SunGard launches data service

SunGard Data Management Solutions, an operating group of SunGard, announced today the launch of referencePoint Managed Data Service (rMDS), with Banc of America Securities as a charter member of the service's advisory panel.

Scheduled to begin operation in the first quarter of 2005, the new service will offer financial institutions a fully managed, outsourced solution for the loading, cleansing, formatting, enrichment, storage, management and distribution of data to a variety of downstream systems, backed by an expert help-desk to help ensure the highest level of customer support.

ReferencePoint Managed Data Service is a service bureau solution that aggregates pricing and reference data from multiple sources including both customer and vendor content. SunGard Data Management Solutions will leverage best practices and build a scalable service infrastructure, based on its referencePoint platform, which will help meet the data management needs of other SunGard business units as well as their financial institution customers.

Included in this initiative is the formation of an expert advisory panel comprised of key industry-leading customers, including Banc of America Securities, which will act as a strong voice in mapping out and specifying key priorities and features.

"We are delighted to be working with SunGard as part of their advisory panel," commented Steve Santini, managing director, global equities technology for Banc of America Securities. "Banc of America Securities has a strong history of leadership in supporting and participating in industry initiatives of this nature, and with the data management industry evolving quickly, we are keen to play a role in directing the priorities to meet the strategic needs of the bank and the industry."

Roseann Palmieri, managing director, data management for Banc of America Securities, added: "Data management is central infrastructure to many of our business initiatives, and this is a valuable opportunity to guide the creation of a powerful service that will meet both the tactical and strategic requirements of the bank."

Key capabilities of the referencePoint Managed Data Service are: centralisation and management of data; outsourced data cleansing and operations; measurable improvements in data quality levels; and easy integration with in-house data projects and/or activities.

"A common complaint in the industry centres on the lack of control that organisations have over the management of their data, and the associated impact this has on business growth, customer experience and compliance," commented Dale Richards, president of SunGard Data Management Solutions' Enterprise Data Management unit. "This ultimately is the driving force behind any institution looking at a managed data service."

Beyond the usual benefits of an outsourced solution, SunGard Data Management Solutions will provide a service to handle the quality of production data, including completeness, timeliness, consistency, accuracy and ongoing improvements. In addition to its leading infrastructure and software, a dedicated and seasoned professional help-desk and team of data content specialists will support customers.

SunGard's referencePoint solution, on which the referencePoint Managed Data Service is based, is a technology platform designed to solve the problems associated with reference and market data management across an enterprise. From data acquisition, mapping, cleansing and enrichment to permissioning and distribution across a large-scale organisation, referencePoint provides a scalable, component-based software framework for the creation and control of an enterprise-wide "Golden Copy" reference and market data hub.