Don't know if this was posted previously, sorry if it was:
Data Conversion Systems Snapped Up At ADP, Stifel Nicolaus, Advest, Primark
From Securities Industry News, Monday, December 6, 1999
Legacy-to-Web translation products are getting a lot of play lately. Interface Systems' MyCopy software has been licensed by ADP Brokerage Services. Other new Interface clients include St. Louis-based broker-dealer Stifel Nicolaus & Co. and Hartford, Conn.-based brokerage Advest. New Era of Networks recently introduced a new package of services, called e-Biz Integrator, that also takes data submitted over the Web - such as an order for a security - and converts it to a legacy system format. Neon's customers include Primark Corp.'s Disclosure unit.
Stifel Nicolaus and Advest licensed Interface's MyCopy software for statement delivery and initially deployed it to brokers for use over an intranet. ADP is using the technology that MyCopy is based on for electronic delivery of statements and, in the near future, trade confirmations.
MyCopy takes data from existing legacy applications, parses and indexes the data, and then routes and presents the converted files, according to Bob Vish, group product manager at Interface. In addition to a Web format, the data can also be converted and distributed to voice response systems and CD-ROMs, he said.
MyCopy runs under Microsoft Windows NT; Interface in the first quarter of next year plans to roll out a version for Sun Microsystem's Solaris.
The same data that would be sent to a printer can be sent to the Interface software, which looks like another printer to the mainframe systems, Vish said. The software normalizes the data stream, turning it into a text file, he said. MyCopy is set up to be able to identify relevant data from all the data it receives; the software also indexes the relevant pieces of data, such as a client's name, account number and their broker's name, he added. The index is stored on a database such as Oracle 8 or Microsoft's SQL Server 7.
The most popular Web format requested from Interface's clients is for files in a PDF format, which works well in an intranet environment but is less effective for Internet delivery, Vish said. The second most popular request is for an HTML format, he said.
The third most popular is in the Extensible Markup Language (XML), which will probably eclipse the other two in the near future, Vish said.
MyCopy ties into brokerage houses' existing Internet and intranet security systems, which allows them to control access to documents, Vish said.
Vish said the value of being able to deliver electronic confirmations, statements and other communications is not so much the cost savings, but "eyeballs," an audience to send personalized messages promoting products and services, he said. |
