StanChart expands Malaysian presence with advanced IT facililty

• Establishes cutting edge global Collective Intelligence and Command Centre
• IT subsidiary unit grows capabilities from 150 people to 5,000 in 14 years

Good news and optimism has been in short supply in Malaysia over the past few months. Be it the leadership crisis, disturbing political rhetoric, weakening currency and worsening quality of air, all seem to add up to a perfect storm of negativity.
 
It is all too easy to forget the many positives in Malaysia under such circumstances. But the official opening of the Standard Chartered Collective Intelligence and Command Centre (CnC), touted by some in the bank to be the most advanced such facility of its kind in the world, provides such an opportunity.
 
While costing a relatively modest US$10 million (RM42 million), the decision by Standard Chartered or StanChart to base the advanced 24x7 CnC in Malaysia and its eventual 350 high value knowledge workers could serve as a reminder of the world-class infrastructure of the country, its capable talent pool and pro-business policies.
 
It was the combination of these factors that led StanChart to establish its information technology subsidiary in 2001, Standard Chartered Scope International to provide a multitude of services – dedicated hardware, software and systems development, information technology support services, banking operations and customer care capabilities – for the bank covering 70 markets globally.

Since then, Scope International has grown from 150 staff to close to 5,000 people today.
 
As a result, the deep pool of expertise and capabilities in Scope’s Malaysian operations “made the setting up of the CnC here an absolutely natural progression since we already have the capability and talent here for monitoring, tracking and managing the infrastructure,” said Kwan Chee Sun, CEO of Standard Chartered Scope International.
  
The CnC itself further enhances Standard Chartered’s capability to provide its clients globally with reliable and secure banking services, using what the company calls state-of-the art digital technology. Staffed with software engineers, incident managers, operations specialists and service partners, the centre is co-located in a 33,000 square feet fully-digitised and secured environment.
 
Thanks to the advanced nature of the CnC, Kwan said, “You don't need to be working in a global bank in New York to be working in such an environment. You can be working with us in Malaysia... it is something to be proud of.”
 
Echoing his sentiments was Yasmin Mahmood, chief executive officer of Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC). In her 13 months as CEO, Yasmin has seen a lot of technology and innovation. And yet, the CnC took her breath away.
 
“I cannot express enough about how impressed and proud I am of this centre,” she gushed. “I had read about the facility but having actually just seen it and hearing some of its future plans, this is even more impressive."

"Malaysia needs to be proud of this centre because it puts us on the leading edge in terms of the management of and delivery of services to the bank’s operations and customers,” she adds.