Buying a client reporting platform is not like buying most enterprise software. It involves connecting to your key data sources, interacting with your reporting and investment teams and producing regular and ad hoc client communications. It needs to fit with a best practice business operating model, and produce reports that are probably the greatest touchpoint with your clients and investors.
Oh – and it also needs to be flexible enough to evolve with you to support your future requirements too.
Getting it wrong is costly – not just from a financial and wasted time perspective, but in client and regulatory risk.
When you’re getting a software demo, you’ll be seeing the best version of that platform, in ideal conditions, with clean data. What is harder to evaluate is whether the platform will perform in your specific environment, with your specific data, serving your specific clients’ requirements now and into the future.
These are the questions and approach that separate a thorough evaluation from one that is swayed by just a polished demonstration.
The absolute – and overriding – key question
We outline some of the basic questions that should be asked during any reporting software demo – but let me cut to the chase with what I believe to be the single most important question you can ask any potential software vendor. A question that, if they are confident in their product they should be able to answer with ease (we certainly can).
And that question is: “Can I please see a list of all your clients, and can I choose which ones I talk to about the system and the service they receive from you?”
But of course, there will be other pieces of information the decision makers at a company will need or want answers to, so here are some other important questions you should ask…
Questions about data integration
- Ideally, you’d want to re-use existing data extracts and feeds, those that support the existing reporting process to minimise project risk and delays. A good starting point would be to reuse these feeds from third party and internal systems and supplement with any additional data requirements. Does the vendor see any challenges with this approach?
- How are data quality issues identified and highlighted – missing values, late feeds, incorrect formats, values outside of a tolerance? Can specific additional data validation checks be specified and incorporated into the system?
- Does the system check and validate the data ahead of using it on the report? Ideally you don’t want to be using output reports to validate portfolio data.
- In the event a data point changes, can this be immediately reingested to the reporting system and do the impacted reports automatically rerender to reflect the revised value through the pack, so there’s no stale reports?
Questions about template and configuration flexibility
- Can templates be configured to our specific brand standards, or fund and client requirements without custom development?
- Can our users make changes to templates and output reports themselves – can they adjust the content, add and remove report elements, pages and sections? Do the changes take immediate effect?
- How does the system handle funds and clients with different template requirements – is this configuration or custom development? (Clearly ‘configuration’ is the preferred response.)
- When regulatory or compliance requirements change, can the users update the templates, without recourse to any other party? Are these changes immediately applied and visible in the reports?
Questions about commentary workflow
- Does the platform have a built-in commentary workflow that is configurable to our people, teams and workflow process?
- Can our fund managers input commentary without having to log on to the core reporting system?
- Can the system automatically accommodate commentary of any length and shape (to fit with other elements on the page), without any manual adjustment to the templates or report pages?
Questions about quality and error handling
- Does the system hold up the report in a “waiting” state if data issues exist (for that particular report) and/or other content issues have been identified?
- If a data issue has been identified, and a revised/corrected file is provided, will the revised reports be rendered and available within 2 minutes?
- Is a full audit trail produced for each report, detailing every step in the production, review and distribution process, including data sources, changes, review steps and final approval?
Questions about implementation
- What does the implementation / on-boarding timeline look like for a firm with our size and complexity of reporting? Can it be achieved within minimal involvement from our business and project teams?
- Is the project able to be completed in less than 3 months, maximum?
- What has caused projects to take longer than planned in the past?
- What do you need from us during implementation – and who do you need it from?
- Describe your on-boarding approach, can we avoid a parallel run and not increase our project risk?
Questions about the commercial model
- Can the pricing be consumption based, that is directly related to the amount of reporting undertaken each period?
- What is your standard contract length and can we generate discounts for increased reporting volumes over time, and extending the contract length?
- Can the contract be structured to be mutually rewarding for the investment firm, the reporting system provider and the underlying clients?
Ideally, you would want to be able to answer “Yes” to the majority or all of the questions above. 12-18 month reporting projects are unsustainable given the pace of change in the industry. Modern, flexible, SaaS, multi-tenant solutions like Opus Nebula represent a huge step forward for the industry, in terms of shortened on-boarding timeframes, reduced costs, increased flexibility and greater quality.
Frequently asked questions
How many vendors should we evaluate?
Firstly, you must decide on the model you want. Do you want to host the system in-house, or in the cloud? Do you want to manage and maintain the technical infrastructure in-house, and develop and maintain all the data feeds, the workflows and the report templates? Or do you want to outsource the technical infrastructure, and reporting system maintenance and development to an expert, and simply have your users “use” the system to produce reports for your clients?
Talk to industry consultants to help understand the differences and work out what is best for your organisation in its maturity and ambition.
Once you know the model you want, engage with suitable vendors. Create a shortlist.
Vendor selection based on a single demonstration or a single recommendation from a peer is a common source of regret.
Should we ask for a proof of concept before committing?
No. This is not necessary. If you understand the vendor model and speak to their existing clients, you will know if they can do your job or not, and any specific challenges that may exist. A proof of concept just delays the go-live and incurs costs for both parties.
How do I perform a cost analysis?
Work out a total cost of ownership over a typical 3 year period, for your existing set up, and for each of the proposed vendors, including all the technical infrastructure, support and maintenance teams, licence fees, development teams, as well as user costs. Ensure you understand how these reporting costs flex as reporting volumes increase.