Technology investment provides a solid foundation for the future

Astute, the financial services exchange used by 18 000 financial advisers nationally and in Namibia, is in the process of upgrading all aspects of its technology to ensure a solid platform for future growth.

The ambitious IT project includes front and back office systems, including the redevelopment of Astutes website using the latest Microsoft ASP.Net technology. This will enhance performance of the Astute website and facilitate improved information retrieval on the website.

In terms of projects already completed, Astutes technology upgrade strategy has made it one of the first companies in South Africa to migrate to Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006 integration software that enhances performance despite higher transaction volumes on the Astute system.

The current upgrade project will also facilitate improvements in the interface with needs analysis software and new services, notably bank cession enquiries and collective investment products.

The software will also facilitate introduction of improved needs analysis software and new services, notably banking and collective investment products.

Angelo Hatzikyriacos, Astutes Chief Operating Officer, explains: The technology necessary to identify, extract and present information is a critical enabler of our business model. Due to the various systems used by product providers, it is imperative that data is accessible in a standardised format, and then presented to the adviser rapidly.

Previously a manual and paper-based process that could take an adviser several weeks from the time the appropriate client approvals had been given, the Astute consolidated client portfolio facilitates the financial needs analysis process required in terms of the Financial Advisory & Intermediary Services Act (FAIS).

With high volumes of data requests expected to continue growing, and demand for new and innovative solutions from life, investment and banking institutions, Astute needed to upgrade the existing Microsoft platform to accommodate increased performance and functionality without significantly upgrading the infrastructure base, which is out-sourced to Internet Solutions.

Hatzikyriacos notes that: The underlying business impact lies in our ability to process much higher transaction volumes and cater for a larger number of product providers, while retaining the underlying server platform.