There are numerous products available in the market to provide all or some of the services needed to maintain an effective Family Offi ce. An off the shelf product is usually good when it is specialising in a specifi c service for e.g. Trading Systems or a Custody Platform. These systems are good for Multi Family offi ces or Single Family offi ces where large processes are required to be processed on behalf of their families.
Technology plays a key role in maintaining and withholding an effi cient process within Family Offi ces. The strategy to employ Information technology systems and services depends on the size of the Family offi ce and type of service provided to their clients.
Irrespective of the IT strategy, to build a bespoke system or buy a new product, the following services will need to be looked into before investing in an IT System:
• Custody
• Portfolio
• Trading
• Risk management
• Accounting Services
• Customer Relationship management
• Tax Preparation
The nature and size of most family offi ces usually will require a more customised service to address specifi c requirements or issues relevant to the respective offi ce. Hence a product may not always be the right way to address the system needed. To build a solution based on the needs of the client requires the understanding of the industry as well as the experience of delivering IT Services and Solutions.
Solutions could range from consolidating multiple spreadsheets into a small application; integrating products together to give a cohesive view or generating reports to ensure intelligent data is available to all to make important decisions.
Once the core needs have been identified and the appropriate solutions chosen, it is vital to implement them effectively. This will include managing the delivery; build; testing and the deployment of solutions. These solutions can be built to deploy within the IT infrastructure of the family office or hosted on a cloud or data centre.
With the advent of the internet and mobile devices, solutions can be easily built to be available on the move. Client Relationship Management is a particular service that benefi ts from Mobile solutions enabling information to be available within the touch of a button.
To deliver these services and to stay ahead of the curve the Family offi ce industry needs to partner with established technology providers.
InfrasoftTech has been operational since 2000 providing IT Solutions and services for the Banking and Financial sector globally. InfrasoftTech’s Jersey offi ce specialises within the Wealth Management industry and can provide specifi c tailor made solutions to Family Offi ces. Our local presence and understanding of the industry helps us partner with both big and small, to understand and deliver solutions based on each organisation’s individual need maintaining quality solutions at a low cost.
InfrasoftTech’s Jersey operation was launched in 2007. It brought with it the expertise in the fi nancial services domain including retail banking, corporate banking, private banking, asset management, trusts and fi duciary. The Jersey operation has experienced signifi cant growth and now over 40 of the company’s 900 staff are based in the island.
InfrasoftTech’s business model is not to be a technology provider but to become a technology partner of choice and support our clients in both the short-term and the long-term. We are committed to developing and delivering best practice through modern methodologies and senior management commitment. We are constantly evolving our products and services to bring to the industry new generation solutions aimed at mobility, payment, analytics and cloud integration to ensure a competitive edge.
To be successful in the 21st century, businesses need to continue to innovate, use new technologies and identify ways of improving the customer experience.
