Enterprise

Serverless

Launching BAMAN: Raiffeisenbank’s Strategic Move to Cloud Application

When Raiffeisenbank launched its first cloud application BAMAN, it marked a significant step in its strategic digital transformation.

Raiffeisenbank a.s. is an important banking institution that provides a wide range of banking services to private and corporate clientele in the Czech Republic.

Raiffeisenbank is a member of Austrian Raiffeisen Group that also offers products and services in the Czech Republic in the area of building savings (Raiffeisen stavební spořitelna), insurance (UNIQA pojišťovna) and leasing (Raiffeisen-Leasing, Raiffeisen-Leasing Real Estate). Raiffeisenbank merged with eBanka, a.s., in 2008.

According to total assets over CZK 300 billion, the bank is 4th largest in the market. Raiffeisenbank serves clients at more than 130 branches and business client centres throughout Czech Republic. The bank also provides services of specialized mortgage centres, personal, corporate and business advisors.

Challenge

As Raiffeisenbank prepared to launch the BAMAN project, it faced the daunting prospect of entering the cloud computing arena for the first time. What is more, they were implementing this project while merging Equabank, meaning the entire bank was primarily focused on this merger. They needed a skilled partner they could trust to help move things along.

This venture represented a significant paradigm shift and prompted a strategic assessment of the complexities associated with implementing and maintaining a cloud-based service.

The project required specialized expertise in designing, implementing, and supporting a production environment within the AWS cloud. This expertise was critical to the successful deployment and ongoing maintenance of the application.

Building a serverless infrastructure was a major undertaking that required the creation of new continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) processes. This approach was essential for efficient and agile development and deployment practices.

The application architecture needed to be not only cloud-native, but also highly cost-effective and scalable. This balance was critical to meeting the bank’s operational and financial goals.

Operating in a highly regulated banking environment, the project faced significant security and compliance requirements. Meeting these standards was essential to protect customer data and meet regulatory mandates.

Technology Stack

AWS API Gateway, Lambda
DynamoDB, SQS
AWS CloudWatch, Lambda Insights, and X-Ray

What we did

The project began by laying a solid foundation, starting with a secure and compliant serverless foundation platform. This included defining the essential network infrastructure that would meet the bank’s stringent compliance standards. A major challenge was to develop a serverless infrastructure that emphasized strong network isolation while seamlessly integrating with on-premises services, which was critical to maintaining data security and system integrity.

BAMAN’s architecture was designed to be fundamentally serverless, leveraging AWS services such as API Gateway, Lambda, DynamoDB, and SQS. This approach ensured that the application could dynamically scale and remain cost effective.

To support continuous deployment and operational agility, a custom CI/CD solution was implemented to facilitate rapid development cycles and maintain the stability of serverless applications throughout their lifecycle. Security and compliance were paramount given the highly regulated nature of the banking industry.

In addition, advanced monitoring and observability tools such as AWS CloudWatch, Lambda Insights, and X-Ray were implemented to monitor application performance, detect issues early, and ensure system reliability and efficiency. With these measures in place, the bank overcame its initial challenges and laid a solid foundation for continued innovation and digital transformation in the banking industry.

Strategic Move to Cloud Application

Roadmap

To help Raiffeisenbank begin this complex journey, first we had to assess the existing cloud environment, application business requirements, determine the best approach and design a roadmap while co-designing the architecture.

Architectural Design

Designing the entire AWS serverless platform based on services provided by AWS to take full advantage of cloud-native features, along with custom network layout and security boundaries while providing responsibility split patterns for multiple teams.

Implementation and Testing

The implementation phase involved setting up the required AWS services and developing the application components. Extensive testing, performance evaluation, and security checks, ensured that the system met functionality and security standards.

Production Launch

The BAMAN application went into production after rigorous testing. The go-live was monitored to address any immediate issues, with ongoing assessments to ensure optimal performance.

Handover

We handed over the entire codebase, library of concepts, docs and necessary know-how to the cloud teams and helped them with day 2 operations, to become self-sufficient in the upkeep of the infrastructure and ready for production.

Outcomes

For Raiffeisenbank, the main outcome was that we got the first cloud-native app into production, which gave them more confidence that it can be done. Their team gained more expertise in the cloud, and this eventually opened doors for them to further develop apps in the cloud.

Labyrinth Labs‘ expertise in cloud-native and serverless solutions made the implementation of this project hassle free. The successful deployment of the BAMAN has advanced the bank’s digital transformation and operational goals. Strict security measures and compliance protocols ensured that all digital interactions remained secure and compliant with industry regulations. BAMAN represents a significant step in Raiffeisenbank digital transformation journey, setting a precedent for future cloud-based solutions.

Labyrinth Labs with Raiffeisenbank developed a robust serverless architecture that reduced the need for manual infrastructure management, boosting operational efficiency and reducing costs. The scalability and flexibility provided by the AWS infrastructure has proven essential, allowing the bank to efficiently manage varying loads of customer interactions.

Client’s Point of View

“Cloudification of services is a crucial topic across the IT industry, including banking. Our services are highly sensitive to security and durability, making every major change a carefully planned and tested effort. During one of the largest banking operations on the Czech financial market, as the entire bank focused on merging with Equa bank, a.s., we decided to use this time to experiment with a service that fully utilizes the benefits of the cloud. From the very beginning, it was essential for us to find a partner with the necessary experience to guide us into the world of serverless without having to explore dead ends.”

Jan Schustr

Head of IT Automation and Middleware at Raiffeisenbank Česká republika

LabLabs delivered exactly what we needed – expertise, patience to navigate this uncharted path with us, and a functional product.

Their support allowed us to start building our vision of digital channels in the cloud, setting a solid foundation for our future innovations.

Future Steps

The successful integration with on-premises services and the implementation of new CI/CD processes are further proof of Raiffeisenbank capability to manage complex IT projects, showcasing the effective partnership between Labyrinth Labs and Raiffeisenbank.

This collaboration has set a new benchmark for innovation in banking services, marking a significant step in the bank’s ongoing journey towards integrating modern technology solutions while maintaining a focus on security and compliance within a regulated industry.

WHAT’S NEXT?