CASE STUDY
This project was more than just deploying a technology solution, it was a way to make sure we deliver value every day. including Internet, card and mobile banking platforms, ERP, email, backup, reporting, and customer management. This cloud-ready foundation supports its main and Disaster Recovery sites, ensuring resilience and performance across all 627 branches.
The original infrastructure comprised eight Nutanix nodes across two generations of hardware, enabling the bank to scale on demand while maintaining a consistent user and administrator experience. However, as service demands increased, this proved insufficient. To address this, the bank procured four additional high-spec nodes.
A fourth cluster has since been deployed at the secondary( DR) site, this was in the procurement stage during our initial discussions. The bank’ s infrastructure now consists of a total of 16 Nutanix nodes, providing enhanced scalability, resilience and performance across both sites.
“ Everything is running on Nutanix. We don’ t have any other computing platform. From service delivery to infrastructure, it’ s all on the same system,” Alemu explained.
Benefits
According to Alemu, the shift to Nutanix has allowed Tsedey Bank to immediately benefit from a unified, hyperconverged platform that gives the bank the simplicity and agility that would have been unthinkable under its conventional microfinance model.
The centralisation of operations also allows for the seamless management of services across all 627 branches. Customers who were once limited to banking at a single location can now access their accounts and services from anywhere in the country, which has given them the accessibility needed to directly support the bank’ s financial inclusion goals.
Operational efficiency has also improved dramatically. IT teams no longer need to juggle separate systems for compute, storage and networking. With Nutanix, everything is managed through a single interface. Scaling up is straightforward, and adding a new node is all it takes to expand capacity. That flexibility means the bank can respond quickly to demand without legacy infrastructure delays and complexity.
Perhaps most importantly, the technology has empowered the people behind it. Although the team was new to Nutanix, its accessible learning resources and strong vendor support enabled them to gain confidence quickly. Several team members are now pursuing certification and dayto-day operations are easily handled in-house.
From the business’ s perspective, reduced infrastructure complexity, faster provisioning, and lower total cost of ownership allow Tsedey Bank to operate more efficiently while offering a better customer experience. With full support from Nutanix and implementation partner Deliver ICT, the bank’ s IT foundation is modern, resilient and built to scale.
Despite being classified as a third-generation bank, according to Ethiopia’ s banking tiering system, Tsedey is now seen as a Tier 1 contender. Its ability to match and, in some cases, exceed the digital capabilities of longer-established rivals has drawn recognition from peers and regulators alike. That perception is a source of immense pride for the bank’ s leadership.
“ We’ ve implemented the latest technologies and we’ re proud of how we’ re using them,” said Alemu.“ When people see us as a Tier 1 bank, even though we’ re technically Tier 3, it’ s proof that we’ re doing things right. This project was more than just deploying a technology solution, it was a way to make sure we deliver value every day.”
Next Steps
Tsedey Bank is now expanding to a full dualsite model, strengthening its Disaster Recovery posture and planning for increased digital services. This will be supported by an additional four Nutanix nodes, which it is about to start implementing.
“ We’ re proud of what we’ ve achieved. And with Nutanix, we’ ve built a platform that gives us the flexibility and support to keep growing, on our terms.” •
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