Using industry feedback from the 70 financial institutions that attended SunGard's MiFID workshops in Brussels, Stockholm, Frankfurt and London, as well as ongoing customer projects, SunGard Consulting Services has developed a diagnostic and implementation framework to help customers undertake the necessary business and technology changes required to become compliant with MiFID regulations.

The Consulting Services' offering uses a flexible approach that integrates the strategic direction of the organisation with the tactical focus needed to satisfy the regulatory requirements of MiFID. The three-phased approach includes discovery, programme governance, and implementation. Depending on a particular customer's needs, this offering can be combined with SunGard's MiFID-specific technology solutions to provide a comprehensive service for achieving MiFID compliance from a single vendor.

Richard Thornton, head of MiFID Consulting for SunGard Consulting Services, explained, "The findings from our MiFID workshops indicate that many of Europe's major financial institutions are not ready for MiFID and will not meet the November 2007 deadline. There seems to be a pervasive lack of understanding about the implications of the new legislation as well as uncertainty about addressing the specific challenges related to the four key business areas of Best Execution, Systematic Internalisation, Market Data Services, and Record Management. Given our industry experience, technical knowledge, and MiFID expertise, SunGard Consulting Services is well positioned to fill the current information gap and step in to help organisations prepare for and succeed in a post-MiFID world."