Modernizing Core Banking through IBM Mainframe Integration
A leading cooperative banking group partnered with IBM to integrate external services with its core banking infrastructure, achieving a 47% reduction in integration effort and improving operational efficiency across multiple business lines. By leveraging IBM z/OS Connect and IBM Application Modernization Consulting Services, the bank unified data access, optimized performance, and reduced recurring costs — unlocking new opportunities for innovation and service scalability.
Business challenge
With thousands of branches and millions of clients, the banking group managed numerous mainframe-based applications critical to core financial operations. However, integrating modern external services into the legacy mainframe environment proved complex and time-consuming.
The organization needed to:
- Reduce the time and cost of integrating new digital services.
- Improve flexibility and agility without disrupting critical core systems.
- Streamline operations across hybrid cloud and on-prem environments.
- Enhance customer experience by enabling real-time data access across platforms.
Solution
The banking group partnered with IBM to implement IBM z/OS Connect, IBM Application Modernization Consulting Services, and IBM WebSphere® Liberty.
These technologies simplified service orchestration between the bank’s core systems and modern digital applications, creating a bridge that connected legacy COBOL transactions with APIs and external applications.
By deploying IBM Operational Test and Data Analytics and optimizing its integration framework, the organization reduced technical complexity, improved reliability, and ensured consistency across all banking channels.
Solution components
- IBM z/OS Connect
- IBM Application Modernization Consulting and Services
- IBM Operational Test and Data Analytics
- IBM WebSphere® Liberty
- IBM z/OS Platform
API-Enabled Integration
Legacy systems were transformed into modern, API-accessible platforms, allowing seamless integration with mobile banking, CRM, and third-party services.
Streamlined Development and Testing
Automation tools reduced manual coding and testing effort, improving reliability and accelerating deployment cycles.
Unified Data Access Layer
Core banking data was made securely available across multiple digital touchpoints, enhancing both speed and transparency.
Result
- 47% reduction in integration effort using IBM z/OS Connect.
- 29 man-days saved during integration deployments.
- 0.4 FTE effort saved per integration process, freeing up resources for innovation.
- Reduced recurring operational costs and faster project turnaround.
- Improved scalability, flexibility, and compliance for future growth.
By utilizing IBM’s integration technology, we achieved significant savings across the board — not just in integration effort, but also in ongoing operational costs. IBM’s support throughout design and execution was instrumental in our success.
— Chief IT Transformation Architect, Leading Cooperative Banking Group