Tag Archive: technology


Does Your Investment Firm Need APX?

Filed under: APX, Axys, Data Conversion, Portfolio Management Systems — 1 Comment
June 29, 2012

In 2005, Advent released the first version of Advent Portfolio Exchange (APX). This paved the way for enterprise users to take Advent more seriously, while reassuring rapidly growing firms that APX would service their future needs and provide support for legacy requirements. Initially, this change was fine with many of the Axys users that have historically comprised Advent’s established userbase, but after years of baseline Axys updates and Advent’s predominant emphasis on APX, the patience of some Axys users has worn thin.

Today Axys users likely fit into one of four camps:

  1. They are planning to move to APX in the near future.
  2. They understand their options well enough, but don’t think the benefits of moving to APX outweigh the costs.
  3. They simply don’t care about APX or competing products – just as long as Axys keeps doing what they need, everything is fine.
  4. They are frustrated by Advent’s perceived abandonment of their business segment and are either actively seeking a replacement to Axys or in the process of converting to a new system.

I have repeatedly been told that owning a self-hosted version of APX is 2-3 times more expensive than Axys, but don’t take my word for it.  Advent’s pricing changes regularly.  Call Advent and get a quote.   Early on, APX conversions were very expensive, and some firms were quoted six-figure conversion costs.  Although these costs have been reduced substantially, APX is still significantly more expensive than Axys.

In the past, conversions were much more complex and time-consuming.  The primary issue seemed to be the normalization of a wide variety of Axys data.  As APX has evolved, Advent and the conversion utility within APX have created efficiencies in the conversion process.  In a recent conversation with a client, who is now considering the move from Axys to APX, I learned that Advent took copies of their Axys files and was able to demo APX 4.x with representative data from their firm in about a week.

In addition to the difference in the software cost, Advent recommends that APX users host the app in a traditional database server and application server configuration.  Some users may opt to host IIS on a separate server as well.  Currently, many small and medium businesses (SMBs) simply host Axys on their primary file server.

Why would a firm running Axys want to pay the premium for APX?

The answer is improved security, infrastructure, and functionality that meets the expectations of those with higher technological standards – historically enterprise users, not SMBs.  APX promised this from day one, but APX v1 was, well, version 1.  I sat in on a couple dog and pony shows for APX when it was first introduced.  In one, the presenter abruptly but politely disconnected a conference call with one of their early “testimonial” users when the conversation went in an unexpected direction.  At Advent’s conference in Orlando, more time than Advent would have liked was spent on the topic of APX latency, but these types of issues can be experienced with any v1 product covering as much ground as APX.

One of the most valuable benefits of Advent’s portfolio accounting systems is the maturity of their products.  This maturity is the primary reason why so many things in Axys and APX work the way they should.  Though much has changed at the core of Axys and APX, both of these systems can potentially run a report created on The Professional Portfolio (the precursor to Axys and APX) 25 years ago.  Due to the continuity of Advent’s portfolio management systems, users of The Professional Portfolio and Axys have been able to jump into APX without a lot of training.

Last year, when I attended the Advent conference in Boston, a panelist from the Advent Users Group touched upon the issue of APX owners using APX like Axys.  Her point was that you should use the newer features of APX v3, but as she mentioned it, I couldn’t help thinking how much the earlier versions of APX were like Axys.  Aside from the SQL backend and other related platform benefits, it felt like you were still using Axys, only it was more complicated and clunky.

Even now, we see that the heart of Axys continues to beat inside APX, playing a critical role with respect to backward compatibility and legacy reporting.  Over the course of its first five years, APX has matured significantly.  That initial awkward period is behind Advent APX.

In the past 18 months, Advent has made significant strides towards fulfilling the promise of APX, introducing additional SSRS reports in APX 3.x and the ability to create dashboards in APX 4.x.  I have finally heard mention of an API.  Yes, APX is more complex than Axys, but now that more of the infrastructure has been built out, you can feel better about it.  With these improvements, APX should make sense for a larger number of investment firms.

APX is a logical upgrade for Axys clients who:

  1. Want to minimize the need to retrain staff on a new portfolio accounting system.
  2. Understand that additional features, such as SSRS reporting and dashboards, come hand in hand with incremental complexity and the costs of an enterprise solution.

Those that don’t want to take on as much overhead may find solace in moving to APX on Demand (a SAAS offering), but in doing so they will have to sacrifice some of the flexibility and functionality available to self-hosted users of APX.

 

Final Score: APX 4, Axys 0

Looking at version releases of APX and Axys over the past seven years, it is easy to understand the focus of Advent’s primary resources.  Though four minor releases of Axys have been made since APX came out, there have been no major releases.  A major release implies a major change to the software, and at this point it doesn’t appear that a major Axys release is coming from Advent.

Last year’s acquisition of Black Diamond provides Axys users with another choice under the Advent umbrella, but I haven’t seen many users go from Axys to Black Diamond. While Axys improvements have stalled out, Advent’s full-throttle APX development has many of its Axys users feeling disenfranchised.  From my own perspective, Advent appears to be losing some valuable clients through a failure to more actively communicate with their SMB client base.

If Advent wants to keep Axys clients as Advent clients, they should connect with their users and reassure them that they want to work with them. Still, Advent should also understand that for some, it may make more sense to move on.

About the Author: Kevin Shea is President of InfoSystems Integrated, Inc. (ISI); ISI provides a wide variety of outsourced IT solutions to investment advisors nationwide. For details, please visit isitc.com or contact Kevin Shea via phone at 617-720-3400 x202 or e-mail at kshea@isitc.com.

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10 Things Every IT Manager Needs to Know

Filed under: Best Practices — 2 Comments
November 11, 2011

I just received an ad for “500 Things Every IT Manager Needs to Know:  Volume 1.”  I am sure there are 500 things, but none of the IT managers I know have the time to read about all of them.  Maybe that’s a good resource for somebody who has never been an IT manager.  I don’t even want to crack open the document for fear that I’ll spend valuable time reading about the 500 things, but thinking about it for a bit made me come up with my own abbreviated list.

In order of priority:

1.  Backup.  Backup.  Backup.  If you don’t know what I mean, read my blogs “Five Rules to Stake Your Plan On” and “Is Your Most Valuable Data Safe in the Cloud?”

2.  Communication is key.   Setting expectations and meeting or exceeding those expectations is instrumental to keeping your co-workers satisfied with the quality of your work.  Failure to communicate sends a message clearer than words.  In contrast, good communication establishes a rapport that makes your work easier.

3.  Document your systems and your work.  If you keep things organized, required information is readily available when you or others need it.  I keep a running log that details almost every important thing I do.  If I need to refer to work I did last Friday, last month or last year, chances are I can find it in my log.

4.  Learn what is good enough for your firm.  Very few people that want systems to be perfect actually want to pay for perfect.  Many SMBs operate with a mandate of what is good enough for today and the near future.  IT managers at SMBs need to be adept at juggling priorities moment to moment.  In priority, your firm should want things to work securely, reliably, efficiently and as fast as possible.  Knowing what type of investment your firm is willing to make in each of these areas will help you understand what is good enough, and facilitate your ability to manage the IT objectives of your firm effectively.

5.  It always takes longer than it should, and usually doesn’t work quite the way it is supposed to.  That’s why you have a job.  If you are an IT manager, you fix IT.  Over the years I have learned to multiply my time estimates by two to offset my optimism.  Figure out what your multiplier is.

6.  Newer is cooler, but typically more time-consuming and consequently more expensive in terms of implementation and maintenance.  I like cool new stuff too, but losing a day of productivity to have the latest iPhone OS may not be worth it.  Staying mainstream is ideal and most efficient from a labor perspective, while being on the leading edge or lagging behind technologically carries a labor premium.

7.  Proactive is better than reactive.  Proactive IT management is the Holy Grail of IT.  It appeals to IT managers because we would rather take preventative measures than deal with the carnage of system failures.  It is attractive to the financial decision-makers in management because less downtime means more productivity.

8.  Decide whether you want to wear a lab coat or a tie.  It’s hard to do both, but if you must, tread carefully.  Otherwise, troubleshooting system issues can consume a large part of your day.  We all want to know why, but sometimes finding out why can be counter productive.  From a business perspective, a one-time glitch that you’ll never see again doesn’t merit a half a day of your time.   You probably have other more important things to do.  When you do attack a pesky bug or system issue, understand your options and budget your time accordingly.  Know when you have had your lab coat on too long, and make sure you can find the tie again.

9.  Centralized and standardized systems are almost always preferred.  Occasionally, there are users that need to be set free of the limits placed on the rest of the herd.  These power users may be set apart by their need more rights, faster systems or flexibility, and it’s typically in your best interest to give them what they need so you can limit the time you spend catering to or denying their demands.  Conversely, you may also run into some technologically challenged individuals that need their rights further limited to prevent them from hurting themselves or driving you crazy.

10.  You are only as good as what you have done or are responsible for today.  A lot can happen in 24 hours.   IT is a high-profile area where bad performance is readily apparent and rarely tolerated for long.

About the Author:
Kevin Shea is President of InfoSystems Integrated, Inc. (ISI); ISI provides a wide variety of outsourced IT solutions to investment advisors nationwide. For details, please visit isitc.com or contact Kevin Shea via phone at 617-720-3400 x202 or e-mail at kshea@isitc.com.

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Is It Time to Upgrade IT?

Filed under: Best Practices — Leave a comment
February 27, 2011

Today, a trip to your local computer store to buy a new PC can be an eye-opening experience. Notebooks, for example, come in many shapes and sizes: desktop replacement, notebook, sub-notebook, and netbook. The relative processing power of PCs also varies greatly. This may not matter to users who just want to use their PC for basic office applications and web browsing. However, power users that never want to wait for their computers still care very much about processing power.

When PCs were first introduced, it was far easier to understand the relative processing power of workstations. Each new PC model that was released was a quantum leap beyond its predecessors. If you were around back then, you may remember XTs, ATs, 386s, 486s and 586s. Thanks to those classifications and the relative clock speeds, you didn’t need to be a rocket scientist to determine the approximate speed of one of these PCs.

You knew when to buy a new one.

In later years, other speed-related issues became increasingly important: memory, hard drive, front-side bus, hard drive interface, PCI Express slots, USB version, hyper-threading, multitasking, operating systems, et cetera. Somewhere along the way, the ability to easily differentiate the relative power of various PCs became blurred. Today, even technology experts have to scrutinize specific benchmarks to be sure of exactly what processing power they are getting. The difficulty lies in understanding your primary applications’ infrastructure needs, knowledge of potential bottlenecks and the vast array of available choices that can satisfy your business requirements.

Best Practice
Many firms in the financial industry regularly replace their equipment after two or three years of use. This strategy has as much to do with leasing and depreciation as it does with proactive maintenance and a commitment to technology standards. It is considered a best practice to replace equipment that is older than three years. This practice provides an opportunity to implement more efficient technology, limit future maintenance costs, and reduce the risk of catastrophic system failures. Though we occasionally see firms stretch equipment into a fourth or fifth year, we don’t recommend it.

Our advice is to establish a regular routine for replacing equipment, with priority on shared resources. For instance, a firm might replace all servers every two years and workstations every three years. As game-changing technology emerges, we also make additional recommendations for purchases when appropriate.

Simplifed Hierarchy of Processing Speed Factors

Assessing your systems

For business applications, the most important factors in determining yoursystem’s operating speed are CPU, memory, hard drive, and operating system (OS).  Internet bandwidth and network speed also contribute to how fast your systems process data.   In the remainder of this article, we will take a closer, slightly more technical look at these individual factors, offer some specific recommendations, and give you instructions on how to evaluate certain components.  A software program can effect your perception of system performance too, but we won’t be getting into that.

In order to get a more comprehensive evaluation of your individual systems, you can download a trial of the Passmark’s Benchmarking software and see how your machines compare with other users’ benchmarked systems:
http://www.passmark.com/products/pt.htm

CPU
Passmark’s extensive database benchmarks over 1,300 CPUs . Some are specifically designed for virtualized server environments, while others are designed to maximize the battery life of notebooks. Understanding where your current CPU fits within the benchmarks will help you glean what type of benefit you would see from a faster processor.

 Assuming you are using a Windows operating system, you can identify the processor your PC uses by holding down the WINDOWS key and pressing the BREAK key, which is usually in the upper right corner of your keyboard. Once you do this, you will see text similar to what is shown below:

Look for the line that identifies your processor, then click on the link below and see if you can find your processor on one of the lists.
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/

Using this resource, you should be able to compare the benchmark scores of your processor to those of prospective new PC replacements and approximate the relative processing speed gain.

When purchasing new PCs, we prefer to buy the fastest processors we can without paying an unreasonable premium. We expect the cost to be relatively proportional to the processing speed of various CPU options; we might pay 15% more for a processor that is 20% faster, but we would not pay 66% more for a processor that’s only 10% faster.

Memory
Memory is relatively cheap. Accessing information from random access memory (RAM) rather than hard drive space or network storage is ideal, since accessing RAM is much quicker than pulling data from your hard drive or network. PCs running XP should have 3-4gb. XP cannot access all 4gb, but typically uses a little more than 3gb. Machines running Windows 7 should have at least 4gb, or even better, 8gb. In some cases, you can add 8gb of memory to an older PC for a little as $100.

For optimal performance, memory speeds should match the maximum supported by your PC.

Hard Drive
Buy the fastest hard drives you can afford. You are unlikely to regret it. We have long enjoyed using Western Digital’s Raptor drives (10k RPM) on our workstations. More recently, we have selectively switched to OCZ’s Solid State Drive (SSD).

The link below will take you to Passmark’s list of benchmarked hard drives:
http://www.harddrivebenchmark.net/

Hopefully, you can find your workstation’s hard drive in the “High-End Drive Chart.” If you cannot, you should strongly consider upgrading it to an SSD drive because:

1. SSDs use 80% less power.
2. SSDs are silent.
3. SSDs are much faster than traditional hard drives. (An OCZ Vertex 2 SSD drive is about twice as fast as a 10k Western Digital Raptor drive.)
4. SSDs are more durable, and reliable.
5. SSDs are affordable. An 80gb drive, which should be enough for most workstations, costs $150.

If you want to compare your current hard drive’s benchmark to drives, with which you could replace it, open up Windows Explorer by holding down the WINDOWS key and pressing the “E” key, then right-click on your C-drive, and select properties. The hardware tab should contain the model number of your hard drive, and using this information you should be able to find the benchmark of your current hard drive.

 

Operating System
In the investment business, the reliability of systems is paramount. Selecting the right operating system for your workstations may be one of the most important things you can do to improve systems infrastructure. The majority of RIAs have been stuck on Windows XP for quite some time. Torn between staying on what works with all their existing software and switching to the latest Microsoft OS, many have done nothing.

Vista was a nightmare for early adopters. We upgraded our best system, when it came out, and it subsequently became dedicated to IE browsing and Office 2007 use. In all other respects, it was a pain.

In contrast to Windows XP and Vista, Windows 7 is a rock-solid product. We have been using Windows 7 Ultimate (64-bit) heavily for about a year. Configured with 4gb to 8gb of RAM and high-end hard drives (the SSDs and Raptors mentioned earlier), we have yet to see these systems seize up like Windows XP and Vista might. They consistently and fluidly respond to user requests.

When Advent Software proclaims support of Windows 7 with Axys, we expect that many RIAs will finally upgrade to Windows 7 Professional. Before you decide to move to Windows 7, you should verify that all of your software is compatible with the specific version of Windows 7 you intend to implement.

Choosing the right Network operating system (NOS) is also extremely important. A large number of firms are still using Windows 2003 Server, but they should be planning on migrating to Windows 2008 Server R2 within the next year. The prevalence of DR sites make switching an RIA’s NOS a more complicated and expensive venture, but newer systems offer valuable features such as increased security and integration with Windows 7 providing meaningful incentives to upgrade.

Upgrading the “brains” of your IT infrastructure needs to be carefully planned, scheduled and executed to ensure a successful outcome. In place upgrades of mission-critical servers are an absolute “no-no” without redundant systems to fall back on.

The best practice for systems that aren’t virtualized is buy new equipment with the new NOS for your primary site and your DR site. Virtualized systems offer more flexibility. The ability to store server images allows you to easily backup virtual machines, and revert back to a previous image if necessary.

Internet Bandwidth
Sometime users mistake slow Internet access as slow processing speed on their PC. Identifying these problems correctly is an important part of assessing the speed of your systems.

You can use the link below to test your Internet speed, but in order to get a truly accurate reading you will need to be the only user connected to the Internet. In any event, this test should give you a general idea of your Internet connection’s upload and download speeds.

http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/

If you are experiencing a processing problem on your system, try running this test to see what your upload and download speeds are at the time.

Domain Name Server (DNS)
When you type a URL into a web browser, the domain name you type needs to be resolved to an IP address in order to download the information to your web browser. By default, a DNS provided by your Internet Service Provider (ISP) handles this. If you haven’t already done so, you should consider establishing a local DNS server to accelerate domain name resolution.

Network Speed
Network speed is critical for clients that do processing-intensive work on their PCs. Firms using flat-file programs like Axys can see a dramatic improvement in processing by upgrading their LAN technology, but firms that utilize client-server databases locally or cloud-based apps may not.

Gigabit Ethernet (1G) is the standard. Ten Gigabit (10G) Ethernet is available, but with an estimated entry-level hardware cost of $1,500 per user (based on 24 users), the technology is cost-prohibitive for small to medium-sized RIAs, and typically found in enterprise server rooms not small and medium-sized businesses. To be implemented in most office environments special cabling (category 6a or category 7)  is required.  With the future in mind, those moving into new office space should consider paying the premium to install category 6a  or category 7 cabling instead of category 5e or category 6, but do their own cost-benefit analysis.

There are situations where decentralized use of 10G Ethernet could make sense (e.g. an Axys user with more than 10,000 accounts), but most firms will wait for the cost to come down to a more reasonable level. Since faster localized data processing is in demand at the enterprise level, prices may remain where they are for some time.

Many notebooks still do not have gigabit ports. If you are shopping for a notebook make sure it has a Gigabit Ethernet port. If you still haven’t standardized on Gigabit Ethernet at your office, you should be able to, do so at a hardware cost of less than $75 per user.

New systems or new parts?
The best configuration for your new workstations and servers is an affordable one that you never have to upgrade during the useful life of the equipment. While some of the recommendations we have made in this article can be applied individually, it is usually more cost-efficient to buy new equipment that has the right configuration of OS, memory, CPU and hard drive.

Before you spend money upgrading older technology, find out how much your existing equipment is worth. If you aren’t certain, you can look it up on eBay and see what the approximate replacement cost is. This is usually a good indication of how desirable your equipment is as well as its relative processing power by today’s standards, and may validate further investment in the equipment or help solidify plans to upgrade to new equipment in the near future.

About the Author:
Kevin Shea is President of InfoSystems Integrated, Inc. (ISI); ISI provides a wide variety of outsourced IT solutions to investment advisors nationwide. For details, please visit isitc.com or contact Kevin Shea via phone at 617-720-3400 x202 or e-mail at kshea@isitc.com.

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Can your investment firm improve its overall systems by replacing the portfolio management system?

Filed under: APX, Axys, Portfolio Management Systems — 1 Comment
November 28, 2010

Last year, I helped one of our smaller clients get a new phone system – not because they needed one, but because the owner decided it was time for something NEW. There was nothing wrong with the old system, and I am fairly sure that this particular client will get no additional benefit due to their limited use of the phone system. I appreciate this approach when applied to the purchase of new computer equipment, which naturally obsoletes itself as new software updates are implemented. However, the NEW logic that was used to send the old phone system to the landfill was lost on me.

More recently, I experienced a similar issue with a client of ours in regard to their portfolio management system. After many years of using Axys, they decided they were ready for something NEW. They didn’t spend much time considering APX. They wanted something really NEW (i.e., not Advent). I was concerned, and not about our own meal ticket. Though we do a lot of specialty work for Advent Software users, we do our best to remain impartial and support RIAs that use other portfolio management systems. If we see a better product that makes both technological and financial sense for a specific client’s requirements, we will let them know.

There are usually pros and cons to switching from one system to another. When making a decision to move from one portfolio management system to another you are effectively betting that the benefits will justify the cost. I was concerned that my client was making a bad decision, but I also didn’t want to be the naysayer. We spent a limited amount of time discussing the potential switch: I did my best to explain what it was that made their existing system so valuable, however underappreciated it currently was. I’ll blog on the virtues of Advent Software’s portfolio management systems in the near future, but in short, my opinion is summarized below:

Advent Software is a market leader with portfolio management systems that are mature and malleable. At its most fundamental level, the portfolio management system your firm uses is a foundation that can be built upon by your firm, third-parties, and your primary software vendor. A more mature infrastructure gives your firm fewer surprises and a wider variety of solutions to choose from. By selecting a leading portfolio management system your firm benefits from the logical motivation of third-party vendors to make their products available on that platform first ensuring that your firm has the ability to embrace emerging technology at a competitive pace.

At some point, we all want something NEW. It is an opportunity to get rid of the problems with which we have been dealing and get a new lease on life. And while getting a new whatchamacallit is a good thing when we are talking about your ten-year old car, it is not necessarily the right solution for problems with your spouse, or your ten-year old portfolio management system. Our client is now in the process of converting to INDATA, but we probably won’t know how happy they are with their decision until next year.

Unfortunately, the decision to replace your existing portfolio system with another less mature but newer-looking system is likely to result in disappointment. Conversions typically leave some of your data behind in order to get you into the new system in a timely and cost-effective manner. Firms that adopt new systems without sufficient research frequently find out that they have traded one set of problems for another. Those who champion the switch to a new portfolio management system want a successful outcome that validates their decision. As such, those who are most apt to recognize shortcomings early on may opt to sweep the inadequacies under the rug and stick to their guns rather than question their initial decision.

About the Author:
Kevin Shea is President of InfoSystems Integrated, Inc. (ISI); ISI provides a wide variety of outsourced IT solutions to investment advisors nationwide. For details, please visit isitc.com or contact Kevin Shea via phone at 617-720-3400 x202 or e-mail at kshea@isitc.com.

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