IPC Systems Announces Unigy Platform Installation at the National Bank of Abu Dhabi

JERSEY CITY, N.J., July 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- IPC Systems today announced the deployment of their best-selling Unigy unified trading communications platform to the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD).

"We are excited to implement Unigy within our infrastructure to realize the business advantages provided by the scalable hardware and centralized management solutions while lowering our overall operating costs," said Mr. Robert Smith, Deputy SGM Global Financial Markets & GM Trading and Investments, Trading Floor, NBAD. "The migration from our old system was smooth, and the domestic installation and support will help us expand our presence within our markets."

The business continuity planning system has been implemented in the bank's Abu Dhabi headquarters and in their Dubai offices, with a total of 111 positions across their two front-room sites. This makes NBAD the first bank in the UAE to deploy Unigy, reinforcing their technological leadership and enabling them to react quickly using the industry's most advanced trading communications platform.

"Our deployment of the Unigy system includes two back room data centers, including one specifically designated for data recovery.  A third back room data center was also put in place, giving us further protection in case of a complete loss of the others, providing a future-proof solution for business continuity planning," said Mr. Jamal Abboud, head - business services, IT Department , NBAD. "This project was domestically handled by Rashed Al Makhawi Enterprises (RAME) – a leading solutions provider in the Middle East. Their approach and detailed progress reports helped reassure us throughout the project delivery. We are satisfied with their execution and responsiveness."

NBAD's Unigy implementation will help keep them resilient in case of any data connection interruption and will help improve the bank's current efficiency and productivity. IPC Systems, as a leading provider of trading communications, will be able to support the bank locally because of its global positioning.

"We are very proud to have been selected to install this system for NBAD to help transform their trading workflow," added Mr. Vivek Raghavan, general manager, Rashed Al Makhawi Enterprises. "Our team of skilled field engineers and highly trained technicians provide support online, on-site and over the phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to help our clients run at peak efficiency. Our strong partnership with IPC helps us offer this exemplary aftersales service and support." 

"We are excited that the National Bank of Abu Dhabi has chosen Unigy for its business continuity needs," said Mark Miller, vice president, Product Management for IPC. "Our ultimate goal is to provide customers with the tools and technologies they need to succeed in an increasingly competitive environment. We will continue to work to meet the diverse needs of our financial customers in this region and around the world to deliver not only technology but also the highest standard of customer care."

Unigy is IPC's revolutionary unified trading communications and applications platform. The Unigy platform's open standards and service oriented architecture (SOA) help streamline trading workflows, create custom apps for a competitive edge, reduce operational risks and lower total cost of ownership (TCO) for firms of all sizes.

About IPC
IPC offers high- and low-touch trading communications solutions to the global financial trading community including the top investment banks, hedge funds and investment managers in established and emerging markets. With a 100-percent focus on this sector and nearly 40 years of expertise and an unrivaled record of innovation, IPC provides customers with unified solutions that support collaborative voice trading and real-time electronic trading and market data connectivity.  IPC's offerings include the first unified communications/application platform, award-winning hard and soft turrets, electronic connectivity services including enhanced voice services, business continuity solutions, and follow-the-sun service and support. IPC's global reach extends to nearly 60 countries – including a financial extranet of 4,000 on-net locations in over 700 cities and more than 115,000 turrets deployed worldwide. Headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey, IPC has approximately 1,000 employees located throughout the Americas and the EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions. For more information, visit www.ipc.com.

About National Bank of Abu Dhabi
The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), The Number One Bank in UAE, was incorporated in 1968 and is listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), under stock code (NBAD). Ranked as one of the top 50 safest banks in the world, NBAD currently operates across 13 countries on four continents. NBAD has a network of more than 110 branches and 430 ATMs in the UAE in addition to cash offices that are spread out in remote locations to provide banking services to customers all over the UAE. Besides brick & mortar branches, NBAD provides 24 hour internet banking access through NbadOnline and NbadDirect, the SMS-based payment service (Arrow) as well as account access and personalised customer support through its 24-hour Call Centre.

NBAD's overseas network stretches from Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain in the G.C.C.; Egypt, Libya, and Sudan in Africa; UK, France, and Switzerland in Europe; Hong Kong and Jordan in Asia to Washington, D.C. in the U.S.A. Overall, NBAD has nearly 50 branches and 60 ATMs outside the UAE. NBAD provides its customers with a wide variety of financial services targeting all segments of the consumer and corporate markets. NBAD is rated senior long term/short term A+/A-1 by Standard and Poor's, Aa3/P1 by Moody's and AA-/F1+ by Fitch giving it one of the strongest combined rating of any Middle Eastern financial institution. Committed to the service of the UAE society, NBAD has a written Corporate Social Responsibility Mission, which forms an important element of the Bank's overall strategy.

About Rashed Al Makhawi Enterprises
Rashed Al Makhawi Enterprises L.L.C (RAME), headquartered in Dubai, has over a decade's experience as a leading, trusted and well known mission-critical technology solutions provider in the Middle East region. Its core domain expertise lies in the sectors of banking and financial services, contact centres, telecoms, oil & gas companies and public safety organizations. With a strong focus on delighting the customer every time, RAME's solutions are backed-up with unmatched after-sales support and service which is a benchmark in the industry. The company has its own in-house dedicated, qualified, factory trained and certified technical team which works on a 24x7 basis. It has also become the preferred and exclusive partner for various category majors. For more information, visit www.makgroup.ae

SOURCE IPC Systems, Inc.