Strengthening system resilience and continuity
Independent verification of failover for a mission-critical treasury and risk platform
The Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan is responsible for issuing the national currency, maintaining monetary stability and supporting the sound development of the country's financial system.
Full redundancy proven across geographically separated data centres, delivered before year-end
Business-critical systems covered by the failover and disaster-recovery programme
Full redundancy achieved across geographically separated data centres
On-site testing and validation in Baku, followed by three months of remote support
The challenge
To reinforce the stability and availability of its mission-critical systems, the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) launched a multi-year failover and disaster-recovery program.
The initiative aimed to create full redundancy for more than 30 business-critical systems, ensuring uninterrupted service in the event of technical or operational disruption.
A key component of the project was replicating complex financial applications and databases in real time across multiple remote sites. This required a solution that guaranteed full data consistency, synchronization, and zero-loss failover.
While CBA’s IT department managed most systems internally, it sought independent verification for the replication of its treasury and risk management platform — a task involving significant configuration and testing complexity.
“Due to our tight schedule, we needed a consultant who could get up to speed with the project very quickly, understanding our requirements, infrastructure and technology. SkySparc was able to supply the support we required.”
— Farid Osmanov, Chief Information Officer, Central Bank of Azerbaijan
The solution
After researching peer feedback from other central banks, CBA selected SkySparc as its preferred external partner, recognizing its proven track record supporting mission-critical financial systems and infrastructure upgrades.
SkySparc mobilized a dedicated consultant on-site in Baku to work alongside CBA’s IT team for two weeks of intensive testing and validation, complemented by three months of remote follow-up support.
Key project activities included:
- Conducting a comprehensive audit of the primary system to ensure all patches, configurations, and code updates were replicated accurately to the backup environment.
- Supporting technical and user-acceptance testing (UAT) to verify system synchronization and functionality under simulated failover conditions.
- Helping CBA establish consistent processes for documenting and implementing future updates and patches.
“The on-site support provided by SkySparc during the technical and UAT stages was invaluable. Their expertise helped identify and address any issues quickly, keeping the project on schedule.”
— Emin Ismayilzada, Project Manager, Central Bank of Azerbaijan
The result
The project’s main implementation phase was completed on time and within budget, successfully replicating CBA’s core system to its remote site and proving the integrity of the bank’s new failover strategy.
CBA achieved:
- Full system redundancy across geographically separated data centers
- Smooth testing and migration, supported by SkySparc’s hands-on expertise
- Enhanced operational resilience and disaster-recovery readiness
- Standardized patch and configuration processes for future maintenance
- Knowledge transfer, enabling the IT team to execute the second-site deployment independently
“SkySparc’s support was fast, dedicated, and comprehensive. They integrated well with our team and helped us deliver the project before year-end.”
— Emin Ismayilzada, Project Manager, CBA
The Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan was originally established in 1992 as the National Bank of Azerbaijan and renamed in 2009 following constitutional amendments. Its status, objectives, and authority are defined by the Law on the Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan (2004). As the country’s central bank, it is responsible for issuing the national currency, maintaining monetary stability, and supporting the sound development of the financial system in accordance with national legislation and international agreements.
- Delivered failover implementation for 30+ critical systems
- Achieved full redundancy with no data loss
- Completed first phase on time and on budget
- Established standardized patching and documentation processes
- Empowered internal team to complete second-site deployment