Datuk Wan Razly (Affin Bank)
Affin Bank will enhance data architecture capabilities in partnership with HCL Technologies and Google Cloud, in a move designed to enable “data-driven decision-making” to fuel company growth in Malaysia.
Central to such efforts will be the integration of the organisation’s on-premises data platform with Google Cloud, leveraging public cloud features underpinned by artificial intelligence and machine learning.
The investment forms part of the RM316 million committed by the bank in 2022 to bolster capex spending amid plans to embrace digitalisation as a “tech-enabled and customer-centric” business, with more spending forecast in the future.
“Our customers will greatly benefit from this, as data architecture enhancement will reshape how products and services are designed and delivered,” said Y.Bhg Datuk Wan Razly Abdullah Wan Ali, president and group CEO of Affin Bank. “We are building for the future by tapping on advanced cloud-based technologies and data-driven strategies to improve our decision-making and promote greater synergies across our operations.”
Specifically, the integration will aim to improve credit scoring and customer profiling processes, in addition to enabling automated workflows to reduce the timeframe for evaluating and processing customer account openings or loan applications.
This will be achieved by unifying the bank’s existing data sources, while also incorporating Google Cloud encryption for data protection and access control.
“The collaboration with HCL Technologies and Google Cloud demonstrates our progressive and innovative approach, which will place Affin Bank in a better position to reinforce resilience while thriving in the evolving digital age, achieve sustainability, and consistently improve our customer experience,” Y.Bhg Datuk Wan Razly added.
The entire data integration exercise will be carried out in several developmental phases and is expected to be completed and fully operational by the end of 2023, representing an integral part of the bank’s data infrastructure modernisation efforts.
“By tapping the best of Google Cloud’s capabilities in data, security, infrastructure, artificial intelligence and machine learning, Affin Bank can accelerate the delivery of compelling products, services and user experiences, and most importantly, strengthen financial well-being and inclusion for the rakyat and businesses,” stated Sherie Ng, country director of Singapore and Malaysia at Google Cloud.
Such efforts are also aligned to Affin Bank’s A25 Plan which is focused on gearing the business up for increased profitability and growth by providing “value-based banking” for customers.
“As a technology partner, we will ensure Affin Bank has better process integration on-premises and access to real-time customer insights for faster application assessment,” noted Tan Boon Hien, head of ASEAN and North Asia at HCL Technologies. “This will allow it to deliver unprecedented services and continue to be one of the leading and most reputable financial institutions in Malaysia.”
