To support increasing workloads on their underutilised computing infrastructure, UGIS selected Platform Symphony and core components of Platform ISF to create a dynamic grid computing platform across its datacenters. This new shared computing platform will add processing power to key applications while reducing the cost by tapping previously underutilised computing resources. The solution combines the performance of grid computing with the flexibility of virtualisation for more elastic application workload support. The result is reduced energy and data center costs and less hardware and software capital expenses, while increasing underutilised server resources. As of November 2010, this combination of technology has been moved to production for the Full Revaluation Engine system (FRE) leveraging Platform Symphony API. FRE is used for the internal market risk system.

UGIS Global Markets & Treasury is using Platform Computing to support its growth across multiple business units. The shared IT infrastructure is used to support major pricing and risk applications as well as testing and end-user acceptance development. Platform Computing replaces several homegrown solutions built around various middleware solutions to provide better dynamic resource sharing across the datacenter. UGIS Global Markets & Treasury is now able to dynamically provision physical and virtual resources and allocate workloads to existing virtual image containers based on utilisation thresholds. The shared compute infrastructure is used for pricing purposes from Murex Fixed Income and Interest Rate Derivatives, Murex FX Options, Murex Credit Derivatives and for the Market Risk and will be extended in the coming months to other front office applications such as Sophis for Equity Derivatives. The new Credit Counterparty Risk application will also be based on the Platform Symphony solution.

"Platform Computing and its enterprise grid solution enable us to share a formerly heerly heterogeneous and distributed hardware infrastructure across applications regardless of their location, operating system and application logic, therefore helping us to achieve our internal efficiency targets while at the same time improving our performance and service quality," said Lorenzo Cervellin, head of global markets and treasury infrastructure and support at UniCredit Global Information Services.

"The traditional approach to IT is not working as the current model of building silos does not meet the dynamic needs of an organisation in a competitive and fast-moving sector, such as Financial Services," said Christopher Nathan, vice president EMEA, Platform Computing. "Enterprise grid computing offers organisations like UGIS Global Markets & Treasury a responsive, cost-effective IT model that delivers critical resources and added value."

Platform Symphony and Platform ISF have emerged as the market leading software to support the demanding requirements of key banking processes such as intraday risk calculations, pre-trade pricing and end-of-day value at risk calculations. Platform's solutions also implement a utility service model that provides a powerful sharing capability that financial services organisations are leveraging to achieve higher resource utilisation. This helps reduce costs and data center energy usage while ensuring business service levels are met. At a time when IT budgets are shrinking and the need for risk management remains high, Platform's solutions are playing a crucial role in helping financial services organisations reduce the total cost of ownership of these vital systems.