Consultants CapCo chose the Securities Industry Association Technology Management Conference to announce its latest joint venture today. Following deals with Reuters and Crossbordex, the firm is now teaming up with Microsoft to offer an STP solution.
Their offering is called STP Bridge, an off-the-shelf solution using the BizTalk Server that enables all messaging protocols used in the capital markets to communicate regardless of platform. CapCo and Microsoft say the ease of use of the BizTalk Server will allow STP Bridge to be customized for all types of institution. They add that its flexibility will make it easy to add new services and applications and connect and integrate with partners, competitors and multiple utilities simultaneously, including transaction matching, application services provider and business services provider utilities. As a result, customers will be able to access multiple services from a single point of contact.
“We’re delighted to be working with Capco because of its expertise and reputation within the financial services industry,” says Bill Hartnett, general manager of financial services at Microsoft. “Capco’s new STP Bridge solution is a terrific example of how the Microsoft .NET approach to XML Web services can literally transform the way an industry serves its customers, providing businesses with the agility to respond to their rapidly changing business landscape. Through the integration and transformation features found within BizTalk Server, the new STP Bridge achieves the best of both worlds when it comes to standardization and customization. It creates a common platform for processing transactions, but provides companies with the ability to customize a solution based on specific requirements, capabilities and customer needs.”
“Microsoft and Capco are the leading companies thinking holistically about the market infrastructure and market participant sides of the industry, with the goal of commoditizing connectivity and making it affordable for everyone,” says Predrag Dizdarevic, executive vice president and head of Capco Solutions, a division of Capco. “STP Bridge is the only STP solution that fully leverages .NET to allow all internal systems and external services to communicate with each other. STP Bridge provides seamless collaboration in real time between market players and emerging transaction-matching utilities, and gives users a richer experience.”
“Connectivity is the lifeblood of the securities industry,” adds Larry Tabb, vice president of the Securities and Investments Practice at TowerGroup. “Investment managers, brokers, exchanges, custodians and depositories all need to communicate seamlessly. For years, the communications infrastructure supporting this connectivity has been highly fragmented, inefficient and costly. The new Microsoft and Capco venture will focus on streamlining this connectivity and making it possible for any market participant of any size to access multiple utilities from a single point of contact. The end result will be improved STP at an affordable price point.”