People’s Bank completes SL’s largest finance sector SD-WAN installation with Hayleys Fentons ICT

People’s Bank and Hayleys Fentons ICT officials exchange partnership agreement  

• Project won Silver award in Technology and IT Sector at National Project Management Excellence Awards 2023

People’s Bank, taking yet another significant leap towards technological innovation, partnered with Hayleys Fentons ICT for a transformative SD-WAN project. 
This initiative covered 375 customer contact points across Sri Lanka, becoming the largest SD-WAN installation within the financial sector in the country. 

The project’s astounding scale is a testament to the technological prowess and dedication of the Fentons ICT team, as they completed this multi-hub enterprise deployment in a mere 70 days. SD-WAN, a cutting-edge networking technology, empowers organisations to securely connect users, applications and data across multiple locations, enhancing speed, safety and flexibility in the process. 
The key features of the deployment include a central SD-WAN Hub at People’s Bank’s head office in Colombo 2, fortified with Redundancy Disaster Recovery (DR) measures to ensure uninterrupted service. 

Commenting on the achievement, People’s Bank CEO/GM Clive Fonseka said, “This is another important milestone in our journey to become the most technologically superior bank in the country. We remain steadfastly committed to use technology not only to offer an enhanced banking experience to our customers but also to increase our operational efficiency and revenue.”
People’s Bank Chief Information Officer Dhammika Dasa enthusiastically praising the successful implementation stated, “Hayleys Fentons ICT has played a pivotal role in modernising our network infrastructure. This SD-WAN project not only optimises our network performance but also enables us to provide islandwide support within two hours via support centres.”
Hayleys Fentons Managing Director Hasith Prematillake expressed pride in being the preferred technology partner for People’s Bank, stating that all 375 branches were seamlessly connected to the central hub through secure IPSEC tunnels, reinforcing security and reliability for the bank. 

“In addition, our team took proactive measures for the network’s resilience by installing a secondary internet connection for backup purposes. The successful deployment is a testament to the technological prowess and dedication of the Fentons ICT team.”
Hayleys Fentons ICT General Manager Yoosoof Ihthisham emphasised that their solution not only modernised the bank’s network infrastructure but also equipped them with tools to enhance security, agility and cost-effectiveness. The central management system provides administrators with complete control and easy monitoring of network performance, ensuring secure communication between SD-WAN enabled and non-SD-WAN branches.
By adopting SD-WAN technology, People’s Bank takes significant steps towards cost efficiency, optimising network traffic, reducing WAN circuit costs and centralising management. This deployment aligns with the evolving technological landscape and solidifies People’s Bank’s position as the leader in digital banking innovation.