RBI shortlists five top IT services firms for CIMS implementation
Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, IBM India and Capgemini are four of the five IT services firms shortlisted by the Reserve Bank of India to support with the implementation of a centralised information and management system (CIMS). The move is aimed at improving data collection practices and overall validation processes.
As the apex bank in India, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is looking to modernise its operations in tandem with global trends that are affecting the financial sector in the country. The Indian banking sector has been struggling with a sea of non-performing assets in recent years, which has prompted a number of senior executives to call for reforms.
Consequently, the RBI has decided to overhaul its entire Data Warehouse and implement a new CIMS, thereby increasing the efficiency of its data management systems. To support with this transition, the bank called for expressions of interest (EOI) from the IT consulting space in July this year.
From a range of submissions, the RBI has narrowed the list down to five candidates, the names of which it has now released. The list includes the largest IT services firm in the country TCS, alongside the increasingly digitally oriented Infosys, and the global IT giant IBM’s India operation.
Consulting firm Capgemini also made the list, while the last name on the list is that of Larsen & Toubro Infotech. These firms will now be issued a request for proposal (RFP), based on which the final vendor for the design and implementation of the CIMS will be selected.
According to the RBI’s plans, the new CIMS will not only consist of a new Data Warehouse, but will also include what the bank terms as a Data Lake. The latter incorporates mechanisms for the smooth and efficient collection of data, particularly from entities that are under stringent regulatory frameworks.
Data management has become an increasingly pertinent issue in the Indian business environment, particularly since the general Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) act was enforced in Europe earlier this year. Businesses in India with international operations are benchmarking their data management practices in order to ensure that they comply with the new regulations.
As a result, the RBI’s Data Lake will also include mechanisms to review and validate data through a system-to-system interface, while the storage of this data is expected to become more flexible. The bank will also reportedly leverage the new CIMS to establish a new RBI Data Sciences Lab, which will operate with a number of experts and analysts in the field of Big Data.
