Evolution, the ICT specialist, today announces it has completed the design and build of a resilient IP network infrastructure for Shariah-based investment firm, Gatehouse Bank.
As a newly launched bank, the project necessitated the application of best-practice design principles to ensure Gatehouse Bank secured both FSA and Shariah compliance.
Central to Gatehouse' ICT infrastructure is a hosted twin-datacentre, enabling the bank to benefit from a robust disaster recovery program and efficient data management environment, in order to provide absolute transparency and accountability for all financial transactions.
James Bagshawe, Chief Financial Officer of Gatehouse Bank, comments, "Demonstrating our credentials in data management and accessibility is critical to securing FSA approval, and fundamental to the values of Shariah banking and investment law. From the outset, we had the opportunity to deploy an ICT infrastructure that would ensure data integrity and visibility for our clients and partners from around the globe."
Working in collaboration with specialist financial IT provider, Path Solutions, the network infrastructure was specifically designed and configured to support iMAL - the only banking software certified by AAOIFI[1] - and Sybase.
Ensuring the iMAL/Sybase software is fully integrated across Gatehouse' entire data networking infrastructure, processes and devices, and remote working strategy, was critical to the success of the project. James Bagshawe explains;
"Accessing, tracking and reporting time-critical financial data is essential to ensuring our investments remain profitable. For our traders and client-facing teams, this means 24/7 access to large volumes of data, generated by the global markets, irrespective of location or device. Resilience, continuity and security of our ICT processes are therefore an essential feature of our business.
"Evolution's experience of the financial industry, and in particular, Islamic banking laws, meant we were confident that Gatehouse' values would be accounted for at every stage of the process. They demonstrated a thorough understanding ng of Shariah practices and how these translate into a trusted partnership and effective IT strategy."
Simon Osman, Managing Director at Evolution, concludes, "Shariah banking is one of the few areas of growth in the finance sector, both UK and Islamic institutions are acutely aware of growing wealth and investment opportunities in the Middle East. However, with profits made from sharing risk, rather than interest, buying and selling decisions are based wholly on the accuracy and speed with which financial data is accessible. Network speeds and feeds, and availability of IT processes are therefore the lynchpin of these organisations."