With digital transformation becoming a clear global trend, enterprises in Taiwan are following suit by initiating their own internal digital upgrades. Mega Securities, a subsidiary of Mega Financial Holdings, is one of the enterprises rushing to transform its business model for the digital era by working with consultancy agencies. As the company pushed for growth in trade volume and profits during 2021, it also established a comprehensive digital transformation plan according to its digital needs, business model, and company culture in an attempt to differentiate itself from the competition.
Mega Securities Information Department Vice President Chao Hsi-Jui pointed out that the digital transformation is a long-term continuous process. The scope of which goes far beyond the implementation of a single technology or application. A company's culture, organizational structure, and operational processes all need to undergo a transformation to tangibly improve efficiency, optimize customer experience, and even create new business models. A good example of this would be the New York Times, a news company with a long history that has constantly adjusted its organizational structure and human resource allocation to transition from selling physical newspapers to offering online subscription-based services.
Likewise, Mega Securities is also committed to achieving a comprehensive transformation, with the company Chairman personally leading the upgrade plan and with support from external consultancy agencies. One of the company's digital transformation objectives relies on Chunghwa Telecom's (CHT) Internet Data Center (IDC) services. Chunghwa Telecom's high-quality IT infrastructure not only allows Mega Securities to smoothly upgrade its workflows and change its company culture, but also serves as a good foundation for the much longer road ahead.
Reduced Server Distance for Increased Stock Exchange Performance
Mr. Chao also mentioned that securities trading relies heavily on fast connections with consistent latency. Once a client places an order, an electronic signal is first sent to the securities dealer before being relayed to the exchange; the closer the physical distance between the dealer's servers and the exchange, the faster the transaction can be processed. There are even foreign dealers who spend millions just to cut a few microseconds (one millionth of a second) off of their latency. It is not an understatement to say that speed is one of the key factors in securities exchange. This explains Mega Securities' decision to work with CHT's IDCs.
In fact, Mega Securities had already rented space in CHT Xinyi IDC back in 2005. When the telecom provider later decided to construct a new world-class data center in Banqiao District, the company quickly followed suit by transferring their services over to ensure that customers could enjoy access to the lowest latency possible. Currently, all of Mega Securities order placement systems are located in the CHT Taipei IDC. As the trading volume continues to grow year by year, expansion plans have also been implemented to provide customers with even better order placement services.
Three Major Advantages Sustain 16-year Long Partnership
In addition to industry clusters and distance advantages, other factors have also contributed to Mega Securities' extended partnership with Chunghwa Telecom over the past 16 years, namely the telecom provider's comprehensive, professional, and eco-friendly IDC services.
First, Chunghwa Telecom not only offers server space rental in its IDCs, but has a complete lineup of network, information security, and smart hands services, providing a complete management and maintenance package. Its smart hands function in particular covers both installation and management, which means it can ease demand for regular and emergency server room maintenance work to reduce the cost and manpower needed in enterprise IT departments.
In terms of its professional expertise, CHT Taipei IDC has achieved the ISO 27001 and ISO 14001 certifications; in addition, it is the first data center in Taiwan to obtain TIA-942 Rated 3 and Uptime Institute M&O certifications. It has also obtained a number of certifications in risk management including SOC 1 & 2 Type 2 Reports and PCI DSS, making it the most accredited server room provider in Taiwan. Mr. Chao believes that data centers are a discipline of their own, since professional expertise is needed for determining how much weight can be safely allocated per square meter and installing adequate fireproofing systems. Thanks to Chunghwa Telecom's lineup of external certifications, Mega Securities can further trust the reliability and quality of CHT's IDCs.
As for eco-friendliness, CHT Taipei IDC has been certified as LEED Gold by the U.S. Green Building Council with a total Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of less than 1.5, meaning that it is highly energy efficient. Mr. Chao stated, "Working with Chunghwa Telecom has greatly helped Mega Securities keep in line with global ESG trends; our cooperation has been a response to government policies encouraging Taiwan's finance industry players to invest in enterprises with eco-friendly goals."
Looking forward, Mega Securities hopes to continue working closely with Chunghwa Telecom as the company undergoes its digital transformation to give customers faster and better securities exchange services.
For more information, please visit the website More IDC Information, About IDC or Enterprise Customer Service Hotline: 0800-080-365
