Product Description

Wealth.net is a browser based registry administration system for the financial services and wealth management sector. It enables institutions to manage their superannuation, managed funds and pension products all from the one application.

Wealth.net enables companies to retire multiple legacy systems, significantly reduce IT and operational costs, improve customer service and streamline administration processes by introducing a true end-to-end solution. Utilising the Microsoft .net framework the system compromises 7 components or modules that traditionally have all been developed as separate software applications. In the case of Wealth.net we have designed all of these components as one application to achieve tight integration and processing at the data level.

Our strategy was to address every known work-around and constraint inhibiting streamlined administration and exceptional customer service as well as address industry concerns with cost effectiveness and IT efficiency.

Components of Wealth.net include: 

• Administration registry system – caters for full wealth management product set including all relevant taxation components, in particular superannuation (personal and employer sponsored), unit trusts, wrap and pension products.

• Web front-end - the system is fully browser based and all functions and transactions are accessible via the web;

• Imaging – automatic capture of documents for incoming, outbound and ad-hoc correspondence;

• Workflow – automated process management, flexible rules configuration and statistical reporting;

• Intelligent character recognition (ICR) – provides for automatic data capture from imaged documents and updates system transactions and processes;

• Letter and report generation – ability to simply design and extract data in a user friendly manner;

• Configuration Utility – enables clients to establish product rules, correspondence, reports, workflow and ICR configuration independently of Bluedoor Technologies.

Additional features of the system include:

• Multi product system

• Client centric structure

• Multi tiered architecture

• Multi threaded batch processing

• Object oriented services

• XML integration

Innovation

Creating a business advantage – reducing costs for customers, product flexibility.

Breaking new ground – no other application with tightly integrated additional modules.

Expanding user horizons – users are no longer just in the back office of an institution through Wealth.net clients and advisers can transact online.

New business/service delivery – on-line transaction processing which traditionally has been all paper based.

New technology – Wealth.net is developed using Microsoft .net v2.

Social change or empowerment of users – online functionality empowers customers and advisers to help themselves.

The Wealth.net registry system is logically layered across the following three tiers:

• Presentation Layer – no validation or business logic is performed at this level. This layer is purely browser based rendering.

• Business Layer – product specific rules, validations and processes are exposed via Wealth.net’s XML open standards business services.

• Data Layer – centralised portal for all database I/O (via dynamic SQL and ADO.NET). This portable approach is a way forward for future database brand support (plug & play effect).

A diagram of the application architecture is provided below.

Background and key drivers

Financial institutions today continue to endure pressure to reduce technical & administration costs whilst increasing customer service, and offering innovative financial products. It was the view of the directors that there is no one software solution in the market that truly addressed these business drivers.

Existing software packages fail to meet these drivers because they were developed in a piecemeal fashion for specific purposes. As a result no one solution addresses the full end-to-end business requirement. Financial institutions must therefore deploy a number of solutions (workflow, administration, imaging, ICR, web, document production). Due to the cost of integration of these often disparate technologies, the individual systems are never truly integrated at a data level and promised efficiencies are squandered in a series of "too-hard" or "too-costly" decisions to scale back the business requirement.

Additionally maintaining legacy systems and having to compete for limited resources with propriety language skills is still a major concern for the financial services industry.

It was with this in mind that Bluedoor Technologies set out to develop an innovative system solution using the leading .net technology framework to provide financial institutions with a fully integrated financial services platform that will enable business to:

• Retire legacy platforms;

• Reduce IT and operational costs whilst improving quality and customer service;

• Streamlining of all administration processes; and

• Rapid release of new and innovative products

System Strategy & Innovation

Our strategy to develop a state of the art multi product platform for sale to institutions in Australia and in time overseas was the key objective. To be successful a number of system and business features were identified these included:

• Ability to handle the full suite of wealth management products including; unit trusts, personal, employer sponsored and industry superannuation, allocated and defined pension products, as well as salary continuance and term insurance all from the one application.

• Browser based for ease of deployment and ongoing management of the system, thereby offering the opportunity to perform back office administration in regional centres.

• Automation of processes through the use of inbuilt Intelligent Character Recognition, Imaging and Workflow integrated directly with the system

• Ability for clients to benefit from an integrated platform solution and the ability to provide their customers with comprehensive reporting, enquiry and live update 24/7. All functions within the system may be performed on a self-serve basis over the internet further increasing customer service, quality, and administrative cost.

• Ensure ongoing system quality and performance through the use of inbuilt system regression and performance testing tools.

• Optimization of required hardware configuration through the use of multi-threaded batch functions.

• Creation of in-built compiler services, integrated with the product platform to allow end-user configuration of complex business rules.

• Inbuilt reporting/documentation services, integrated with the product platform to allow simple (end-user) setup of customer correspondence.

• Creation of opportunities for institutions to replace costly legacy systems with one integrated solution.

• Provide a low cost implementation and significantly reduce ongoing maintenance and support cost.

• Utilisation of new technologies to achieve the above.

Performance

Wealth.net is an enterprise application for the wealth management industry. It is built to administer hundred’s of thousands/millions of members/clients and their retirement savings investments worth billions of dollars combined. Our current clients which are global financial services institutions hold more than $30 billion funds under management combined.

Our system must comply with ATO, ASIC and APRA government requirements/compliance. As part of our maintenance agreement with clients we are required to continue to support and maintain the system for all legislative government initiatives.

Top tier accounting firms such as Ernst and Young, consulting firm Accenture and Technology firms Avenade and Microsoft have all carried out review and/or due diligence of Wealth.net.

Performance results achieved include 1 million members, 900 concurrent users, 38 transactions per second batch performance, and less than half a second to laod pages. For more information/technical details on performance testing please access the link below.

We believe that Bluedoor Technologies has established a market leading position and significantly raised the bar for our competitors. In the last few months we have participated and won contracts in two formal Request for Proposal Bids against long standing major participants in the wealth management technology space. We also have a number of other market opportunities in progress that should result in positive decisions for Bluedoor Technologies throughout 2007.

Detailed below is a summary of the key benefits and outcomes created for clients by using Wealth.net. 

• Introduction of significant savings to financial institutions by reducing administration cost:

  • All transactions may be provided on a self service basis, over the internet to the end customer, avoiding the need to process transactions in the back office.

  • Paper based transactions may be scanned and input into the system in an automated fashion through the use of the system Intelligent Character Recognition capability.

  • Automated process management and control through the systems in built workflow capability.

• Introduction of significant savings to financial institutions by reducing Information Technology related cost by: 

  • Enabling the replacement of 6 – 8 individual applications with 1 system. 

  • Optimizes hardware performance through multi-threaded batch operations.

  • Improve software quality, reduce system “outages”, and reduce ongoing system development and maintenance cost through the introduction of the in-built regression and load testing capability.

  • Decrease implementation and ongoing maintenance cost of report, interface and customer correspondence through the introduction of the systems in-built reporting feature.

Potential

Government or other agency support – in 2005/2006 Bluedoor Technologies qualified for a significant ATO R & D Tax Concession/grant and has developed a strong relationship with industry bodies such as IFSA and will be speakers at the Investment and Technology Conference in Sydney 28 Feb 2007.

Designed for international use – Wealth.net can be taken off shore, it has multi currency capability, and can be easily extended for multi lingual. We currently have opportunities in Hong Kong, New Zealand and the UK.

Global design standards – Our technical resources are continually researching the best use of the framework in which we operate. In addition, we have access to the best resources through our partnerships and online training material/manuals available.

Identified potential markets – Wealth.net can be sold to banks, financial institutions, fund managers, third party administrators and large stand alone industry superannuation funds. It has been sold to clients in Australia whom have global networks, in all likelihood the system will be rolled out in Hong Kong, New Zealand and the UK. There is nothing stopping us from taking it to other countries such as the United States, Canada and Europe.

International partner or distributors – We have relationships with Microsoft and a number of top tier accounting/business consulting firms.

Success in home or export markets – Bluedoor Technologies has acquired its first two clients in the past 5 months. Both projects will run for a period of 10 – 12 months and generate substantial revenue followed by an annual license and maintenance stream.

Other information the judges should know

In addition to the information provided we have also attached the following:

• Attachment - Bluedoor Technologies corporate brochure

Other documents available to judges on request from Karen De Angelis

• Solution Scorecard – summarises the key features of Wealth.net and the benefits clients will achieve.

• Performance Results Report – results of performance testing

General company and product background

• The Bluedoor Technologies website www.bluedoortech.com