With BT FSIS, Premier Builds Data Warehousing, Retrieval Platform For Institutions

Premier Solutions Ltd. and Bankers Trust Financial Services Information Systems Corp. (BT FSIS)--the wholly-owned software-vending subsidiary of Bankers Trust Co.--are in the process of developing an asset management data warehouse and information retrieval application. A key intention is to provide users with a single Microsoft Corp. Windows-based graphical user interface through which they'll be able to access disparate investment management systems, including portfolio accounting systems.

Premier will define and develop the functionality of the planned application suite with BT FSIS systems developers assisting in designing its architecture. Indeed, because Premier does not currently market a workstation platform of its own, it will incorporate into the new product suite the architecture developed by BT FSIS for its so-called BT-World data delivery workstation.

According to BT FSIS president David Hinds, BT FSIS also brings to the table technical expertise in designing data warehouses. "What Premier asked us to do was essentially serve in a consultancy role," says Hinds. "They pick up our technical expertise in terms of designing data warehousing, plus the design of an intelligent workstation."

Meanwhile, Hinds declines to say whether BT FSIS parent Bankers Trust, or any of its investment subsidiaries, would deploy the new applications in their asset management operations. Says Hinds: "We will have the rights to the product and then will make the determination from that point forward." However, a source close to the collaboration says that BT FSIS's "incentive was to essentially get a more robust product for their use within Bankers Trust and to capitalize on the construction of a sort of next-generation product."

A spokesperson for BT FSIS says that while marketing plans have not yet been finalized in all their details, Premier will market the products exclusively. Meanwhile, according to terms of the agreement, prior to the release of the new products--which have been dubbed Infoharbour and Dataharbour--Premier will market BT FSIS's current-generation BT-World workstation product.

Bankers Trust and Premier are not strangers. In July last year, the firm deployed Premier's Global Plus portfolio management and accounting system to support its private banking division.

The project with BT FSIS provides an opportunity for Premier to tap into a demand in the marketplace where officials at the vendor see much promise. "The whole notion of data warehousing is much talked about in the trade and oftentimes requires a significant investment on behalf of the institution to build the infrastructure," says Miller. "This allows the institution a much more cost-effective way than making a large expenditure on developing a data warehouse itself."

The new products will be designed to provide institutional investors with access to information from multiple asset management and accounting systems via an integrated platform. A spokesperson for Premier says the vendor plans to provide connectivity to as many systems as is necessary.

The project includes development of a retrieval application--called Infoharbour--linked to a stand-alone asset management data warehouse--called Data-
harbour. A Premier spokesperson says: "Infoharbour will reside on the PC on the client desktop and it will be Microsoft Windows-based. Dataharbour is the back-end relational database that will reside on a server."

The spokesperson says Premier is currently evaluating various relational databases and operating systems. To date, Miller says, the platforms that will support the client/server-based applications have not been selected yet. "It will be different platforms," says Miller. "We're looking at DEC/Vax, DEC/Alpha, IBM RS/6000 and Hewlett-Packard."

According to advance Premier product literature: "Historical data and audited statement data are planned for availability. The Dataharbour warehouse will support consolidated information across multiple accounts and portfolios from asset management, securities lending and performance measurement systems."

Premier is banking that the application will attract interest in a wide cross-section of the investment management marketplace. "It will appeal to not just banks and trust departments," says Miller. "But also insurance firms, mutual fund providers, brokerages, individual investors, the whole gamut of players in the asset management industry."