Asset Control Makes a ‘Pass’ at Buy Side with Managed Service

Data management software platform provider Asset Control has unveiled AC Pass (Platform as a Scalable Service), a data management service that delivers the functionality of its on-site AC Plus platform, but as a managed service, to appeal to a broader base of buy-side firms and tier-two banks beyond the vendor’s core base of major banks.

“Clients have a lot on their plate—a combination of still dealing with regulation such as Mifid II, while FRTB is becoming very active this year, and we see clients trying to run more data-driven businesses and to service a more data-hungry business person, while increasing operational efficiency,” says Mark Hepsworth, CEO of Asset Control. “We felt it was important for clients that we take on a managed services perspective. We need to be able to go out to clients and respond to the trend of building less and buying more, and leveraging more from a services perspective.”

Running the platform as a managed service will enable Asset Control to target AC Pass at smaller firms that don’t need the full scale and features of AC Plus, by supporting more flexible and scalable offerings, while allowing clients to access data as a service where the vendor manages everything “behind the scenes” and can structure contracts based on specific use cases, with service-level agreements to maintain service quality.

“Clients want something that is not necessarily entire enterprise data management, but which handles specific solutions for evaluations, risk, and new securities setup, and trading opportunities,” says Nathan Wolaver, managing director of Asset Control. “Clients are asking us to give them something that is more specific to individual use cases, and not sell the idea that everything needs a golden copy, but rather something that can drive specific use cases.”

Wolaver likens adopting AC Pass instead of traditional installed data platforms to cutting wood with a chainsaw instead of a handsaw. “Clients think, ‘If we have these guys sawing away, why change things and get a chainsaw.’ We’re saying, ‘How much wood do you need cut? We’ll guarantee to take care of it’,” he says, adding that firms that shift costs—and risks—upstream to their vendors can find it easier to get sign-off on the cost of the implementation.

The managed service also speeds up time-to-market and allows firms to eliminate infrastructure associated with in-house installations. This not only allows firms to grow or shrink their usage as required without having to hire or fire staff, or pull them off other projects, but also reduces complexities associated with in-house implementations.

“We have typically been a Unix stack… and buy-side firms typically don’t have the expertise to run that in-house. Now, through an initiative with Oracle and OCI [Oracle Cloud Infrastructure]… we can stand up these environments very quickly and run them very effectively,” Wolaver says. “We are able to spin up all sorts of environments—from testing to production—within 24 hours. Previously, the client would have to do themselves, so we are taking all that heavy lifting off the client and putting it onto us.”

“We’ve been providing managed data services for more than 15 years—the ‘Plus’ in AC Plus was managing that for clients. What we hadn’t done was to take that to the next level of running the solution for the client, which needs investment, foresight, and the mindset to deliver a service where you’re accountable to the client for the outcomes,” Wolaver says.

On the “investment” side, Asset Control has had a positive and supportive experience under the new ownership of UK-based private equity firm Sovereign Capital Partners, which acquired the vendor last year and hired Toronto-based former FIS, SunGard and Reuters veteran Brian Traquair as independent chairman.

“Managed services were a big part [of those roles]. So his expertise in understanding the pitfalls… has been very helpful,” Hepsworth says. “There is definitely an investment that we’ve had to make—and recognition that you won’t cover your costs on the first client. We see the potential, and as we leverage the platform for more clients, it becomes more profitable for us—but there is a clear industry trend here, and we can’t ignore it.”

Hepsworth says the move is a long-term play, and that AC Pass will coexist with AC Plus for the foreseeable future, but adds that he expects to see a gradual migration over time. “There are elements of this service that, ultimately, all of our clients will take from us—and when I look at new clients, I expect the majority of them to not just want the software, but to also want the managed service,” he says. “For example, central banks may have requirements around security that mean they have to have the solution on-site. And some will still want to add their own secret sauce, but I think new clients will mostly move immediately to the managed service, and existing clients will move more towards the managed service.”