Maybank Singapore signs $43M IT deal in backsourcing move

SINGAPORE--One of Malaysia's financial instituions, Maybank, has backsourced its IT operations here as a 10-year outsourcing contract comes to an end.

At a joint signing ceremony here on Friday, Maybank Singapore announced a S$55 million (US$43 million) IT contract with Dimension Data and NTT Communications. This marks a new approach from when the bank outsourced its IT infrastructure in a RM1.3 billion (US$402 million) deal with CSC Computer Services in 2003. That 10-year deal had covered both Singapore and Malaysia operations.
The new deal will see an upgrade of infrastructure including moving from a tier 2 to a tier 3 data center, said Lim Kuo Siong, Maybank Singapore's head of IT and virtual banking. It's a move which the Monetary Authority of Singapore has been encouraging which will reduce its compliance and operational risk.

The new services will also enable Maybank to gain cost and operational efficiencies through virtualization and consolidation, and pave the way for its private cloud plans. The company will also gain more control and visibility of its assets, which will be managed by its own staff instead of a third party previously.

The new deal will be completed by the first half of 2014, and paves the way for more investments in Singapore and the transformation of its business applications. For its Malaysia IT operations, Maybank will announce its decision at a later date.
Maybank has an international network of over 2,200 offices in 17 countries staffed by 46,000 workers, with Singapore among its largest with 1,400 employees.