ICS Financial Systems Limited (ICSFS), the global application software and services provider, announces the completion of ICS BANKS migration at Unity Bank Plc to run the latest Oracle Technology, Oracle Database 11g and Oracle WebLogic Server 11g. Unity Bank, one of Nigeria’s leading retail banks, emerged from the largest merger and consolidation in Nigeria’s banking industry; is the first to run a Universal banking Application on such Oracle’s latest database and application server technology in Africa and the Middle East, and even among the first in the world.

The migration process started in June 2011, and was accomplished in a record time of two months. The process was smooth, swift and transparent. ICSFS continues to lead the performance enhancement for end of period activities. Unity bank deployed the earlier version of ICS BANKS in 2006, with this migration Unity Bank now enjoys record processing levels, running end of day processing for almost 300 branches and around 5,000 online users in less than 30 minutes.

Managing Director of Unity Bank, Alhaji Ado Y Wanka, stated:

“Staying at the forefront of modern technology and innovation has always been our top priority at Unity Bank. The success of our relationship with ICSFS goes to their excellence in providing high standard services and technologies, one of which is running ICS BANKS on Oracle’s latest technology, Oracle Database 11g and Oracle WebLogic Server 11g. We are proud to be the first African bank to use Oracle’s latest technology, which will allow us to enjoy great performance, and effective management of ICS BANKS functionalities and features. ”

Mr. IT Mohammed; Executive Director of Unity Bank, commented:
“ICSFS has been our IT partner since 2006, which enabled us to address our bank requirements and kept us updated with comprehensive and advanced banking technologies. Running ICS BANKS on Oracle Database 11g and Oracle WebLogic Server 11g illustrated outstanding results, such as delivering high performance and highly cost effective solutions. The fully integrated ICS BANKS, has proved over the years its low total cost of ownership, rapid adaptation to the regional and Nigerian market trends and helped us innovate and deploy new products.”

Managing Director of ICSFS; Mr. Robert Hazboun, stated:

“Our clients are our number one priority, and it is essential that we deliver the best technology to meet their needs effectively. We are confident that running ICS BANKS on Oracle’s latest technology will enable Unity Bank to deploy high level services, in order to meet clients’ needs more efficiently. Our strong partnership with Unity Bank aims to bring together the best in cutting-edge solutions and technical support. We wish the bank ongoing success of providing the most advanced technology available today.”

Executive Director of ICSFS; Mr. Wael Malkawi, stated:

“We are proud to be the first company to introduce universal banking solutions on Oracle’s latest technology in Africa and Nigeria in particular. Nigeria today is a leading financial hub, and a leader in utilizing the latest technologies for modern and innovative banking services. We have been leaders in servicing the banking industry in Nigeria since the 90’s, and will continue to do so. This commitment resulted in ICS BANKS receiving the award of Banking Software of the Year (2010) that was voted by thousands of Nigerians.” Mr. Malkawi continued: “As many banks today in Nigeria are looking to introduce Islamic banking window, ICSFS is happy to facilitate interested organizations on building the capacity and expertise with its ICS BANKS ISLAMIC solution.”

Alliances & Channels Manager of Oracle; Mr. Tamer Draz, said:

“With more than 30 years of an outstanding leadership, ICSFS have had a profound impact on the financial arena globally. Their dedication, specialization, accountability, under-promise and over-deliver approach are the mainstay of such incalculable accomplishment. Their strength lies in professionalism, flexibility and superb technical skills. ICSFS solutions are parameterized; therefore clients can quickly put to use the features they need with a minimum amount of time, effort and cost. Being one of the first WebLogic 11g and DB 11g adopters globally, ICS BANKS Software has leveraged the strength and capabilities of Oracle latest technology to place its head and shoulders above the rest.”

ICS BANKS provides a complete suite of banking business modules with a rich sweep of functionality and features, addressing business needs and automating accounting processes, as needed, to improve a bank’s business performance. ICS BANKS has always been a pioneer in utilizing the latest technology to serve financial institutions. In addition to its embedded Service-Oriented-Architecture (SOA), the system is deployed in a multi-tiered setup that runs on a web thin client, J2EE environment.