How ADVA is Delivering Ultimate Data Security for Consorsbank in Europe

Considerably strengthening its data security, Consorsbank is using the ADVA FSP 3000 for secure connectivity between its data centers.

Consorsbank, one of Europe’s leading direct banks, is leveraging the platform for secure, ultra-fast, high-capacity optical communications. The fully scalable solution comes with ADVA Optical Networking’s ConnectGuard™ technology, enabling Consorsbank to deliver huge amounts of data with the protection of Layer 1 encryption. Part of the BNP Paribas group of financial institutions, Consorsbank has over 800,000 digital banking clients and manages assets worth over EUR 25 billion. That’s why security and scalability were key selection factors.

The ADVA FSP 3000’s 100Gbit/s capabilities enable Consorsbank to grow its range of digital financial services and products in the future. ADVA Optical Networking's long-term partner, Computacenter, Europe's leading independent provider of IT infrastructure services, was instrumental in designing and deploying the network.

“We’re creating banking products for a digital world, services that instantly respond to customers’ needs,” said Stephan Eck, senior team head, networking, Consorsbank. “Now we can give our customers complete peace of mind thanks to ADVA Optical Networking’s ConnectGuard™ data security solution. Encryption at the optical layer means they can be certain that their sensitive financial information is safe as it moves between our data centers. It’s also given us far more capacity. Previously we managed with a limited number of leased fiber channels. Now, with the ADVA FSP 3000, the amount of data we can transport has massively increased. It puts us in control of the network so we can channel that capacity where and when we need it. Flexibility means we can offer even more because new services can be accessed and switched between data centers at the push of a button. The installation was also incredibly fast and smooth, meaning no disturbance at all to the banking experience our clients receive.”

ADVA Optical Networking has a unique understanding of what’s required in the data center environment. It has over 20 years of experience in the enterprise sector, particularly with some of world’s largest financial institutions. Right now, banks are all too aware of the growing threat from cybercrime and the costly damage to reputation that comes from a data breach. Some, like Consorsbank, are responding with the ultimate safety measures. That means encrypting every bit of data in transit so that it cannot be deciphered even if it is intercepted by a third party. Alongside this is the ADVA FSP 3000’s reliability. It ensures network downtime is kept to a minimum so that data is constantly accessible – another essential component for 24-hour digital banking. Then there’s the scalability and 100Gbit/s capability of ADVA Optical Networking’s modular platform that ensures it’s ready for growing customer demands and further technical advances in the future.

“Working with Consorsbank was an exciting challenge. We were tasked with integrating new technology into an existing network and the demands of 24-hour digital banking meant it had to be installed with zero downtime,” commented Josef Sißmeir, director, sales, Central Europe, ADVA Optical Networking. “Drawing on a huge amount of experience in the financial sector, our team was able to create a parallel structure for soft migration, making the process seamless. Consorsbank was immediately able to give their customers the assurance of ConnectGuard™ protection not to mention the benefits of increased efficiency and flexibility. Their ethos is to provide products that enhance the lifestyles of people on the move. As a digital direct bank they believe in leveraging the very latest communication technology. In fact, the Consorsbank slogan ‘Mobile, just like you’ says it all. We’re proud to empower them to deliver smarter, faster, safer services.”