Misys Treasury Plus, launched today by Misys Banking Systems (Misys) (LSE: MSY), is on-demand "Software as a Service" (SaaS), providing a comprehensive suite of integrated tools for managing working capital and liquidity across multiple-banking relationships, accounts and currencies.
Corporate treasurers will for the first time be able to streamline and automate front, middle and back office treasury management without the costs and complexity of the traditional installed solutions.
Building on Misys Treasury, the market leading post-trade services platform, Misys Treasury Plus integrates both transaction services and application services within a single portal to connect corporate treasurers with multiple banks and other sources for liquidity provision, transaction management, and management information.
In its report of November 2004, entitled The Strategic Role of Treasury Technology, Treasury Strategies, an independent treasury management consulting firm, comments on the market need: "Today's treasury uses a fragmented array of tools that lack integration and integrity."
Misys already provides treasury management services to over 4,000 users across the world's leading corporations, as well as 70 per cent of the top 25 investment managers, which means that it understands the twin challenges of cost and risk reduction the treasury function faces in such organisations. It has seen an increase in demand for accessing treasury management tools as a service rather than installed software, the latest step in the evolution of treasury management technology - a trend also identified by the major analyst firms, such as Financial Insights in Treasury Management Solutions: The Forecast Calls for Clear Skies: "ASPs are gaining traction with a combination of low-entry price and very strong capabilities".
This new approach provides all the benefits of full-scale treasury applications without the risks and costs associated with owning and managing them, as this is done by Misys as a trusted third party from their audited and certified data centre facilities. The simplicity of delivery and pricing in the SaaS model makes it attractive and accessible to corporate treasurers who need access to treasury management support tools without being locked into any individual bank or the burden of in-house software. Whether it's accessing liquidity from one of over 70 providers, the STP and risk-reduction benefits of cross asset-class automated confirmation matching, multi-bank cash balance reporting, or the complexities of managing a hedging portfolio, doing so through a single, secure portal from anywhere in the world with internet access brings a new era of control and flexibility to corporate treasury.
"Most of our customers are looking to streamline and automate their front, middle and back offices to save cost and time while making sure they manage risks effectively," comments Mark Davies, CEO of Misys Global Managed Services. "Misys Treasury Plus has been developed in close consultation with our customers. Our trading and post-trade services are already leading services in their class, with cash management, exposure aggregation and risk management now being added to the platform to create the first Integrated Treasury Portal. We will continue to work with our customers to ensure that they can focus on running their business while we take care of running the technology to support it."