Societe Generale Group's Leading Bank Uses STATISTICA to Minimize Operational Risk


TULSA, Okla., Aug. 13, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Komercni banka (KB) of Société Générale (Europe's eighth largest bank) has implemented STATISTICA™ analytics software in three departments: Risk Measurement and Management, ALM Modeling and Research, and Strategic Marketing.

In 2011 KB installed StatSoft's STATISTICA Enterprise software solution to minimize operational risk through management and control of analytical processes. The STATISTICA suite also streamlines collaboration so KB's departments can work together from a common platform and operating environment. Consequently, they can now perform collaborative, interactive investigations and manage analytical processes more efficiently, regardless of where data are stored. These benefits translate into tangible savings for the bank.

"We are very pleased to have had the opportunity to solve the challenges faced by such a prominent institution as KB of Société Générale," says Dr. Thomas Hill, StatSoft's Vice President of Analytic Solutions. "It was a pleasure for us to work with their team of analysts who are well known and recognized in the industry for their creative and sophisticated analytics methodology."

In the past, the bank's Risk Measurement and Management Department had used tools from three separate providers to handle data analysis needs. Then in 2009 the bank's plans to upgrade its IT systems (hardware and software) opened an opportunity for the Risk Measurement and Management, ALM Modeling and Research, and Strategic Marketing Departments to consolidate, modernize, and upgrade mission-critical software. They commenced a search for a single-provider analytics platform.

As a recent winner of the Gartner Business Intelligence (BI) Excellence award known for its high standards, KB carefully embarked on a comprehensive, six-month selection process, eventually selecting the STATISTICA Enterprise platform and hiring StatSoft CR, a wholly owned StatSoft subsidiary in Prague, to provide implementation services. The bank recognized STATISTICA's speed and flexibility to enable effective use of leading-edge analytic methods while meeting all departmental needs. KB was also impressed with STATISTICA's ability to integrate easily with all its IT assets, including its existing data warehouse and advanced IT environment. Lastly, the bank anticipated minimal operational risks with STATISTICA.

"We were expecting at least a medium-term solution with all the costs known to us," says Ing. Rastislav Kovac, the bank's project manager from the Project Organization and Management Development team. "With StatSoft, we have managed to address all our issues for up to five years."

The extensive six-month implementation project incurred no delays while involving experts from StatSoft CR, with occasional help from other StatSoft offices to meet tight deadlines. StatSoft provided consulting and training services, as well. The system has been in use for about one year in both testing and production environments, and it has now been seamlessly integrated into KB's specific operational workflows.

"The implementation project was relatively demanding, especially being on such a tight timetable," says Dr. Ales Slaby, Ph.D., Head of Risk Infrastructure and Provisions Supervision. "The suppliers [StatSoft] handled it with high professionalism in all of its stages."

"This integration with KB's systems illustrates the flexibility and capabilities of STATISTICA Enterprise," observes StatSoft's Dr. Hill, "and it also illustrates StatSoft's focus on delivering customer-centric solutions that maximize ROI from existing systems and processes."

Components of the STATISTICA platform in use at KB include STATISTICA Enterprise Server™, STATISTICA Data Miner with Process Optimization, STATISTICA Monitoring and Alerting Server, and STATISTICA Scorecard, including integration of the R language. The system is used especially for the development of analytic models and scoring of credit risks, which are mission-critical applications at every bank in the Société Générale Group.

ABOUT KOMERCNI BANKA

Komercni banka is the parent company of KB Group and a member of the Société Générale Group (Europe's eighth largest financial institution). KB ranks among the leading banking institutions in the Czech Republic and in the CEE region (Central and Eastern Europe) and is a universal bank providing a wide range of services in retail, corporate and investment banking.

The KB logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=14016

ABOUT STATISTICA AND STATSOFT, INC.

StatSoft is one of the world's largest providers of analytics software, with 30 offices around the globe and 1 million+ users of STATISTICA software. StatSoft's software products enjoy an extremely high level of user satisfaction across industries, as demonstrated in the unprecedented record of top ratings in practically all largest, independent surveys of analytics users worldwide. The STATISTICA platform offers solutions for Insurance, Finance, Capital Equipment, Chemical / Petrochemical, Food & Beverage, Pharmaceutical, Power, and Semiconductor, as well as other industries. With its comprehensive suite of STATISTICA solutions and applications for a wide variety of industries, StatSoft is a trusted partner of the world's largest companies, helping them increase productivity, control risk, reduce waste, protect the environment, and streamline operations.

The StatSoft logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=14015



            
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