Silverlake appears to have a fairly loyal user base, with existing customers coming back for upgrades and new functionality. Financial statements from different parts of the group suggest this adds up to profitable progress but it is difficult to tell for sure, just one of the challenges when dealing with this supplier. Silverlake’s dedication to the iSeries is unwavering – this was confirmed by Ken Hun in June 2007, reiterating that the strategy from the executive management was still firmly behind the IBM platform. However, this is an issue, reflected in the comments from ADBL. There will also be wariness among some banks about dealing with a relatively low profile supplier. As such, the Islamic banking market still looks to be the most realistic area for expansion outside of Silverlake’s Asia stronghold.
The supplier seems to have a good track-record at home and remains a large, focused player, which has broadened the functionality of its core offering, in part with surrounding, complementary components. As mentioned, Silverlake has not always had the clearest messages or branding, but a recent opening up is a promising sign. The smooth project and good reference site at CBI was an important step although the launch of its Islamic banking window was delayed. The supplier is also bolstered by stability and longevity, rare qualities in the core systems market. The dwindling of new-name deals for SIBS is a potential concern as is the increased competition within its traditional heartlands but there looks to be activity at existing users, such as CIMB and Bank Muamalat.
