BPS Bank and Modernized IT Environment to Support Banking Solutions
Deployment date: 2024
Sector: Finance
Google Cloud
To gain greater flexibility in managing and scaling resources, particularly when launching a new data analysis tool, BPS Bank embarked on an IT infrastructure modernization journey. To support this endeavor, BPS Bank partnered with OChK experts, who designed, set up, and properly secured a landing zone in the public Google Cloud environment. As a result, the bank can now manage its resources more easily, automate application deployment, and implement business-critical changes much faster.
About BPS Bank
Bank Polskiej Spółdzielczości SA operates both as an associating bank and a commercial bank. It works with over 300 cooperative banks, forming the largest association of cooperative banks in Poland, called Grupa BPS. The bank provides these institutions with financial products and services, while also acting as their business partner and representative. Through its branch network, BPS Bank also serves individual and business customers, with a strong focus on small and medium-sized enterprises.
Challenges
To support the planned launch of its strategic analytics platform, Zrzeszeniowa Hurtownia Danych (Associated Data Warehouse), BPS Bank decided to upgrade its IT infrastructure. The bank, which had maintained its entire IT environment on-premises until now, sought a more flexible and scalable architecture to support faster, more efficient change management.
Innovative technology was also essential to ensure the new platform met banking industry standards, enabling the bank to sustain its growth trajectory and maintain a competitive market position.
As the driving force behind the Threat Intelligence project aimed at protecting affiliated banks from cyber threats, BPS Bank prioritized advanced security mechanisms in the new environment.
The key factor in selecting OChK as the main partner for this project was its extensive experience working with financial institutions and its practical knowledge of regulatory requirements, including those outlined in the DORA regulation and the UKNF sector recommendations. As a regulated institution, BPS Bank needed a partner capable not only of understanding complex compliance and cybersecurity demands but also of turning those requirements into robust technological solutions. The result: a secure and fully compliant cloud environment.
Solution and Implementation
OChK experts designed and deployed an enterprise-class landing zone in the Google Cloud environment, with advanced security features. The BPS Bank team played an active role in every phase of the project, not only ensuring that the solution was closely aligned with the bank’s needs but also creating valuable learning opportunities for internal teams. The project was implemented in several key stages:
selecting the most suitable Google Cloud services to meet BPS Bank’s technical requirements,
configuring resources and the landing zone robust security mechanisms to meet strict regulatory standards,
deploying the landing zone and provisioning of the necessary cloud resources,
conducting a series of hands-on workshops with the BPS Bank team focused on cloud deployment practices and secure service exposure in the cloud.
Technologies Used
Google Cloud
Google Kubernetes Engine
Google Cloud Storage
Flux CD
Gitlab CI/CD
Istio Service Mesh
Terraform / Terragrunt
Results
Proper configuration of the landing zone and implementation of mechanisms for deploying applications in Google Kubernetes Engine enables BPS Bank to manage resources efficiently and flexibly, with the ability to scale as needed.
By adopting a Continuous Deployment (CD) approach with Flux and GitLab, the bank streamlined and automated its application deployment process, reducing implementation time and minimizing the risk of errors compared to its previous on-premises environment.
A well-architected solution structure, including clear separation of security policies, roles, and access controls, significantly enhances the security of the services provided.
Using Terraform and Terragrunt in combination with automation enables the BPS Bank team to manage infrastructure more efficiently, in line with DevOps best practices. This, in turn, contributes to greater environment stability and improved team efficiency.
A series of technical workshops, covering effective use of the new environment and practical application use cases, helped the client team deepen their cloud expertise and strengthen internal capabilities.
Our partnership with OChK was smooth, professional, and highly effective. Their experts quickly deployed a fully compliant, secure environment tailored to our needs. The daily hands-on training and knowledge sharing proved especially valuable, enabling our team to independently develop and maintain the solution. The project was well-planned, delivered on time, and designed with long-term value for the organization in mind. We appreciated the open, collaborative communication and are confident that we now have a solid foundation for future cloud initiatives. We wholeheartedly recommend OChK as a reliable and capable technology partner.
Mariusz Lichota
Head of Software Division, Department of Data Analysis and Engineering, BPS Bank
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