NH Bank cuts estimated backup costs by approximately KRW 2.8 billion with cloud-based data protection

Overview

NH Bank, one of Korea’s leading financial institutions, sought to modernize its backup and disaster recovery strategy as rapid digital service growth drove a significant increase in data volumes. Traditional tape-based offsite backup processes were becoming increasingly costly, operationally complex, and difficult to scale. To address these challenges, NH Bank implemented Cohesity NetBackup on Azure in 2025, becoming one of the first commercial banks in Korea to deploy a public cloud-based remote backup architecture. The new solution enabled the bank to strengthen cyber resilience, automate recovery validation, and achieve substantial operational and financial benefits, including approximately KRW 2.8 billion in estimated five-year TCO savings according to NH Bank. 

Challenge

As NH Bank expanded its digital banking services, backup data volumes grew rapidly, placing increasing pressure on its tape-based offsite backup environment. The legacy approach required ongoing investments in storage media, backup infrastructure, and disaster recovery resources, while also creating significant operational overhead for managing and transporting backup tapes. 

Recovery testing was particularly complex and time-consuming, requiring physical tape handling, manual system configuration, and dedicated staff resources. NH Bank needed a modern data protection solution that could reduce costs, improve operational efficiency, strengthen cyber resilience, and support future growth while maintaining compliance with financial industry regulations.

Solution

Leveraging its experience with public cloud technologies for disaster recovery, NH Bank evaluated a cloud-based approach to modernize its backup infrastructure. Following regulatory guidance confirming the viability of cloud-based backup architectures, the bank selected Cohesity NetBackup on Azure. 

The solution provided a secure and scalable platform for remote backup while eliminating many of the complexities associated with tape-based operations. By leveraging Microsoft Azure, NH Bank gained greater flexibility to scale as data volumes grow, automate recovery validation, and improve confidence in business continuity and recovery readiness while maintaining compliance with financial industry requirements. 

Result

The implementation delivered significant financial and operational benefits for NH Bank. Over a five-year period, the bank reported that it expects to achieve approximately KRW 2.8 billion in estimated total cost savings compared with maintaining its traditional tape-based backup environment. 

Backup operations became substantially more efficient, with backup times reduced by up to 71% and recovery times reduced by up to 94%, according to NH Bank, enabling faster access to critical data and improving recovery readiness. 

By automating recovery validation, NH Bank eliminated many manual testing processes, allowing IT teams to spend less time on routine operations and focus on higher-value strategic initiatives. 

As one of the first commercial banks in Korea to successfully deploy a public cloud-based remote backup architecture, NH Bank also established a new benchmark for cloud adoption, demonstrating how financial institutions can strengthen cyber resilience while reducing operational costs. 

Key Benefits:

• Reduced estimated five-year TCO by approximately KRW 2.8 billion   
• Accelerated backup operations by up to 71%   
• Reduced recovery times by up to 94%   
• Automated recovery validation and testing processes   
• Improved scalability and cyber resilience with cloud-based data protection

About NH Bank

NH Bank is one of Korea’s leading financial institutions, providing comprehensive retail, corporate, and agricultural banking services through a nationwide network. The bank continues to expand its digital financial offerings while investing in innovative technologies that strengthen operational resilience, security, and customer service.