Beirut, 24 June 2019 – Byblos Bank announced during a press conference at its headquarters in Ashrafieh the inauguration of its new data center, the only Uptime Institute Tier III certified constructed facility in Lebanon.
The Bank received this certification after a diligent assessment of all aspects of its newly constructed data center by expert Uptime Institute teams from the United States and the United Kingdom. Uptime Institute is the IT industry’s most trusted and adopted global standard for the proper design, build and operation of data centers – the backbone of the digital economy.
For the occasion Mr. John Massaad, Head of Group Technology Services at Byblos Bank, said: “The digital revolution and the new giant tech companies have raised the bar, as well as the expectations of our customers. In our current world, people have become accustomed to round-the-clock online services. As a result, we are being conscientious to be mindful and proactive to meet those changing demands. At the same time, and in parallel to this revolution, there has been an increase in the risks related to data privacy and security. Byblos Bank has always been at the forefront when it comes to technology, and accompanying customers with the support and services they need to accelerate their banking needs. Our investment in a new state-of-the-art data center confirms our commitment to provide our customers with the best services in a secured and non-stop environment.”
He added: “Over the last couple of years, we have been reviewing our technology architecture and underlying platforms, to ensure agility, resilience, high availability and security. We have recently upgraded our core banking system to improve our core operations and we have more to come.”
For his part Mr. Raffoul Raffoul, Assistant General Manager and Head of Group Organization Development, Informations Systems and Operational Support at Byblos Bank said: “Building a new data center based on the highest international standards demonstrates our Bank’s pioneering approach to technology, and its role in optimizing operations and providing quality customer service. However, I am pleased to announce that we are in full preparation for the next phase as we have teamed up with other key players in the banking industry to release guidelines on how we can take advantage of the cloud. Our aim is to be able in the few years to come to simply buy infrastructure as a service from the cloud, and thus become even more agile and cost effective.”
Designed and constructed in partnership with seasoned experts in the field including POTEL as main contractor in collaboration with SIMCO for the mechanical works, Pierre Dammous and Partners (PDP) as data center engineers, and Samir Khairallah and Partners (SKP) as architectural and civil consultants, Byblos Bank’s new data center features advanced equipment supplied by world-renowned companies such as Schneider, and ITG Group.
“We congratulate Byblos Bank for inaugurating the first data center to be awarded an Uptime Institute Tier III Constructed Facility Certification in Lebanon. This achievement highlights the Bank’s unwavering focus on designing, building, and operating a world-class facility that meets the most demanding technical requirements,” said Mr. Elie Siam, Executive Partner and Head of Electrical Department at Pierre Dammous and Partners (PDP).
With the inauguration of its new data center, Byblos Bank becomes the first and only Lebanese bank with an Uptime Institute Tier III certified constructed facility, thus leading the way in adopting the most advanced and secure data center technologies to serve its clients in Lebanon and around the world.