Microsoft Adds Support for FileAct and InterAct to BizTalk Accelerator for SWIFT

New BizTalk adapters extend connections to SWIFTNet, helping enable STP and lower operational costs.

SYDNEY, Australia — Oct. 11, 2006 — Microsoft Corp. announced today at Sibos 2006 that it now supports the full complement of SWIFT messaging services, adding adapters for SWIFTNet FileAct and InterAct to Microsoft® BizTalk® Accelerator for SWIFT. In addition, the solution has been granted a SWIFTReady Gold Financial EAI (enterprise application integration) label for the third year running.

Using BizTalk Accelerator for SWIFT’s new support for FileAct and InterAct can help financial firms achieve substantial cost savings when exchanging bulk payment files. The new BizTalk adapters facilitate the real-time exchange of financial information across SWIFTNet and enable externally supplied applications to fully utilize the features of InterAct and FileAct.

“SWIFT’s relationship with Microsoft is an important strategic alliance,” said Johan Kestens, head of marketing at SWIFT. “The solutions Microsoft and its partners are developing for SWIFTNet demonstrate real benefits for our customers as they simplify support for SWIFT messaging services.”

“When using SWIFTNet messaging services such as FileAct and InterAct, customers have indicated a clear need for technology that improves connectivity to SWIFT to help enable substantial cost savings,” said Robert Wahbe, corporate vice president, Connected Systems Division at Microsoft. “Microsoft has extended BizTalk Accelerator for SWIFT with FileAct and InterAct adapters as it provides customers with a platform through which to connect SWIFT and existing line-of-business applications, and achieve these goals.”
“The industry is calling for greater automation, more standardized business process flows in the payments area, and the continuation of the drive toward a single market,” said David Vander, worldwide managing director of Banking at Microsoft. “Microsoft and its partners are working to provide solutions for the industry that are efficient and cost-effective and enable employees to help their companies seize market opportunities, make smart decisions and realize maximum value from technology investments.”

The added Microsoft BizTalk adapters for SWIFTNet InterAct and FileAct provide connectivity between Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006 and the SWIFT Secure IP Network (SIPN) via the SWIFTNet link APIs. SIPN enables SWIFT customers to transfer messages and files using InterAct and FileAct respectively, over a security-enhanced, private network, and facilitates bilateral communication between financial institutions, industry infrastructures and customers.
BizTalk Accelerator for SWIFT enables customers to simplify their infrastructure and connect to SWIFT across one integrated messaging platform, helping deliver rapid return on investment by reducing the complexity of bilateral communications between institutions. It also provides customers with enhanced messaging capabilities, delivers specific formats and provides schemas for financial messaging standards and middleware integration tools.
At Sibos 2006, Microsoft is demonstrating how it enables partners to build sophisticated applications using SWIFTNet services, solutions and standards. The following are among the partners exhibiting with Microsoft at Sibos:
• Avanade, demonstrating SWIFTNet Cash Reporting
• Message Automation Ltd., demonstrating the potential for leveraging Financial products Markup Language (FpML) connectivity over SWIFTNet
• SAGA Services Ltd., demonstrating support for low-value payments
• TEMENOS, demonstrating connectivity of TEMENOS T24, its modular core banking solution to SWIFT
• Unisys, demonstrating support for SWIFTNet Bulk Payments
• WealthCraft Systems Ltd., demonstrating its solution for SWIFTNet Funds


http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2006/oct06/10-10MSSWIFTPR.mspx

TEMENOS T24™ to support SWIFTNet using Microsoft BizTalk Server and BizTalk Accelerator for SWIFT (9 October 2006)

Sydney, Australia:

At Sibos 2006, TEMENOS Group (SWX: TEMN), the provider of integrated core banking systems, today announced that TEMENOS T24, its modular core banking system, will support Microsoft® BizTalk® Server 2006, and Microsoft BizTalk Accelerator for SWIFT, enabling banks to directly access TEMENOS T24’s SWIFT capabilities. By leveraging BizTalk Server and BizTalk Accelerator for SWIFT’s rich support for SWIFTNet messaging services, TEMENOS T24 can provide a common integration platform for SWIFT customers and enable banks to maintain a cost-effective infrastructure through greater integration, reducing the total cost of ownership. This will be available with version R07 of TEMENOS T24 from April 2007.

BizTalk Accelerator for SWIFT extends BizTalk Server to provide comprehensive, reliable, and secure delivery of financial messaging using SWIFT standards, its secure messaging network. This minimises the need for extensive manual checking of data and allows staff to concentrate on tasks more directly, attributable to revenue growth. BizTalk Accelerator for SWIFT also makes it easier for customers using legacy systems to connect to SWIFTNet, increasing straight-through processing (STP) and enabling message generation, validation, repair and business activity monitoring. TEMENOS T24 supports both inbound and outbound SWIFT messages and can be linked directly with a SWIFT gateway if required or via BizTalk Accelerator for SWIFT using the TEMENOS T24 adapter. For SWIFT implementations using BizTalk Server, routing all messages from and to TEMENOS T24 via BizTalk Accelerator for SWIFT and the TEMENOS T24 adapter creates a common platform for managing all aspects of financial messaging. This enables TEMENOS T24 users to benefit from new SWIFTNet messaging services such as SWIFTNet FileAct and SWIFTNet InterAct, delivering major cost savings, improving business processes and increasing STP and the ability to react to changes in the market.

David Vander, worldwide managing director, banking, Microsoft, says: “This announcement demonstrates how together, TEMENOS and Microsoft are working to help customers get the most out of their core banking systems. It also demonstrates the commitment TEMEMOS has to extending its connection to SWIFT and providing SWIFT customers with a reliable and cost efficient platform on which to do business.”

This is the latest development in the partnership between TEMENOS and Microsoft, which the companies first formally announced in June 2005. In June 2006, TEMENOS announced that TEMENOS T24 would support Microsoft SQL Server™ 2005. Today, the system works with key Microsoft products running from the database back-end through to client front-end, providing customers with a greater choice of technologies for running their core banking systems.

TEMENOS T24 is a functionally rich, thin client, scalable, integrated, modular banking system. It is built on open service oriented architecture, and uses established technology standards such as HTTP, XML and HTML. It offers a single client view across the enterprise and can support large numbers of users with true non-stop resilience. Its fully-integrated architecture enables it to offer a significant cost advantage compared to other competing products. It offers multiple application server support and is the only system available with no end-of-day batch processing and so can genuinely boast of providing real-time 24/7 non-stop banking.

Mark Gunning, group strategy director, TEMENOS, adds: “Effective integration has always been a key feature of TEMENOS T24. With this latest development, clients can take full advantage of BizTalk Server’s capabilities in enterprise application integration, while benefiting from BizTalk Accelerator for SWIFT’s SWIFTReady Gold Financial EAI accreditation. By managing SWIFTNet services, standards and solutions through the same environment, customers can simplify their architecture and reduce total cost of ownership.”

The announcement is made on the first day of the annual SIBOS conference in Sydney which runs until 13 October 2006. The event, organised by SWIFT, brings together over 2,000 delegates, including the world’s top financial institutions, vendors, technology and solutions providers along with SWIFT and its business partners. TEMENOS is exhibiting at Microsoft’s stand L07.

According to the latest International Banking Systems sales league table, published in March 2006, TEMENOS has the largest core banking client base in the world with a stated 600 live sites. The company continues to attract global tier 1 and regional banks as a result of its superior products, TEMENOS T24, TEMENOS™ COREBANKING and TEMENOS T-Risk.

http://www.bobsguide.com/guide/news/2006/Oct/9/TEMENOS_T24%E2%84%A2_to_support_SWIFTNet_using_Microsoft_BizTalk_Server_and_BizTalk_Accelerator_for_SWIFT.html

Citibank Glossary

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Investment Industry global trends (2006)

Below is a list of possible trends that may affect the investment industry in the near future.

• Creation of a single set of global accounting standards
• Increased globalization and integration of markets
• Greater emphasis on risk management
• Increased popularity and growth of alternative investments
• Incursion of alternative investments into traditional asset classes
• Development of new, more creative and perhaps more complex financial products
• More focus on the risk/return value package
• More regulation/regulatory reform to protect the consumer and restore investor confidence
• Greater attention to corporate governance, due diligence, and fiduciary responsibility
• Greater attention to, and pressure to reduce, costs
• Greater emphasis on alpha