DST International (DSTi) has launched HiPortfolio/3, its new enterprise back-office asset management system, to the financial market around the globe. With over 550 products installed globally, DSTi is the leading provider of front- and back-office investment management solutions. An investment of $20 million and 20 000 man days was committed to HiPortfolio/3.
DSTi (SA) marketing executive Russell du Bois says: "Four of the largest investment institutions, including Sanlam Investment Management, Stanlib Asset Management, and Tasc Administration, have already bought the new product."
HiPortfolio/3 offers institutions added customisation opportunities through its modular design. Each module delivers processing support for a specific category of investment instrument or investment business function.
One of the new features of HiPortfolio/3 is the addition of a relational database that provides enhanced and client-oriented management reporting and data mapping functionality. This relational database has extended the Web enablement capabilities of HiPortfolio/3, offering a varied approach for third-party remote data access. Organisations with representation abroad will also find the system takes cognisance of global and local accounting requirements. Accounts can therefore be centrally consolidated, while still supporting the demands of regional offices.
Although HiPortfolio/3 has many more benefits for customers, including improvements in the basic functions and performance of the system, there is no "HiPortfolio/2 end-of-life pressure" on customers to migrate. The integration and data extraction from systems will continue to be key for all front- and back-office administration, as will the straight-through processing (STP) of systems and the efficiency this bring to organisations.
"International business practice will require systems that can integrate with other global systems. The issues that clients face in that arena are enormous, with varying regulations and remaining controls that need to be met," says David Wadsworth, international business development and strategy manager at DSTi.
To help clients meet all of these needs and potential issues, DSTi is delivering a significant redesign of its HiPortfolio investment administration system.
"We have examined the state of the market, where it is headed and how we can position ourselves best to continue meeting our customers` and the market`s needs," says Wadsworth.
"The spin-off benefits of all the underlying technological changes mean that we can include third-party reporting tools, and open database connectivity (ODBC) access with the system, and perform online backups while users keep working and remove the need for expensive system mirroring, as well as perform point-in-time recovery," says Wadsworth.
"Clients want more access to their information, which is why we have spent much of our development effort on data access and sharing."
DSTi has been running beta tests at two sites in the UK and Australia that support Unix and Windows NT.
This major new version is only the second major release since HiPortfolio`s inception some 20 years ago. The only other major change was updating the system from 16-bit to 32-bit. Since then the solution has evolved globally, which means it has been customised to suit many different markets and because of that, it has seen worldwide adoption.
"Development continues, as with any product, and we will continue to deliver versions that cater to client needs, which we have identified as being based on costs, integration, breadth of solution and maintenance," says Wadsworth.
He also notes the company`s commitment to Africa now spans a decade of support and growth. He concludes: "While some competitors claim lower costs for their asset management products, the long-term cost of ownership that HiPortfolio delivers provides an excellent return on investment, HiPortfolio is a truly global-yet-local product that is priced for local conditions."
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