CUSTOMER PROFILE

The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ’s vision is to be a world-leading integrated financial group, offering products and services of the highest quality to meet its customers’ every financial need. In recent years, it has made considerable investments in its b u s i n e s s i n f ra s t r u c t u re , a n d significantly expanded its offering across Asia.

KEY CHALLENGES

•Meeting the security requirements of the finance industry

•Increasing utilisation of PCs and reducing management costs

•Improving efficiency by supporting new styles of working

SOLUTION

The VMware View virtual desktop solution was implemented across 50,000 Wyse thin client terminals. As a result, terminal utilisation increased by approximately 20%, operating costs fell by 15% and security was significantly enhanced.

BUSINESS BENEFITS

• Improved security on PC workstations

•More efficient management, thanks to visualisation of the full environment including applications

•15% reduction in operating costs due to higher workstation utilisation rates

•Facilitates move to a more efficient, paperless style of working

FINANCE

Managing 50,000 Virtual Desktops With VMware View

In recent years, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ has focused on providing financial services to the high-growth economies of Asia. Reflecting its status as Japan’s largest bank, the company committed to a major IT infrastructure upgrade programme to ensure its ability to deliver the expected quality of service.

In mid-2009, the bank therefore started migr at in g P C wo r k s tat io n s at i t s headquarters and all Japanese branch offices to a VMware View virtual desktop environment. Jun Nishii, Senior Manager, O P E N & B P R P l a t f o r m s , G l o b a l Communication in the bank’s Systems Division, explains: “In the company as a whole, there were about 65,000 PCs, but many of these were not being used. And as well as the security risks, there were also cost issues – installing new software on so many computers was hugely expensive.”

In early 2011, desktop virtualization was piloted in the Systems Division, before being rolled out to headquarters and Japanese branch offices. Deployment of the new, notebook-sized Wyse thin clients began in early 2012, and as of September 2012, the company has 50,000 thin client terminals running virtual desktops.

Prior to the VDI project, managing the sheer volume of different applications that users work with on a day-to-day basis was extremely challenging. “With tens of thousands of applications in use, organising these had become a major issue,” explains Daisuke Nitta of OPEN & BPR Platforms,

VMware View Desktop Virtualization Delivers Enhanced Security and Reduced Complexity Across a 50,000-Workstation Environment

Global Communication in the Systems Division. “But by using VMware ThinApp virtualization technology, we were able to signif icantly reduce the number of application versions in use, reducing the administrative burden and improving user convenience at the same time.”

Strengthening Security and Streamlining Operations

Improved security was a major motivation behind The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ’s decision to embrace desktop virtualization. I n a t r a d i t i o n a l P C e nv i ro n m e nt , administrators only have limited options to safeguard data and protect against malware , but in a v ir tua l desk top environment, security measures can be implemented network-wide without worrying about the threat posed by software on individual workstations.

What’s more, IT staff can now visualise the whole environment, including applications, which makes management much more efficient. As a result, the company can seriously consider adopting new and more convenient ways of working which were previously unthinkable. Says Nishii: “While financial institutions like ourselves do face bigger security issues than other industries,

IT security has always been a top priority for The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. In 2009, it therefore made the decision to switch 50,000 PCs to a virtual desktop environment based on VMware View and Wyse thin clients. This unprecedented migration project has now been completed, and the bank is reaping the benefits in terms of dramatically increased utilisation of workstations, lower overheads, and full scalability to future needs.

Jun NishiiSenior Manager,OPEN & BPR Platforms, Global Communication, Systems Division,The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd.

we are now seriously looking at ways for staff to benefit from the ‘Bring Your Own Device’ trend.” This would never have been possible in the pre-virtualization set-up.

Furthermore, desktop virtualization has also improved the productivity of bank employees. One example of this is that staff in the Systems Division no longer need to bring printed documents to meetings. “And I’m sure this paperless style of working will rapidly spread throughout headquarters and all the branch offices,” says Nitta.

There is also a more significant benefit. “Previously, checks had to be carried out every month to ensure no sensitive data h a d b e e n s a v e d l o c a l l y o n P C workstations,” Nitta explains. ”With some 65,000 PCs in the company and each one taking 30 minutes to check, that took an enormous amount of time and effort. So the fact that these checks are no longer needed represents a major efficiency gain for us!”

Towards Global Data Sharing

With the completion of the desktop virtualization project, 90% of The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ’s terminals in Japan are now thin clients. At the same time, the number of terminals has been reduced from 65,000 to 50,000. As a result, utilisation rates are now 20% higher, and costs have been reduced by 15%, easily meeting the original project objectives.

With a migration from Windows XP to Windows 7 scheduled for the near future,

the virtualized solution gives IT staff a clear overview of what applications will be required in the post-upgrade environment. This will make it easier for them to manage a seamless transition. Preparations are already underway, and a Proof of Concept environment is currently being built.

“Desktops are in many ways the lifeblood of the company’s daily work, so it makes sense to keep them on a central server where we can make sure nothing goes wrong. Being able to give users an optimum working environment, and helping them benefit from new advances in technology, is something that we as IT professionals find very motivating,” says Nishii.

Looking further ahead, there are also plans to implement global file sharing, via the implementation of VMware Horizon Data. This high-end solution gives users totally secure access to their files from any location and on any device.

“The success of the desktop virtualization project was made possible by the cooperation of VMware as a company, involving its people both here in Japan and at its US headquarters. We have built a strong relationship of trust with them, and see them not just as a supplier, but as a re l iable long-term par tner,” Nishi i concludes.

The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ hopes to leverage this relationship to keep evolving its business with the help of VMware solutions.

VMware, K.K. Level 13, Hamamatsucho Square 1-30-5, Hamamatsucho, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0013, Japan URL: www.vmware.com/jpCopyright © 2012 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. Protected by U.S. and international copyright and intellectual property laws. VMware and the VMware logo are trademarks of VMware, Inc. All other company and product names are the trademarks of their respective owners. Item No. VMware-Bank-of-Tokyo-Mitsubishi-UFJ-12Q2-EN-Case-Study

03/12

Figure 1: The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ’s virtual desktop project roadmap

FINANCE

“Desktops are in many ways the lifeblood of the company’s daily work, so it makes sense to keep them on a central server where we can make sure nothing goes wrong. Being able to give users an optimum working environment, and helping them benefit from new advances in technology, is something that we as IT professionals find very motivating.”

Jun Nishii, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd.

Daisuke NittaOPEN & BPR Platforms, Global Communication, Systems Division,The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd.

SOLUTION ELEMENTS

•VMware View

•VMware ThinApp

•VMware vSphere

•DELL Wyse desktop and mobile thin clients ranging from C10LE to X90M7