Peter Sarai knew that he would have to use the latest technology
platform to build a customer relationship management (CRM) system that would
embody industry-leading practices and support the scalable expansion of
FinancialLine, the financial planning group of which he is managing
director.
Microsoft's .NET represented the latest technology but few IT
developers in Australia were skilled in its use. The alternative was to
commission development using open source software, which was not seen as
offering the benefits of .NET but for which there was ample expertise.
"So, we decided to use the .NET platform and to outsource
development of the system to Mitrais," Mr Sarai said.
Five years on FinancialLine has recently commissioned enhancements to its CRM
system to meet the ongoing needs of a very information-savvy and mature client
base, as well as the firm's advisory staff.
The system, called Evolution, operates on a 24x7 basis and allows
clients and advisors to access portfolios and to manage investment strategies.
It is also the foundation for good management of the practice and for the
legislative compliance now demanded in the Australian financial services sector.
In 2002, based on a successful business formula which had been
developed at its headquarters in suburban Brisbane, company management decided
it was time to take the 20 year old company into a new growth phase.
To support this expansion, Peter Sarai said "we needed a system
which would enable complete control of our practice, clients and staff,
including compliance and marketing. We wanted to be able to use the system
anywhere there was an internet connection.
"Our research indicated that other parties could not change or
upgrade software as quickly as we required, to provide the level of service we
believe is necessary to services our clients.
"We envisaged a new system which, in order to be enterprise-wide
and be scalable to any number of offices, would have to be faster, offer new
levels of security and be modular in design. As such, it would embody our own
intellectual property. It was clear the system would have to use the latest
technology," Mr Sarai said.
While information technology is pivotal to FinancialLine's ongoing
success and growth, like many companies of similar size, its strategy is to
outsource major systems development initiatives under the auspices of a project
manager who is part of a small internal team responsible for IT.
As the first step towards the development of Evolution,
FinancialLine commissioned an audit of the functionality of its existing system
and the development of specifications for its replacement. The technology came
down to a choice between open source software and Microsoft's .NET platform.
The recommendation for .NET required the company to look beyond
Australia for the .NET skills which were in short supply because of the newness
of the platform.
The company's manager in charge of the Evolution project was well
acquainted with Mitrais as a result of development that it had undertaken for
the major enterprise resource planning (ERP) software company,
Brisbane-headquartered Mincom.
Having satisfied itself of Mitrais' credentials and ability to
undertake the development of Evolution, FinancialLine commissioned the project
on a fixed time/cost basis.
The project began with six months planning and preparation
followed by an eight month development cycle.
Mr Sarai says the project was a success both operationally and
financially. The close geographic proximity of Bali made Mitrais a more
attractive proposition for an Australian company than development in India.
"It would have cost some 30 percent more to have undertaken the
same project in Australia, assuming that sufficient .NET developers were
available.
"On the other hand, had open source software been an acceptable
platform we could have undertaken development in Australia. However the price
would have been the same as it ultimately cost to have Mitrais to develop
Evolution on a .NET platform," Mr Sarai said.
At an operational level, he says that having an in-house project
manager was a reassurance that a fixed price project would work. Daily, online
reporting underpinned this confidence as the project proceeded. Software modules
were downloaded from Bali to a development server in Brisbane and tested module
by module.
The system now supports FinancialLine offices in Melbourne and the
central Queensland coastal city of Bundaberg. It is a significant platform in
the company's plans now underway to expand into other markets.
Subsequent to the introduction of Evolution, FinancialLine has
commissioned upgrades to the system which accommodate security for multi-level
advisor access. The system will soon be further enhanced to give high net worth
clients access to services in addition to financial planning.