PaceMetrics Group

The PaceMetrics Group have recently launched a product, PaceMaker, which is best
described as a transaction flow monitor. PaceMaker is a solution to one of the key
issues for many banks, i.e. too many systems, as a result of which:
Ω Operational costs are too high
Ω There is no end-to-end view of the lifecycle of trades
Ω There are too many points of failure
Ω Too many staff are involved in non-productive activities
Ω Fire-fighting and internal reconciliation
Ω Providing efficient and satisfactory global customer service is difficult
Ω Data is dispersed and inconsistent
Ω Operational risk management is a big challenge.
Figure 13.4 illustrates the problem of potential data inconsistency between the different systems of the bank. This problem may be even more complex when we
consider differerent geographical locations. This is particularly a problem in banks
where the architectures and applications differ by location for the same activities.
PaceMakers’ proposed solution to the above problem is:
Ω Follow end-to-end life-cycles of all trades as they pass from system to system
Ω Automatically reconcile the trade data contained in one system to the ‘same’ data
in another
Ω Present users with a single view of the whole operation in real-time
Ω Dissassociate operational staff from the underlying infrastructre.

The system captures the flow of data between a bank’s various systems and
reconstitutes consolidated and reconciled deal details in full. PaceMaker provides a
unique graphical view of the whole business operation end-to-end, delivered to
management and staff through web-based technology: locally, remotely, at home, or
overseas using standard browsers. The technology disassociates the operation from
the underlying infrastructure in terms of location and platform. It enables banks to manage their operation wherever they may be: investigations, exception management
and customer service all benefit immensely.

It is interesting to note that in deploying PaceMaker, PaceMetrics don’t attempt to
reengineer any legacy systems, since they are mission-critical. Nor do they believe in
up-front big bang, expensive process reengineering. Their approach is different and
is based on incremental deployment and rapid investment.

Ω Enterprise Wide Risk Assessment using Ernst & Young’s web-enabled tool
HORIZON (www.horizoncsa.com).
Ω IBM’s MQ Integrator as the data collection tool
Ω Pacemetrics Pacemaker as the day-to-day Operations Management’s ‘traffic light
reporting system
Ω Operational Risk engine and events database such as that available from
Algorithmics, NetRisk (RiskOps) or Ernst & Young’s agent-based simulation tool
Ω Infinity’s forex dealing system is an example of a source system of trades.
There will be other architectures and components driven by a firm’s particular
requirements but the above represents a way to link operations with firm-wide risk.