Courage to invest in the future
For SimCorp clients it is paramount to know that the company, whose product they have trusted to build their business upon, is both solid and innovative. The first part of the programme was dedicated to SimCorp’s top management outlining the financial situation of the company, the strategic foundation and introducing new services.
SimCorp’s CEO Peter L. Ravn welcomed the audience and went over the figures and the market situation as seen from a SimCorp perspective. SimCorp is by no means immune to the market environment, and Peter L. Ravn explained that SimCorp had experienced hesitancy in the market resulting in some potentially new clients postponing or calling off planned investments in SimCorp Dimension. On the other hand, he added that a large number of clients have assigned high priority to investing in improved system platforms. Consequently, overall, SimCorp is able to demonstrate sustained and robust growth in a very unstable market. SimCorp continues to maintain focus on executing its long-term strategy and continuously invests in product innovation, including employee training and development, and R&D, and clients and investors can feel certain of the robustness of the SimCorp business. SimCorp’s CEO also took the time to emphasise the ongoing and extending business with existing clients as a contributor to the continued success of the company.
Following the presentation of the financial figures, Peter L. Ravn went back to discussing the current market environment. There was no doubt that the financial turmoil means new challenges, also for SimCorp. The market faces more rigid requirements from regulators and there is increased focus on operations from top management. This will no doubt change the agenda in the investment management industry and increase focus on risk mitigation, operational efficiency, strategic cost management and scalability in operations. In a direct response to these challenges, SimCorp has established the independent research institution SimCorp StrategyLab, which aims to build a bridge between research and practice. It is the ambition of SimCorp StrategyLab to show industry responsibility and commitment by building thought leadership and provide product development input. Specifically, the work aims to suggest ways to mitigate risk, reduce cost and enable growth. And though SimCorp StrategyLab conducts its own research, quite a significant part of the research is done in close partnerships with respected academic institutions, individual academic researchers and other expert partners.
In conclusion, Peter L. Ravn pointed out that crises produce opportunities, and although SimCorp’s market is affected by the financial crisis and its business has not come through unscathed, it deals with the challenges and executes its business model consistently. SimCorp’s commitment to the industry is unwavering, Peter L. Ravn concluded.
PERENNIAL GUARANTEE
Following Peter L. Ravn on stage were respectively Chief Operating Officer Torben Munch and the latest member of SimCorp’s executive management board, Chief Technology Officer Georg Hetrodt.
Georg Hetrodt demonstrated in his presentation how SimCorp continues to invest in R&D, aiming to improve quality and reduce time to market. The overall aim is to reach best-of-class status with SimCorp Dimension. Product development, although market- and client-driven, is also pursued strategically, and Hetrodt went over some of the functionality in SimCorp Dimension that may facilitate users to mitigate risk and enable growth, while Torben Munch discussed the issue of cost management and in particular the differing focus between short-term and long-term cost reduction. Though sustainable cost reduction across the enterprise is the goal, depending on corporate objectives, a combination of short and long-term cost management projects may be appropriate, he said.
In a direct response to asset managers’ search for improved cost management, Torben Munch discussed the need for periodically reviewing one’s business operating model. Organisations will concentrate on their core business, and as a result firms may outsource or off shore/ near shore certain functions. Some of these may be services that can be supplied by SimCorp. As a reaction to the market situation, SimCorp offers a number of professional services related to implementation, system upgrade and testing, tasks that are not usually within the core scope of the asset manager’s business, and consequently can be outsourced. On grounds of experience, best practice know-how as well as proven and trusted standards, SimCorp can provide these services and consequently free asset managers’ internal resources.
Further to these services, SimCorp has also implemented the so-called ‘IST project’ – an international specialist team. Torben Munch described how the IST service brings technical and business competences together and helps to increase the quality of service requests. More importantly, it ensures a much faster time cycle for solutions to any SimCorp Dimension system issues. Experience shows that by combining knowledge from our market units and our system development department, SimCorp can provide the best possible service to its clients including shorter response time, higher quality and lean processes, he explained.
Munch concluded the presentation by saying that partnering with SimCorp provides the client with a perennial guarantee of continued investment in R&D, lasting client involvement, strong software and professional services, reliable support in all client time zones and dedicated commitment to the asset management industry.
