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3 Important Ways Using Professional Services Improves Your Business
By Sally Barnes | January 10, 2017
3 Important Ways Using Professional Services Improves Your Business

Once a financial institution has selected a third-party valuation and risk system, they are faced with the often challenging question of how to implement the solution. A natural choice for some firms is to leverage their own internal IT and quant teams to configure and integrate the system themselves. Some view this as a good way to keep control over costs and be able to customize the solution to their needs.

However, this approach in isolation does have downsides. The reality is that deploying any new and unfamiliar technology is hard. Many firms will not independently be able to uncover the full benefits that vendor technology offers. Others may unnecessarily struggle with understanding a system and even conclude that it does not offer what they need. They may then jump to a new and perhaps no better solution, ultimately wasting time and money.

Having qualified internal resources who are free to take on another new project is often another difficulty. This is particularly true for buy-`side firms that do not have access to sizable IT budgets and staffing resources. As such, resources are often tasked with a new implementation on top of their existing workload, which lends itself to a start/stop approach or delays in achieving results because resources are tied up with their regular daily activities.

Firms that realize these challenges are increasingly turning to professional services teams that can help them deploy their solution faster and maximize their upfront and ongoing value from it. We see it from our own customers – those who engage our Professional Services team to either implement a complete solution or partner with FINCAD experts to achieve initial objectives see results faster and are able to achieve more than they would on their own.

Here are three specific areas where your business stands to benefit from using qualified professional services:

1. Faster Time to Market

There is a learning curve involved with any new technology. This is particularly the case for something as sophisticated as a valuation and risk system. Even the most knowledgeable quants or IT professionals may struggle with getting a new system up and running quickly, simply because they are not experienced with it.

The great thing about knowledgeable professional services is that they come into your situation with tremendous solution experience already under their belt. I know that at FINCAD, our Professional Services team spends considerable time with each client trying to understand their goals and objectives. They then set to work deploying the client’s software in such a way that it is a bespoke solution that meets their exact needs. Typically, the time to market of new implementations are considerably shortened when using a professional services team.

2. Maximize the Value of Your Solution

There is no one that knows more about a given solution then those on the frontlines working with it all day, every day. I like to say that at FINCAD, we are the best users of our technology in the world. And it’s true.

With professional services, you are getting all the best expertise pertaining to a system’s nuances and capabilities with closest access to the developers who can fast track investigation or resolution of any issues you may have. These individuals will help you derive everything from the solution that will benefit your business and align with your objectives and roadmap.

3. Continuous Expert Support

At FINCAD, our Professional Services team aims to get you up and running efficiently, so you can meet your goals and focus on what you do best. Along the way, we also strive to empower you to be self-sustaining, so you can continue to evolve your solution to manage your ongoing needs. But financial firms today are dealing with constant market, business and regulatory change that all impact their technology. And so having a trusted partner who understands your systems and can augment your team with ready access to experts can be very valuable.

Partnering with a professional services team over the long-term means you have access to a knowledgeable team of individuals that work closely with the software daily, therefore know its ins and outs. They can act as an extension of your own quant or development team, filling in gaps where needed. For example, a number of firms we’ve worked with have a strong and capable development team, but have limited availability of quant resources. Our Professional Services team has been able to provide valuable expert quantitative services helping our clients continue to move forward even in times of resource constraints.

“The Professional Services team went out of their way to deploy what we needed and to give us the knowledge to continue modifying the system on our own,” commented one of our clients, Nick Rischbieth, Executive President of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI). Another client, Matthew Lynes, Portfolio Manager at Aberdeen Asset Management, had this to say: "…having access to dedicated quant support helped us get up and running quickly. All of our queries were answered in an appropriate time frame, and FINCAD has also been receptive to feedback for future product development." 

A key advantage of using Professional Services is that it keeps you focused on the work that moves your business forward and makes it more profitable. Working with experts whose aim is to get you up and running successfully, you will have more time to devote to work such as managing your risk and securing better returns.

Learn more about how FINCAD Professional Services can help you derive more value from your valuation and risk solution.