United Bulgarian Bank Merger: On Time and on Budget with Adastra’s Data Migration Engine
KBC Bank set out to perform a complex data migration to unify the systems of United Bulgarian Bank (UBB) and Raiffeisenbank Bulgaria (RBBG), following its acquisition of RBBG.
accounts migrated
customers migrated
success rate
Challenge
UBB and RBBG Merger: Navigating Complex Data Migration
In Retail banking, also in Bulgaria, one of the mantras for success is clear: size. Being bigger means more impact and higher efficiency. With this in mind, KBC Group strategically acquired Raiffeisenbank Bulgaria (RBBG), aiming to scale their operations and enhance their market presence.
Following the acquisition, the logical next step was to integrate the operations of RBBG with their existing entities, aiming to create a seamless and unified customer and employee experience. This involved migrating all customers related data from UBB and RBBG legacy systems to the target systems.
Aware of the challenges, they embarked on a complex merger and integration project. The statistics were daunting, with only about one in seven mergers achieving success. Determined to beat the odds, they focused on the most critical aspects: a data migration on budget and within the deadline.
Solution
Implementing Adastra’s Data Migration Engine for Complex Data Migration
UBB brought in Adastra, a leader in data migration, known for our meticulous approach and successful track record. We decided to implement our Data Migration Engine (DME) solution, designed to tackle the most complex migration projects. Our DME is a comprehensive database enriched with frameworks and tools essential for data cleansing, consolidation, transformations, and reconciliation. By bringing together the world’s best practices, migration concepts, and accelerators, our engine streamlines the migration process, ensuring data integrity and accuracy.
The project unfolded over 2 years in 4 phases and included importing, preparing, treating and exporting the data, executing the migration, testing and evaluation and data migration reconciliation. This structured approach allowed us to manage and execute the migration process efficiently, ensuring every piece of data was accurately transferred and integrated.
Impact
Migration Success: Enhanced Efficiency and Continuous Operations
Thanks to our Data Migration Engine, we successfully migrated critical data for the merger of UBB and RBBG.
This achievement wasn’t simply a matter of moving data; it was about ensuring the continuous provision of banking services to hundreds of thousands of customers, maintaining their trust, and establishing a strong foundation for the newly merged entity.
The project was completed on time and within budget, with minimal impact on clients. They remained unaffected by the transition, thanks to the absence of production issues throughout the process.
By migrating and merging the systems of both banks, UBB has achieved:
- Greater operational efficiency
- Data integrity, compliance and enhanced digital capabilities
- The ability to focus on its core business of providing outstanding service to clients
- An environment ready for future growth
