ICBC's fourth generation core information system started in 2008 was recently put online, a new generation of system that enables "unified customer view, independent audit, flexible product allocation, integrated overseas applications, centralized management information and comprehensive risk management". ICBC reinforces its technological leadership among the other banks in China and becomes one of the most excellent IT banks of the world.

To a commercial bank, its core information system is similar to a railway traffic control system command center if the large data center and terminal system extending to each outlet is a railway network accessible from all directions. The core information system is the "brain and soul" of the whole system. Since the first generation business application system was online in the mid-1980s, ICBC adhered to the principle of independent development and launched four generations of core information systems, offering strong IT support for ICBC's business development, reform and innovation besides improving the Bank's core competence.

To all the customers, ICBC's fourth generation core information system will definitely boost the Bank's service standard and efficiency. First, the fourth generation core information system has been proven critical to the success of applications for emerging businesses such as mobile banking, financial IC card, global market, private banking, precious metal, investment banking and cash management. The fourth generation core information system provides a good platform for product innovation across related business segments apart from gearing up service capability. Further afield, more financial products with powerful functions will be launched to address the diverse needs of customers for financial services. Second, the fourth generation core information system enables business process restructuring such as remote authorization, centralized business processing and contributes to better customer service experience. As an example, in the former case the outlets are responsible to authorize ICBC counter services, which mean low efficiency and difficulty in quality control. Now, authorization can be processed from one location and managed through remote server. Customers spend less time to queue up at the counter. Centralized authorization is 5 times faster than distributed authorization in the past. Another example, after centralized business processing, many former non-real time businesses which occupy a lot of time at the ICBC counter and frequently used are now centralized processed in the background. For businesses that do not need to process in real-time, tellers only accept but no processing. This greatly reduces the workload to tellers while changing the outlets to promote services and serve the customers instead of processing the customer applications.

In terms of internal management optimization, the fourth generation core information system is a main business driver for ICBC to manage diversity. The performance evaluation management system and global information platform are typical cases. At present, the performance evaluation management system serves ICBC's 270,000 users at all levels in different business departments. The 97,000 cases are used to achieve value-oriented performance evaluation using five metrics - institution, department, product, customer and staff. Since its launch, the global information platform has generated 1,766 sales leads for 37 ICBC branches at home and abroad.

The fourth generation core information system also allows ICBC to extend its services and management across the borders, from distributed operation to coordinated growth between domestic and overseas branches. In the fourth generation core information system, the integrated business processing system (FOVA) has been installed in all 35 ICBC overseas subsidiaries to offer a whole range of products and competitive value-added services for overseas customers encompassing overseas internet banking, trade processing center, credit management, credit card, FX trading and trading of precious metal via account. With the customer services, operational risk management, audit processing and other systems incorporated into FOVA system, all ICBC customers around the world experience the same "One ICBC" services.

Industry insiders commented that it has not been easy for ICBC to gain its technology leadership. First of all, the Bank needs to think ahead and create essential "top level design". To a great extent, the success of ICBC in IT owes very much to the thorough understanding and accurate positioning of ICBC characteristics and IT development. Besides, IT development needs large and continuous funding. ICBC spent more than RMB 5 billion in IT every year on average during the last few years. More worthy of note is that, technological leadership is something that cannot be bought. A strong IT team is a must to achieve an IT competitive advantage that "cannot be learnt or copied" by others. ICBC has a team of 13,000 IT employees, the strongest and most professional team among all commercial banks as of today. ICBC also sets up the largest software development center in China with nearly 5,000 IT staff working on software development.