Big Apple Vendor Eyes SWIFT, General Ledger Engine

EGAR Technology is close to signing a partnership with another company to develop a SWIFT engine and is considering whether or not to develop a general ledger system. Ravi Jain, ceo, said the New York company has already developed a front- and middle-office system called FOCUS and wants to provide an integrated back office. Brokerage houses and banks are moving to such systems, so the vendor feels it has to offer them. He declined to name the company with which EGAR plans to partner, citing a confidentiality agreement. EGAR went to about a dozen possible partners before settling on the one, Jain said.

The SWIFT engine and the general ledger system will be designed as modules that could be sold separately, Jain said. The cost of developing the technology has not been determined. For the SWIFT engine it was cheaper to go to a third-party developer, while it is not clear whether EGAR Technology will choose a third party or develop a general ledger system. Jain said for a general ledger system the company will likely start by building a mapping engine to move data to a brokerage house's system and later develop a full system. EGAR tried to have a return on investment period of about 18 months, he added. Pricing for either has not been decided, Jain said, but the current FOCUS system starts at about $200,000.

OperationsManagement.com