* First Rate relies on Network Automation software for centralized management, streamlined processing
At First Rate, a leading provider of investment performance measurement and analysis solutions to the wealth management industry, business process automation has been a godsend over the last six years. And it’s even more so of one now than ever.
Using Network Automation’s BPA software, the company runs some 30 to 40 batch jobs nightly, says Steve Norwood, supervisor, application service provider, at the Arlington, Texas, company. First Rate takes in raw data from its wealth management clients, manipulates that data and then loads it into its database back end so clients can run reports and performance analytics the next business day, he describes.
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Since this spring, First Rate has been using Network Automation’s latest software, AutoMate BPA Server 7, to streamline its batch processing operation further than what it could do with its previous standalone installations of AutoMate Professional, Norwood says. Previously, because AutoMate installations on different servers needed to trigger workflow processes, “we had a lot of room for failure in the nightly process,” Norwood says.
BPA Server 7 solves the problem by providing centralized workflow management, he adds. “With BPA, we basically have one workflow that goes out there and flows smoothly from one task to another.”
Since implementing BPA Server 7, First Rate has moved between 80 and 100 workflows to the software platform. Some of these it brought over from standalone version of AutoMate, but some are new, Norwood says. Eventually, it run all processes through centralized BPA Server, he adds.
“BPA Server 7 gives customers such as First Rate more oversight and control of their automation capabilities,” says Gary Bishop, chief strategy officer for Network Automation. “It lets them take the next evolution and centrally manage all the automation assets it’s been developing and deploying.”
For First Rate, BPA Server 7 does enable the company to support a new way of gathering data from its clients, Norwood agrees.
“Before, we could take in one feed from a bank. Now we can get multiple feeds from multiple data sources. Because BPA lets us control workflows, I can go to different sources and pull the data in and have the workflow wait until all those sources of data are available in our systems before proceeding to actual data manipulation,” he explains.
“We may have been able to do that with the standalone version,” Norwood says, “but it would have been extremely difficult. BPA has helped us adapt to business changes and evolve easily.”
