Cisco’s innovative network infrastructure enables The Saudi Investment Bank to quickly adapt to changes in business needs while improving the services provided to customers

RIYADH, KSA -  4, July 2021: Cisco has today announced that The Saudi Investment Bank (SAIB) has become the first financial institution in the Kingdom to adopt the entire Cisco SDN Architecture.  This enables SAIB to automate its network to quickly respond to changing business needs while improving customers service.

With the implementation of its new network, powered by Cisco SD Wan, SAIB will be able to automate an increasing number of processes. This will allow SAIB to accelerate time to market in deploying applications and adding new services. 

Faisal Al-Omran – CEO of The Saudi Investment Bank said: “We are delighted to announce that we have adopted Cisco’s latest technologies into our network at SAIB. Implementing such technologies, supports our digitisation strategy, and at the same time we will be better placed to respond and adapt to ever-changing business dynamics. Cisco new technologies make it possible for SAIB to automate daily processes in order to deliver an enhanced customer experience.”
SAIB will be the first bank in Saudi Arabia to have the full stack of Cisco SDN Architecture, and better powered by Intent to offer IBN using Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI), SDA and SD-WAN. The Saudi Investment Bank was also the first bank in the country to acquire ACI in its Data Centre, which is an important first step towards Software Defined Networking (SDN). 

To complement the successful implementation of ACI, SAIB has decided to further expand its SDN foot-print by evaluating the new network in its Local Area and Wide Area Networks. SAIB decided to engage with Cisco due to its reputation as a market leader in this field. 
Once successfully completed, SAIB will replace its existing network with new infrastructure based on Cisco Digital Network Architecture (Cisco DNA) and Cisco SD-Access. This new single network system provides for greater responsive management in addition to integrating wired and wireless networks, improving collaboration, and offers the mobility needed to support a flexible working environment. 

With Cisco SD-Access, SAIB will simplify its operations, reduce complexity by separating the control and data planes, while making automation highly secure and scalable. This empowers the Bank to quickly bring new applications and services to customers, while also freeing up valuable employee time for other tasks.

It allows provision for deliverables to be completed in days rather than months. The new system also allows SAIB to build programmable networks while eliminating the need for manual configuration. This will support the bank’s provision and management of its data centres, LAN, and WAN, as well as centralizing configuration, management, control, monitoring, service delivery, and cloud automation.

Salman Abdulghani Faqeeh, Managing Director, Cisco Saudi Arabia said: “The implementation of Cisco SDN Architecture with SAIB reflects our excellent reputation within the industry for innovative products that help businesses achieve their goals while also delivering exceptional experiences for customers. With Cisco’s SDN Architecture, SAIB has taken a significant step in realizing its digital future and we are proud to be supporting them on this journey. Our networks and tools allow businesses to automate repetitive tasks to speed up delivery of new products and services, improving operational efficiencies.” 
Cisco is supporting SAIB as it continues its journey towards greater digitization of services and operations that will enable the Bank to become more efficient and enhance the customer experience.