SunGard's Front Arena solution, a global capital markets solution that delivers position control across multiple asset classes and business lines, has achieved record processing times for its risk calculations in a series of benchmarking tests performed using Intel's Xeon 7500 series-based servers.
The tests showed that Front Arena is able to process risk calculations 1.7 times faster than with the previous generation of Intel Xeon 7400 series-based servers. The solution, therefore, is now able to help deliver more timely risk insight and lower total cost of ownership to customers.
An increased focus on risk, transparency and position control has made advanced technology critical to enhancing business performance. Front Arena has increased its scalability with respect to available cores and the latest version of the software, released in March 2010, maximizes the benefits available in the latest hardware. The enhancements mean the solution is able to deliver faster overviews of risk matrices and VaR calculations. The benchmarking tests included 2,000 risk calculations using a mix of finite difference and Monte Carlo based models for pricing structured equity products.
Nils Undén, chief technology officer for SunGard's Front Arena business unit, said: "We are continually investing in research and development to improve the performance of Front Arena. Using Intel Xeon 7500 series-based servers, Front Arena is able to process risk calculations 1.7 times faster than before, meaning we can help customers gain greater transparency and insight into their risk calculations, and improve overall position control and business decision making."