Hedge Funds And Prime Brokers Buying RiskMetrics Services On An ASP Basis

RiskMetrics Group says its decision to offer services on an ASP basis is transforming its business. The company says 200 clients are now purchasing its risk management products RiskManager, CreditManager and CDOManager on an ASP basis. "The growth of the

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RiskMetrics Group says its decision to offer services on an ASP basis is transforming its business. The company says 200 clients are now purchasing its risk management products – RiskManager, CreditManager and CDOManager- on an ASP basis.

“The growth of the ASP platform has been a tremendous catalyst for us in many ways,” explains Dr. Rob Fraser, RiskMetrics Group’s Head of SLA Management. “It greatly reduces the time we spend in the pre-sales and client integration process. And, because we host the system, we can provide direct support and improve our products as our clients use them – the ASP has created a new class of turnkey service that brings us closer to our clients.”

In addition to service-level improvements, RiskMetrics Group attributes the wide adoption of its ASP-based services to the changing role of risk management in financial institutions. While risk management was once treated as a proprietary function to be maintained behind closed doors, it says, industry-wide movements towards greater risk transparency have created a demand for a common language of risk. This need to compare risk across multiple asset classes and – in the case of hedge funds and funds of funds – across multiple managers, has helped to drive the rapid growth of RiskMetrics Group’s ASP business.

RiskMetrics Group claims to be among the first in its space to make its full-service, flagship products available to clients on an ASP-based platform. The company’s ASP offerings, which were introduced to the marketplace in April 2002, have shown the most rapid growth in the Americas. The most rapid adopters of the system have come from the alternative investment, prime brokerage and retail financial marketplaces. The ASP platform supports the full suite of RiskMetrics products, including RiskManager, CreditManager, CDOManager, and WealthBench.

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