5 Key Support Considerations for Optimising Your Future Operating Model

Ed Wimble, Consultant

As asset managers consider their future state operating models, many are looking at front-to-back software as a service solution. When implementing front-office solutions, an agreed-upon approach to support can easily slip down the priority list until deep into a project. Far from being an afterthought, the details around support for the time-critical front office environment must be considered from the design phase.

To ensure the success of your future operating model, it’s essential to address five key considerations around support, from customisation to service level agreements, each of which plays a critical role in maintaining operational efficiency and minimising risk in a front-office environment.

1.Customisation

Customisation of your investment platform always involves a trade-off. In the design phase consideration needs to be given to whether the benefit of customisation outweighs the drawbacks. Extensive customisation raises the question if the chosen future operating model and platform are a good fit for one another. Extensive customisation makes support harder and future upgrades more of a “heavy lift”. Further, it suggests native functionality may not be fully utilised. Inevitably however there will need to be an accommodation for a level of customisation. These customisations could be tactical stop-gaps whilst awaiting product enhancements, versus strategic customisations that support the use of proprietary data and models. For customisation to be sustainable you need a support structure familiar with the technological solution and the business reasoning.

2. Roles and Responsibilities

Defining the responsibilities of outsourced vendor support and an in-house support function is vitally important. Without a clear demarcation of responsibilities, an asset manager leaves itself open to error, negating the reduction in operational risk that a support process should deliver. Communication channels have to be established between the relevant parties, and processes must be agreed upon for handling issues. When issues cannot be resolved there needs to be agreed routes for escalation, so that the right attention can be brought to bear.

3. Support structure

Trading desks and fund management teams at many asset managers are used to “white glove” services supporting their use of an order management system. Support in a future operating model needs to maintain this level of service or come to an agreement with end users to provide an adapted support service. If your future operating model sees a shift to support delivered by a remote support team is your end users confident in raising and escalating issues? Does a change in how support is provided increase operational risk and if so what steps can be taken to mitigate this? Trade-offs of different support structures need to be understood and evaluated.

4. Service Level Agreements (SLAs)

No matter what structure you choose for your support function, decisions have to be made regarding service levels. With an internal support team, agreeing on a service level can be an iterative process that matures over time. If outsourcing support however service level agreements should be negotiated into the contracts. This requires understanding the business logic used to construct workflows and pre-determining the potential impact issues could have on the investment process. Not getting SLA negotiation right at the pre-implementation stage could leave you open to operational risk and lead to a costly re-opening of contract negotiations.

5. Oversight and reporting

Logging and tracking support issues is the bread and butter of support teams and helpdesks in any organisation. Leveraging this process can provide data that gives useful insights into how your technology and platform are performing. Any support structure needs oversight of this data so resources can be targeted at points in the workflow vulnerable to error. Reporting shows the value of your support structure in minimising operational risk and helps evaluation of whether the support structure is performing.

Delivering projects that continue to bear fruit for asset and wealth managers, well after the project team has packed up and gone home, is reliant on leaving behind a durable solution and support structure. A support structure designed to fit your operating model, delivering for your organisation by minimising operational risk. Planning early and involving stakeholders in the design of a support structure will help smooth your go-live process and build the project’s credibility. At Liqueo we are industry-leading experts who fully appreciate that a project go-live date is not the end, but the beginning. For more details on how we can help you define your support structure please contact us.