When clients find out that their TRM system has been acquired by an aggregator, many will quickly get concerned about the uncertainty, especially if the parent company has a less than stellar reputation. But don’t press the panic button just yet!
Truth is that enterprise technology, outside of minimizing integration, was always a poor innovator: it had to favor the integrity of the application as a whole over client needs for highly functional tools. The market responded – avoiding integration of new systems simply does not have the same value and yet, at the same time, demands from the market place have, and will continue to create the need for more capabilities from the applications that serve the business.
But what can you do now?
- Find out what part of the forest you are in – prioritize outstanding support tickets, request bug fixes and create release requests to ensure those are included. Collaborate with industry peers where possible – contact us if you are struggling to find those in the same circumstances and we will do our best to moderate a discussion where possible;
- Reduce your technical debt – no client that we are aware of has taken a project live without a workaround (or 40). This is normal! But its also what is holding you back from being able to respond quickly to the market and develop a system for the future. Not sure how to navigate changes in the markets, and new directions for the portfolio? Reach out! We are always happy to have the conversation and share knowledge of other implementations.
- Align to maintenance – probably the most common area where there is a need outside help: ensure that you are paying for that which you use. If strategic value is lacking, consider other options. Time is of the essence and de-risking vendor exposure is important to stay nimble.
- Focus on what matters – for some this is the ability to quickly onboard new instruments. If this is onerous, something is wrong! For others, regulatory reporting and compliance may be a priority or post-trade processing. There is simply too much detail to focus on here although check back here from time to time as we will update this page with more specific topics.
Realize that every technology comes and goes. For the core processing of your technology landscape, we believe enterprise software will be around for a good while longer. Not bad for something that started in the early 90’s!
Leverage that experience and use it to prepare for your future landscape. Things are changing more slowly than most would think so there is ample opportunity to get more value out of all that time, effort, energy and spend that you have put in over the years.
