In Asia, the combined mega-bank is almost done with its data migration, while preparations have just begun in Switzerland. So far, the process has been running smoothly – perhaps unusually so.
Mike Dargan is back in Zurich, which has been rare over the past 12 months. UBS’ chief technology officer has been primarily focused on Asia, where the combined mega-bank initiated the migration of Credit Suisse customer data onto UBS systems.
Unimaginably Large Volume of Data
The scale of data being migrated is staggering: 110 petabytes, equivalent to 1.1 million terabytes. To put it into perspective, Dargan explained during a media briefing: «Watching a movie with that data volume nonstop would take roughly 275 years.»
The data migration is one of the biggest challenges in integrating Credit Suisse. However, from a purely technical perspective, Dargan describes it as less complex than it seems: «It’s about the source system and the destination. Simply put, it’s moving data from one place to another.»
Direct Integration
UBS has opted not to integrate the data of its former competitor directly into its system in one step. Instead, the data is first transferred into an external repository, where it undergoes additional checks.
The process has already been completed in Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, and Luxembourg. While Dargan remains cautious, he concluded with a positive note: «We’re making good progress.»
Fewer Issues Than Expected
Were there any issues? In IT, problems are referred to as «tickets.» According to Dargan, a few tickets were opened, but he added, «On the other hand, it would be surprising if that weren’t the case.» Most importantly, the process has been running smoothly overall.
According to Dargan, Asia served as an excellent warm-up. Now, the biggest challenge lies ahead: migrating customer data in Switzerland.
So far, no incidents have occurred. Many financial products are standardized today, he remarked before quickly moving on.
