scotland International Limited, which is not an authorised institution within the meaning of the Banking Ordinance (Cap 155) of Hong Kong and is therefore not subject to the supervision of Hong Kong Monetary Authority. The products and services of The Royal Bank of Scotland International Limited are not offered to any person or entity in any jurisdiction or country where an advertisement, offer, provision or sale of products or services is restricted or prohibited by law or regulation or where any such activity would subject The Royal Bank of Scotland International Limited (or any of its affiliates) to any registration or licensing requirements in any such jurisdiction or country.

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Client

The Royal Bank of Scotland International

Project

The Royal Bank of Scotland International

Website

Overview

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBSG), founded in 1727, is one of Europe's leading financial services groups. By market capitalisation, as at 22 February 2002, RBSG is the second largest banking group in the UK and in Europe and ranks fifth in the world. The Royal Bank of Scotland International Limited (RBSI) came into being on 1 March 1996 following a re-structuring operation and is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Royal Bank of Scotland plc, a part of RBSG.

Client quote

Making business information more accessible

Background

RBSI is an independent, full service bank offering a wide range of general and specialist products, through dedicated teams of relationship managers, for both retail and corporate customers. RBSI and its associated offshore companies deal solely with the requirements of the offshore market. It has operating bases in Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and a sister company in Gibraltar - jurisdictions which are known for their political and economic stability.

RBSG has grown through a combination of innovation and client recommendation. After inventing the concept of the overdraft in its first year of business, it went on to introduce the first multicoloured banknotes in 1777 and pioneered the printing of double-sided notes in 1826. It was the first British bank to put its entire branch network online via a central computer, and the development of the new IT system reflects the Bank's commitment to spearhead the adoption of latest technologies.

Challenge

The RBSI Information Technology Services division oversees the daily operation of the Bank's information processing systems. The division stores information residing in its databases, file servers, web pages, e-mails, enterprise resource planning (ERP), and customer relationship management (CRM) systems. RBSI approached PDMS to help develop a system to enhance the information resources in the Bank.

The challenge for PDMS was to make this information accessible to all employees when they need it and in the required format. This has the double advantage of reducing time spent searching for particular data, while improving the quality of business decisions.

Solution

PDMS worked with RBSI's IT Services to develop a system based on open standards such as XML (extensible mark-up language) and WebDAV (distributed authoring and versioning) built on top of the existing RBSI infrastructure. The aim of PDMS was to build a solution to sit on top of existing RBSI hardware, thus cutting costs of set-up and maintenance.

The existing infrastructure, based on Windows 2000 Servers and SQL Server 2000 database systems, was found to be both robust and flexible enough to implement an effective solution. However, it was necessary to identify, evaluate and recommend extra components such as a graph generator and a portal type application to distribute reports. To meet RBSI's specific requirements, PDMS identified Dundas Chart and Microsoft Digital Dashboard respectively.

An extra generic layer, sitting on top of the web and database servers, was brought into play to improve analysis of interdepartmental data. This was developed in ASP and XML to provide dynamic, end-user-driven querying tools, delivering relevant enterprise data to a greater number of knowledge consumers. A process of gathering and analysing business requirements identified what reports were required and how they would be filtered.

PDMS worked closely with RBSI developers to become familiar with and author queries for internal systems, such as Sunrise Enterprise by Sunrise Software - a CRM system.
Hydra by the Program Management Group - an ERP system.
Incident Manager by RBSI - a system for logging technical events.
Barometer by RBSI - a system for reporting employee feedback.
Tumbleweed Secure Web by Tumbleweed Communications - a system for controlling web access.
Insight Manager by Compaq Computers - a device management system.

The web-based architecture used allows for scalability without a proportionate increase in IT resource overheads. Deploying a system with a thin client architecture has meant that no software installation is required on the part of the client. PDMS worked closely with RBSI to encourage active participation in the development of a new solution. The establishment of a knowledge management system is an evolving process, great care being exercised in documenting the new system and training RBSI developers with regard to future enhancements.

Benefits

The solution was aimed at putting the big-picture knowledge, necessary to improve the quality of decisions, into the hands of as many members of the IT services department as possible. Benefits of the system will increase still further when users know where the information is, how to get at it, how it will help them, and - importantly- are in a position to keep it current, practical and useful.

The solution delivered improved efficiencies resulting from the cumulative effect of users making more informed, cost saving and revenue enhancing decisions.

The Royal Bank of Scotland International Limited. Registered office: Royal Bank House, 71 Bath Street, St. Helier, Jersey, JE4 8PJ. Regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission for carrying out banking and investment business. Principal places of business: Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Licensed under The Banking Supervision (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law 1994. Registered with the Isle of Man Financial Supervision Commission to conduct Banking and Investment Business. Products of The Royal Bank of Scotland International Limited are not offered to US residents. The products mentioned in this material are by The Royal Bank of Scotland International Limited, which is not an authorised institution within the meaning of the Banking Ordinance (Cap 155) of Hong Kong and is therefore not subject to the supervision of Hong Kong Monetary Authority. The products and services of The Royal Bank of Scotland International Limited are not offered to any person or entity in any jurisdiction or country where an advertisement, offer, provision or sale of products or services is restricted or prohibited by law or regulation or where any such activity would subject The Royal Bank of Scotland International Limited (or any of its affiliates) to any registration or licensing requirements in any such jurisdiction or country.