Technical furnishings for the Network Operations Center
THE CHALLENGE
National Commercial Bank es el banco más importante de Arabia Saudí, y está considerado una institución financiera en la región. Como ejemplo, fue el primer banco Saudí en operar en Reino Unido. Se fundó en 1953 con la unión de Saleh and Abdulaziz Kaki, y la Salem Bin Mahfouz Company, con lo que se formó el primer Banco Saudí oficialmente reconocido.
National Commercial Bank is the most important bank in Saudi Arabia and is a well-regarded financial institution in the region. For example, it was the first Saudi bank to operate in Britain. It was founded in 1953 with the union of Saleh and Abdulaziz Kaki and the Salem Bin Mahfouz Company, who formed the first officially recognized Saudi Bank.
NCB has always been a national forerunner in the banking business. It was the first to offer credit cards, the first with ATMS, one of the first to offer savings plans for students, and the first bank to open branches exclusively for women.
From the initial meetings, the client explained that the IT and Operations Department played a crucial role in the bank in providing support to many other departments as part of its daily operations.
A 24/7 solution
Business operations have changed drastically to be able to satisfy the demands of the different markets and to be able to adapt to the times and continue to evolve. In terms of the global economy and the opening-up of new financial markets, the Bank had offered its services via alternative channels that are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
This demand and type of business meant equipping the systems group with greater availability so they could be used without interruption. The Bank management team suggested that necessary changes needed to be made in the organization to be able to provide efficient systems that work 24/7.
All support teams that were previously responsible for responding were grouped together in order to optimize the resolution time (MTTR). The support or ‘IT operations’ team forms the center of network operations or NOC.
The mission of the Network Operations Center (NOC) was to provide basic support for the entire infrastructure of National Commercial Bank. This included:
- Systems operations.
- Network support.
- Security operations.
- Support and management of the ATM service.
The changes meant bringing together half of the support personnel in the same physical location and the present Data Center was not up to the task since it didn’t meet the conditions necessary for noise control—there was insufficient workspace, which caused overcrowding, the furnishings were not ergonomic, and the number of screens was insufficient for data control. All of these factors were taken into account as part of the plans for the new Network Operations Center (NOC).
What the client was looking for
In brief, Floria was asked to create a new space with a consistent distribution to facilitate interoperability, with ergonomically ample workstations in a limited space so that in all cases each operator could have a direct view of the video wall. It sought the experience of the Floria Group in similar working environments to obtain a distribution of operators and technical furnishings that fully met all of the requirements. Specifically, a lot of interest was invested in studying the 24/7 technical furnishings to be installed.
It was the first time the Floria Group had worked with this client.
THE SOLUTION
As a first step to reach a satisfactory solution, the needs and premises of the client were analyzed and a study was undertaken for implementing the workstations within the available area.
After the initial phase of in-depth analysis, it was concluded that the Floria Renovatio furnishings model was the one that perfectly met the needs of the client as it was ideal for 24/7 working environments where there is a large number of operators in a very small space.
The following stage, the preparation of a project or bid, involved an engineer as the internal coordinator of the project, a draftsperson who drew up the plans, an engineer who prepared the study and calculated the costs, and a designer who prepared 3D images for the integration of the furnishings in the environment. When the project was contracted, an engineer was assigned for the coordination of the manufacturing and assembly sections.
Floria collaborated in stages of the project with the local (partner) company AL-NAHR COMPANY FOR SECURITY SOLUTIONS, LLC.
A special study was conducted on how to incorporate the accessories of each operator (to house its CPUs, monitor supports, inclusion of connection sockets, personal effects, etc.). This was an aspect not taken into account initially and one in which Floria provided solutions and proper consultancy was received.
What’s more, Floria provided adequate separation between operators to maintain ergonomic working conditions while preserving the overall aesthetic and integrating all elements as part of the environment—highly important when so much time is spent working under pressure in the same space. The preparation of 3D images helped in this regard.
Floria Group conducted an ergonomic study in which all requirements raised by the client were studied in the minutest detail. In the end, Floria Renovatio model technical furnishings were manufactured and installed as they provided a solution for all of the client’s needs.
THE BENEFITS
After the completion of the project, the bank was equipped with a room that allowed for a comfortable distribution of operators using technical furnishings and the proper accessories for operations, all perfectly integrated as part of the general aesthetics of the environment. In other words, solutions were delivered which met the primary requirements of the client:
- A perfect ergonomics solution.
- New generation furnishings with a contemporary look.
- Simplicity in the assembly and perfect coordination with the other trades working in the room.
CONCLUSION
Thanks to the varied range of technical furnishings and the ample experience in studying 24/7 operations centers available to the Floria Group, it was possible to study and provide solutions and bring them to completion, demonstrating the leadership of FLORIA in any 24/7 environment project.
