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KIR, OChK and Hitachi launch a durable medium service in the cloud

KIR, Operator Chmury Krajowej (OChK) and Hitachi Europe Ltd. have begun cooperation in the Polish market. This will be the first time that a durable medium combining the best of blockchain, WORM storage and cloud computing technologies will be implemented in Europe, supporting the digital transformation of enterprises and ensuring compliance with regulations around both durable medium and MIFID2. A range of sectors are set to benefit from these services, including telecommunications, banking and insurance.

A durable medium is a solution that allows the user to store and share all electronic documents in a safe and convenient way, benefiting the enterprise-customer relationship. As part of the cooperation, KIR will provide a comprehensive solution in the form of a durable medium as a service, in which the WORM storage solution implemented in the cloud will be responsible for inalterability and retention of the stored information. This will significantly support business processes in the enterprise-customer relationship.

The customers of institutions using this durable medium will receive from KIR a 24-hour access point to key information through a dedicated portal, which will be accessible both during the relationship with the institution and after termination. Additionally, thanks to the use of blockchain technology in the durable medium, they will be able to track the history of the document, as well as its authenticity.

Building a durable medium as an integral service is another step forward in the development of strategic services of KIR. Robert Trętowski, Vice President of KIR, said of the announcement: “Thanks to the cooperation with our partners, OChK and Hitachi, a durable medium system combining the best features of blockchain technology, WORM storage, trust services and the cloud, will be implemented in Europe for the first time. In recent years, blockchain technology and WORM have been treated as alternative solutions, which was a mistake, as in reality they complement each other very well. Our strategic plan assumes the development of a cross-sectoral service to be used wherever information durability is crucial, e.g. in the e-receipt, e-banking, and e-insurance systems or in the storage and processing of medical information.”

KIR is a pioneer of blockchain technology in Poland, and their durable medium solution for handling public documents based on this technology has already been implemented by PKO Bank Polski and BNP Paribas Bank Polska. KIR is consistently expanding its portfolio of services, which supports business efficiency by streamlining and simplifying operational processes within the company and in contact with clients. Amongst other services, it provides a secure tool for the user to confirm their identity online, mojeID, and also trust services.

One of the largest instances of the WORM storage in Poland has been implemented in two OChK processing centers. OChK will provide KIR with a secure WORM data repository and a comprehensive container platform for the business application of a durable medium system. Using a broad spectrum of the WORM as an application storage, OChK plans to deliver also other services based on this platform in the near future. Michał Potoczek, CEO of OChK, said of the partnership: “Apart from the WORM-as-a-service solution for a durable medium in KIR, we are developing a number of solutions based on it, such as the Enterprise Content Management (ECM) for e-documents, a secure file sync and share platform and backup-as-a-service.”

The provider of the write-once-read-many (WORM) storage (Hitachi Content Platform) and the business application of a durable medium (HCportal) is Hitachi Europe Ltd., which has customised this solution according to KIR’s requirements. Hitachi's solution based on WORM storage has been used by the majority of financial institutions in Poland to address the regulatory standards for a durable medium set by the EU, including Bank Pekao S.A., Santander Bank Polska, Getin Bank and SGB-Bank. The institutions that chose Hitachi's solution implemented it in the so-called “on-premise” mode, which enables customers’ information to be held within the bank’s infrastructure rather than by a trusted third party.

Strategic cooperation with KIR and the OChK therefore enables Hitachi to meet the expectations of customers who want to implement a durable medium in the service model, whilst ensuring full compliance with regulations. This service model marks a new direction for Hitachi's business in Poland, in cooperation with local partners. Tadeusz Woszczyński, Country Manager of Hitachi Europe in Poland, Austria and Central and Eastern Europe, highlights that this strategic project also confirms Hitachi's entry into the Polish market of cloud computing related solutions and services and blockchain-based solutions. Hitachi is the second largest global contributor at Hyperledger Fabric, an umbrella project of open source blockchains and related tools, and has R&D centers in the USA and Japan working on blockchain technology development. Hitachi also acquired REAN Cloud, a global cloud computing system integrator and professional services provider in this area, to complement its offer with industry-leading expertise in cloud migration.

Cooperation between KIR, OChK and Hitachi will ultimately enable the development of this innovative system for customers on the Polish market. Banks, insurance companies, medical institutions and other companies implementing a digitalization strategy will receive a complete solution for a durable medium as a service, with unique functionality of the audit performance by the client. KIR may also offer a portal for customers (HCportal) to the banks using the Hitachi’s WORM storage, which will be integrated with blockchain, in the form of a service. OChK will offer a secure WORM-as-a-service storage and a number of other services, such as secure file sharing and transfer, without the need to use foreign services and Internet disks. Hitachi's portfolio will be expanded to include service models by offering services provided by OChK and KIR. Therefore, thanks to this cross-company collaboration, the customers on the Polish market will be able to choose the implementation method and form of sales that best fits their digitalization strategy and budget.

 

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About KIR

KIR is a key entity of the Polish payment system infrastructure, which renders complex clearing services and provides top quality solutions meeting the needs and expectations of the banking and payment sectors. It actively works towards using innovative technologies extending the offer of the banks. It actively participates in the works related to increasing the digitalization level of the country.  It has been supporting the development of cashless and electronic processes in the economy for over 25 years.

KIR's activity is based on four main pillars: ensuring complete and reliable interbank clearing in PLN and EUR;

providing services supporting cashless payments; providing common services and R&D for the banking sector; providing services supporting participation of the banking sector in the programs for public administration.

More information at: www.kir.pl

 

Media contact:

Anna Olszewska

tel. +48 22 545 53 60, +48 691 890 584

e-mail:

 

About OChK

Operator Chmury Krajowej Sp. z o. o. (Domestic Cloud Provider) is a technology company established on the initiative of PKO Bank Polski and Polish Development Fund to provide access to advanced cloud computing services to Polish companies. OChK offers access to computing power, the ability to securely store data, automated establishment of development environments, software to facilitate enterprise management and delivered from the cloud modern workplace (Virtual Desktop). It also provides comprehensive support in the selection and implementation of solutions whose application increases the flexibility, efficiency and security of the IT environment, accelerating the pace of business development. OChK pursues a multi-cloud strategy by offering its clients both its own infrastructure and access to the services of global public cloud providers. In September 2019, OChK entered into a strategic partnership with Google.

More information at: www.chmurakrajowa.pl

 

Media contact:

Izabela Świderek-Kowalczyk

tel.: 609 604 253

e-mail:

 

About Hitachi Europe Ltd.

Hitachi Europe Ltd. is a subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd. with its registered office in Maidenhead, United Kingdom. The company focuses its activities on the Social Innovation Business, providing innovations responding to the needs of the society. Hitachi Europe Ltd. and its subsidiaries offer a wide range of information and telecommunications systems: railway systems, energy and industrial systems, industrial components and equipment, automotive systems, digital media, consumer products and others, operating and having its in-house research and development laboratories in the EMEA countries.

More information at: www.hitachi.eu

 

About Hitachi Europe Ltd. in Poland

Hitachi Europe, Branch in Poland is an important supplier to the Polish banking sector, providing enterprise and midrange storage systems, paperless systems, ID management solutions, biometrics systems, IT & security consulting and regulatory solutions (RegTech). Hitachi Europe's Polish team solved the problem of a durable medium by developing and implementing a WORM storage based solution. Since 2007 it has been cooperating with the Polish Bank Association.

More information at: www.hitachi.pl

 

Media contact:

Kelly Smith

tel:+44 1628 5853 79, +44 7748 555 915

e-mail: