How to Simplify Your Data Journey – Brown Brothers Harriman
Data management sits at the top of priority lists for asset managers and financial institutions. The ability to scale operations, stay competitive, meet regulatory demands, and more effectively serve clients, hinges on surfacing quality data that’s reliable, consistent, and timely.
But effectively developing and continually refining a data strategy can be overwhelming and can often hold firms back.
Many organizations are faced with interoperability challenges around integration of new data platforms and technology with legacy systems. Solving for interoperability is critical and should never be underestimated.
The pursuit of quality data also continues to be a challenge for many firms. According to EY’s 2023 survey of 50 asset managers, 40 cite poor data quality as a barrier to integration.
The scale of the challenge is one reason why Deloitte is seeing asset servicers increase their budget allocations in data management from 14% in 2021 to 35% in 2023.1
As a global service provider, we see the data challenges that many of our asset managers and financial institution clients are grappling with. As we collaborate with our clients we often find that the most effective approach is the simplest one. Data management projects can be complex, expensive, and resource-heavy, so it’s critical to start with repeatable building blocks around specific and pragmatic business needs in order to help accelerate ROI. In the end, you have a data approach that is scalable and flexible to address future challenges.
Data management projects can be complex, expensive, and resource-heavy, so it’s critical to start with repeatable building blocks around specific and pragmatic business needs in order to help accelerate ROI.
So how can firms connect the dots between business need and data capabilities?
There are three priority points on the roadmap to a successful data strategy that might seem obvious, but should not be overlooked.
1. Take a balanced and flexible approach to technology
An organization’s technology portfolio can fluctuate, so technology must be complemented and augmented by multiple elements including a deep understanding of the data itself. However, there are near-countless vendors and tools in the market with a range of selling capabilities, many of which are complex to get up and running.
A key element of technology selection is to ensure interoperability and flexibility – critical operating datasets are almost always aggregated from multiple internal and external systems and it’s rare that formats, labeling, and connectivity is consistent across platforms. Keeping these tenets at the core of the evaluation process will help you preserve the best of in-house, vendor, and service provider solutions.
Seek out technology and service partners that allow you to combine a data solution with existing systems and processes that work well, to deliver meaningful results and reach business goals in much shorter timeframes.
2. Put Subject Matter Expertise at the heart of your data strategy
Regardless of how powerful technology solutions can be, business subject matter expertise (SME) is critical to effectively unlock quality data. Product SMEs must be highly integrated with an organization’s broader data strategy, and digital and data teams need to incorporate input from business experts who intimately understand the underlying data to meet business objectives and make informed decisions.
Managed service teams that are staffed, trained, and organized to manage the day-to-day maintenance of your data and get it into a usable form – identifying breaks, resolving exceptions, managing rules changes/updates, monitoring and providing real time oversight – are also critical.
3. Start small and then scale
Firms often attempt to boil the ocean in how they approach their data strategy. Given the ubiquity of business needs that data can help solve, it’s easy to overthink the enormity of the project and determine a ‘catch all’ approach is best. In some instances, firms launch data programs that are understandably wide ranging, but unfortunately not specific or targeted enough to any one area to generate meaningful economic returns overall.
In our experience, attacking concrete business problems yields better outcomes and efficiency faster. It is also helpful to prioritize data sets by volumes of usage across the organization so that once you have piloted one use case, it easier to scale and apply learnings to your next priority issues.
This approach creates a solution for one problem that delivers immediate benefits to a firm, while at the same time building the foundation to address others, for example:
Or in the case of trade information, the same updated data set can be useful for multiple purposes such as updating the Investment Book of Record, managing fails, regulatory reporting, and execution analysis.
A platform approach that uses data solutions to address individual business problems will enable a model that scales faster and can grow and expand exponentially as each new solution is deployed.
Real World Application
Rather than focus on a one-off project to address singular pain points, a global asset manager used a platform approach to solve about a dozen related data management issues in three steps.
Step 1: The manager started with their most critical project – the uploading of disparate and unstructured data to their external Investment Book of Record platform by leveraging a combination of interoperable data management technology and asset servicing experts.
Step 2: They eliminated overheads from a previous reconciliations process that took a staggering 2-3 hours daily.
Step 3: By using a platform approach to focus on a single project, their solution became repeatable and enabled them to address various other data challenges.
Conclusion
The road to effective data strategy development is complex to navigate. Increasingly, we see firms opting for solutions that create better business outcomes through interoperability and flexibility between existing systems alongside accessing both subject matter and data expertise.
This three-part roadmap provides the framework to create a scalable platform that can solve real challenges and have positive impacts across your organization.
1 2023 Deloitte Asset Servicers Survey
Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. (“BBH”) may be used to reference the company as a whole and/or its various subsidiaries generally. This material and any products or services may be issued or provided in multiple jurisdictions by duly authorized and regulated subsidiaries. This material is for general information and reference purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax or investment advice and is not intended as an offer to sell, or a solicitation to buy securities, services or investment products. Any reference to tax matters is not intended to be used, and may not be used, for purposes of avoiding penalties under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, or other applicable tax regimes, or for promotion, marketing or recommendation to third parties. All information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but accuracy is not guaranteed, and reliance should not be placed on the information presented. This material may not be reproduced, copied or transmitted, or any of the content disclosed to third parties, without the permission of BBH. Pursuant to information regarding the provision of applicable services or products by BBH, please note the following: Brown Brothers Harriman Fund Administration Services (Ireland) Limited and Brown Brothers Harriman Trustee Services (Ireland) Limited are regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland, Brown Brothers Harriman Investor Services Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, Brown Brothers Harriman (Luxembourg) S.C.A is regulated by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier. All trademarks and service marks included are the property of BBH or their respective owners. © Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. 2024. All rights reserved. IS-09760-2024-03-07
As of June 15, 2022 Internet Explorer 11 is not supported by BBH.com.
By selecting this link, you are leaving Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. internet website. This link is provided for informational purposes only. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. is not responsible for the content within this linked site and no endorsement of their content is implied
If you are leaving to view a video on a third-party website, the views expressed in the video are as of the date in the broadcast. The positions expressed in this material are those of the author and may or may not be consistent with the views of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. and its subsidiaries and affiliates ("BBH") and are intended for informational purposes only. Information contained herin is based upon various sources believed to be reliable and are subject to change without notice. Furthermore, these positions are not intended to predict or guarantee the future performance of any currencies or markets. This material should not be construed as research, or as investment, legal or tax advice, nor should it be considered information sufficient upon which to base an investment decision. BBH is not affiliated with the third-party site.
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But effectively developing and continually refining a data strategy can be overwhelming and can often hold firms back.
Many organizations are faced with interoperability challenges around integration of new data platforms and technology with legacy systems. Solving for interoperability is critical and should never be underestimated.
The pursuit of quality data also continues to be a challenge for many firms. According to EY’s 2023 survey of 50 asset managers, 40 cite poor data quality as a barrier to integration.
The scale of the challenge is one reason why Deloitte is seeing asset servicers increase their budget allocations in data management from 14% in 2021 to 35% in 2023.1
As a global service provider, we see the data challenges that many of our asset managers and financial institution clients are grappling with. As we collaborate with our clients we often find that the most effective approach is the simplest one. Data management projects can be complex, expensive, and resource-heavy, so it’s critical to start with repeatable building blocks around specific and pragmatic business needs in order to help accelerate ROI. In the end, you have a data approach that is scalable and flexible to address future challenges.
Data management projects can be complex, expensive, and resource-heavy, so it’s critical to start with repeatable building blocks around specific and pragmatic business needs in order to help accelerate ROI.
So how can firms connect the dots between business need and data capabilities?
There are three priority points on the roadmap to a successful data strategy that might seem obvious, but should not be overlooked.
1. Take a balanced and flexible approach to technology
An organization’s technology portfolio can fluctuate, so technology must be complemented and augmented by multiple elements including a deep understanding of the data itself. However, there are near-countless vendors and tools in the market with a range of selling capabilities, many of which are complex to get up and running.
A key element of technology selection is to ensure interoperability and flexibility – critical operating datasets are almost always aggregated from multiple internal and external systems and it’s rare that formats, labeling, and connectivity is consistent across platforms. Keeping these tenets at the core of the evaluation process will help you preserve the best of in-house, vendor, and service provider solutions.
Seek out technology and service partners that allow you to combine a data solution with existing systems and processes that work well, to deliver meaningful results and reach business goals in much shorter timeframes.
2. Put Subject Matter Expertise at the heart of your data strategy
Regardless of how powerful technology solutions can be, business subject matter expertise (SME) is critical to effectively unlock quality data. Product SMEs must be highly integrated with an organization’s broader data strategy, and digital and data teams need to incorporate input from business experts who intimately understand the underlying data to meet business objectives and make informed decisions.
Managed service teams that are staffed, trained, and organized to manage the day-to-day maintenance of your data and get it into a usable form – identifying breaks, resolving exceptions, managing rules changes/updates, monitoring and providing real time oversight – are also critical.
3. Start small and then scale
Firms often attempt to boil the ocean in how they approach their data strategy. Given the ubiquity of business needs that data can help solve, it’s easy to overthink the enormity of the project and determine a ‘catch all’ approach is best. In some instances, firms launch data programs that are understandably wide ranging, but unfortunately not specific or targeted enough to any one area to generate meaningful economic returns overall.
In our experience, attacking concrete business problems yields better outcomes and efficiency faster. It is also helpful to prioritize data sets by volumes of usage across the organization so that once you have piloted one use case, it easier to scale and apply learnings to your next priority issues.
This approach creates a solution for one problem that delivers immediate benefits to a firm, while at the same time building the foundation to address others, for example:
Or in the case of trade information, the same updated data set can be useful for multiple purposes such as updating the Investment Book of Record, managing fails, regulatory reporting, and execution analysis.
A platform approach that uses data solutions to address individual business problems will enable a model that scales faster and can grow and expand exponentially as each new solution is deployed.
Real World Application
Rather than focus on a one-off project to address singular pain points, a global asset manager used a platform approach to solve about a dozen related data management issues in three steps.
Step 1: The manager started with their most critical project – the uploading of disparate and unstructured data to their external Investment Book of Record platform by leveraging a combination of interoperable data management technology and asset servicing experts.
Step 2: They eliminated overheads from a previous reconciliations process that took a staggering 2-3 hours daily.
Step 3: By using a platform approach to focus on a single project, their solution became repeatable and enabled them to address various other data challenges.
Conclusion
The road to effective data strategy development is complex to navigate. Increasingly, we see firms opting for solutions that create better business outcomes through interoperability and flexibility between existing systems alongside accessing both subject matter and data expertise.
This three-part roadmap provides the framework to create a scalable platform that can solve real challenges and have positive impacts across your organization.
1 2023 Deloitte Asset Servicers Survey
Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. (“BBH”) may be used to reference the company as a whole and/or its various subsidiaries generally. This material and any products or services may be issued or provided in multiple jurisdictions by duly authorized and regulated subsidiaries. This material is for general information and reference purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax or investment advice and is not intended as an offer to sell, or a solicitation to buy securities, services or investment products. Any reference to tax matters is not intended to be used, and may not be used, for purposes of avoiding penalties under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, or other applicable tax regimes, or for promotion, marketing or recommendation to third parties. All information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but accuracy is not guaranteed, and reliance should not be placed on the information presented. This material may not be reproduced, copied or transmitted, or any of the content disclosed to third parties, without the permission of BBH. Pursuant to information regarding the provision of applicable services or products by BBH, please note the following: Brown Brothers Harriman Fund Administration Services (Ireland) Limited and Brown Brothers Harriman Trustee Services (Ireland) Limited are regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland, Brown Brothers Harriman Investor Services Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, Brown Brothers Harriman (Luxembourg) S.C.A is regulated by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier. All trademarks and service marks included are the property of BBH or their respective owners. © Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. 2024. All rights reserved. IS-09760-2024-03-07
As of June 15, 2022 Internet Explorer 11 is not supported by BBH.com.
By selecting this link, you are leaving Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. internet website. This link is provided for informational purposes only. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. is not responsible for the content within this linked site and no endorsement of their content is implied
If you are leaving to view a video on a third-party website, the views expressed in the video are as of the date in the broadcast. The positions expressed in this material are those of the author and may or may not be consistent with the views of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. and its subsidiaries and affiliates ("BBH") and are intended for informational purposes only. Information contained herin is based upon various sources believed to be reliable and are subject to change without notice. Furthermore, these positions are not intended to predict or guarantee the future performance of any currencies or markets. This material should not be construed as research, or as investment, legal or tax advice, nor should it be considered information sufficient upon which to base an investment decision. BBH is not affiliated with the third-party site.
Important Information for Non-U.S. Residents
You are required to read the following important information, which, in conjunction with the Terms and Conditions, governs your use of this website. Your use of this website and its contents constitute your acceptance of this information and those Terms and Conditions. If you do not agree with this information and the Terms and Conditions, you should immediately cease use of this website. The contents of this website have not been prepared for the benefit of investors outside of the United States. This website is not intended as a solicitation of the purchase or sale of any security or other financial instrument or any investment management services for any investor who resides in a jurisdiction other than the United States1. As a general matter, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. and its subsidiaries (“BBH”) is not licensed or registered to solicit prospective investors and offer investment advisory services in jurisdictions outside of the United States. The information on this website is not intended to be distributed to, directed at or used by any person or entity in any jurisdiction or country where such distribution or use would be contrary to law or regulation. Persons in respect of whom such prohibitions apply must not access the website. Under certain circumstances, BBH may provide services to investors located outside of the United States in accordance with applicable law. The conditions under which such services may be provided will be analyzed on a case-by-case basis by BBH. BBH will only accept investors from such jurisdictions or countries where it has made a determination that such an arrangement or relationship is permissible under the laws of that jurisdiction or country. The existence of this website is not intended to be a substitute for the type of analysis described above and is not intended as a solicitation of or recommendation to any prospective investor, including those located outside of the United States. Certain BBH products or services may not be available in certain jurisdictions. By choosing to access this website from any location other than the United States, you accept full responsibility for compliance with all local laws. The website contains content that has been obtained from sources that BBH believes to be reliable as of the date presented; however, BBH cannot guarantee the accuracy of such content, assure its completeness, or warrant that such information will not be changed. The content contained herein is current as of the date of issuance and is subject to change without notice. The website’s content does not constitute investment advice and should not be used as the basis for any investment decision. There is no guarantee that any investment objectives, expectations, targets described in this website or the performance or profitability of any investment will be achieved. You understand that investing in securities and other financial instruments involves risks that may affect the value of the securities and may result in losses, including the potential loss of the principal invested, and you assume and are able to bear all such risks. In no event shall BBH or any other affiliated party be liable for any direct, incidental, special, consequential, indirect, lost profits, loss of business or data, or punitive damages arising out of your use of this website. By clicking accept, you confirm that you accept to the above Important Information along with Terms and Conditions.
Type in the word seen on the picture
1 of 2
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This article was autogenerated from a news feed from CDO TIMES selected high quality news and research sources. There was no editorial review conducted beyond that by CDO TIMES staff. Need help with any of the topics in our articles? Schedule your free CDO TIMES Tech Navigator call today to stay ahead of the curve and gain insider advantages to propel your business!
