Near Shore Services. Near Shore Services. Page 1 of 16. Delta Stream

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1 Near Shore Services Page 1 of 16 Delta Stream

2 Near Shore services from First Derivatives enable their clients to lower costs, reduce risk and improve quality of service. First Derivatives (FD) provides Near Shore support services to a large number of financial institutions worldwide. Our service teams support a wide range of third party and in-house systems that span the complete transaction lifecycle across front, middle and back office. This includes the full development lifecycle from requirements gathering through to system test and rollout and all aspects of application management from initial deployment to operational monitoring and ongoing maintenance. These and additional services are delivered and supported by multi-talented teams with skills spanning financial, technical and legal domains from our strategically located Near Shore centres. Lower Costs: Operating from low-cost centres around the globe enables FD to provide optimum services at reduced rates while still retaining the benefits of physical proximity and cultural alignment. Physical proximity enables swift, ad-hoc, on-site deployment of resources where required for specific tasks or projects while cultural alignment ensures the communication process is as streamlined and efficient as possible a critical component of any partnership engagement. Reduce Risk: Our resource pool has the elasticity to respond to changes in demand, meaning that service delivery is predictable in terms of cost, quality and timeliness. We provide staff who are highly trained and have first-hand expertise on client sites across a variety of systems and product areas. As a result a wealth of knowledge and experience is brought to each assignment. On the infrastructure side, comprehensive Disaster Recovery and Continuity of Business provisioning ensures resilience and robustness of service. Improve Service: Follow-the-sun 24/7 availability coupled with streamlined best practice processes ensures optimised, repeatable and high quality service delivery. Combined with the ability to ramp-up and scale down resources in line with peaks and troughs in service demand, this enables organisations to meet their internal targets, client commitments and regulatory obligations in a sustainable and repeatable manner. FD exploits the best technology available for its service provision and application management. We use best of breed software and are a world leader in kdb+ and its programming language q, as a platform for delivering high performance and ultra-low latency solutions for our clients. We are a customer-focused organisation that works closely with our customers to react to the changing environment in which they operate and to achieve the best results by the application of skilled and motivated manpower, best of breed technology and best practices. Through near shoring at our low-cost support centers FD aims to provide customers with 40%-50% cost reduction on headcount alone. Page 2 of 16

3 FD Near Shore Services Incorporating over 17 years experience in supplying, implementing and supporting a range of systems in the world s leading financial institutions FD has developed a unique expertise in all aspects of application management from development and testing through to support and maintenance. This, coupled with specific expertise in kdb+ technology for developing high performance, low latency solutions and further augmented by deep domain knowledge acquired from its consulting practice, enables FD to offer a range of Near Shore services. These services currently include vendor applications, software development, infrastructure and application management and legal and regulatory obligations. Operating from strategically located service centres in Europe, North America and Asia provides a global footprint that enables FD to augment its Near Shore delivery with flexible on-site availability as required. This combination provides clients with all the cost benefits of adopting a Near Shore model while still retaining the advantages of close contact, common time-zone and mobility for face-to-face interaction with on-shore resources or the provision of on-site arrangements as required.. Our services combine technical, capital markets and legal expertise within a service management framework that provides robust 24/7 availability and with each engagement tailored to specific client requirements and contracted through a Service Level Agreement. Vendor Services Infrastructure Monitoring and Administration Software Development Services Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Services Application support, upgrade, configuration management, migration, regression testing and parallel run verification for third party products including Calypso, Summit, Murex, Wall Street and Opics as well as in-house proprietary or legacy systems. The expertise and service model reflect the in-depth knowledge gained as both a solution provider and a trusted consultative partner advising on technology and system selection Early warning and detection services for server and network maintenance, monitoring CPU levels, memory usage, disk space, latency analysis, performance tuning, alerts management, log scraping for root cause analysis, space management and backup and archiving processes. Our Centre of Excellence manages the full lifecycle from requirements gathering and design through to testing and release all under a well defined governance model to ensure quality and delivery. The centre has particular expertise in kdb+ and q in a pool of highly talented programmers having many years of collective experience in delivering mission critical solutions to top tier investment banks, large financial institutions and hedge funds. Operating from both our Near Shore centres and, where appropriate, on-site at client premises, FD provides high calibre legal personnel to help its customers meet their regulatory and compliance obligations. Our consultants possess deep domain knowledge gained from previous regulatory engagements, many are qualified lawyers and all have undergone intensive in-house training on capital markets practices and technology. Uniquely, our legal consultants possess equally strong technical and market expertise enabling them in many cases to offer assistance on system level as well as legal challenges. Our expertise is based on practical real-life experience and embodies skills and knowledge that have been accumulated over multiple client engagements and many technical environments. The skills and expertise have been distilled into best practices we now offer our clients. Our consultants possess skills not only in project management, business analysis, technical analysis, kdb+ and java technologies but also in legal, regulatory and compliance areas. Moreover they all possess detailed knowledge of the capital markets and the instruments, systems and practices that support them. Services are delivered from our high quality service centres where robust technical infrastructures and VPNs over dedicated bandwidth guarantee the required high levels of security, access control and resilience. Segregated areas with dedicated and monitored access points enforce physical security while intrusion detection and vulnerability tests provide protection against host and network attacks. Clustering and failover configurations along with Business Continuity Plans ensure resilience and high availability. All are offered Page 3 of 16

4 under the umbrella of an embassy delivery model that enables clients to select the required levels of segregation and independence appropriate to their risk and budget profile. Near Shore services are also highly dependent on human resources and FD is uniquely placed in its ability to provide and maintain high levels of expertise in its delivery teams. It can draw from a deep pool of highlyskilled resources who have honed their skills over many projects, domains and asset classes. Through its consulting division its resources are continually at the forefront of new market and system developments while a rigorous recruitment and training policy for new hires ensures that the pipeline of skilled resources is maintained. This combination of experience, training and replenishment of its resources enables FD to meet the elastic demands of client needs without compromising on quality. A further significant advantage of FD s Near Shore centre is the ability to tap the cost-efficiencies of nearby low-cost centres rather than incur the higher expenses associated with the prime locations they serve. This applies not only to hiring, training and accommodation costs of delivery resources but also for their supporting services and infrastructure. Quality Credentials Pedigree Financially sound vendor quoted on London Stock exchange Expertise Engagement Model Training Over 700 professionals currently employed Experienced Financial Engineers and Software developers Embassy type model offering graded levels of segregation Employee mobility - all staff will meet all the necessary right to work and visa requirements Capital Markets Training Program (CMTP) ensuring a combination of domain knowledge and technical expertise. Costs Low cost centres across the globe It is the above combination of capability, costs and continuity that has made FD s Near Shore service a compelling and successful choice for its customers. Sample projects include: Establishing a centre of excellence for kdb+ software development and production support for internal and customer data queries Reducing the cost of post-trade settlement by using FD s Near Shore service to manage, monitor and maintain the settlement and confirmation processing systems Using FD s Near Shore as a Quality Control centre for test management and execution on 3 rd party applications Streamlining the decommissioning of a Credit Enquiry and Monitoring system and its replacement by another by using FD s Near Shore services for analysis, integration and production support Adopting FD s Near Shore as a means of assessing and defining their own internal off shore strategy. The risk mitigation approach enabled the client to validate the cost effectiveness and refine their delivery model to ensure no degradation of service Assisting a client who had limited budget, time and desk-space to perform the analysis, configuration and testing required to upgrade from a legacy version of a 3 rd party application to its most recent release In all of the above a common theme prevails: the need for expertise at low cost and swift availability. Unlike the triad of time, quality and cost where one of the three must yield for the other two to prevail it is possible, via FD Near Shore, to simultaneously achieve all three cost, expertise and availability benefits; cost through location, expertise through domain knowledge and experience and continual availability through the FD business model. Page 4 of 16

5 Why Near Shore? Organisations have many varied and individual reasons for adopting a Near Shore service model to support their businesses. It may arise from a strategic decision to refocus on core competencies, it may be an acknowledgement that the current in-house model is not optimal or it may be a recognition that its provision is not suitably robust and scalable for future business plans. Whatever the specific motivation or circumstance may be, it will almost certainly be a decision driven by considerations around cost, capability and continuity. These are the areas that FDs Near Shore services specifically address. Cost Our regional location ensures a low cost base, guarantees resources in the same time zone, eliminates communication issues and our staff can be on site within 5 hours when required. Eliminate cost and overheads associated with office space, training, hiring, reviews, holiday cover, sick leave and career management. On-demand capacity without the associated contingency costs. Reduced recruitment, training and management overhead. FD will absorb all training costs by providing the necessary financial, IT and systems training for new recruits. Using FD as a fluid pool of resources eliminates both the costs and logistical issues surrounding recruitment. Our brand name and reputation for market leading remuneration can attract high calibre resources from a quality local market at short notice. Capability Leverage Centre of Excellence expertise. Avail of industry best practices, procedures and service efficiencies. Service quality and transparency via SLAs, KPIs and MIS. Enable the organisation to return to core competencies Domain Expertise: Our domain expertise is guaranteed by our extensive in house Capital markets Training Program (CMTP) which ensures faster more accurate development. Proven Infrastructure: We are experienced in integrating directly to bank networks and communication infrastructures. Development Resources: All FD support team members will be proficient in one or more computer languages and as such are available for ad hoc development work. Furthermore FD can mobilise additional development resources at short notice. Expertise: We have extensive expertise in all major technologies. Continuity Disaster Recovery and Continuity of Business Provisioning Streamlined service monitoring, problem management and capacity planning Dedicated recruitment and training programme Provision for Pandemic and other disruptive events Seamless transition from self-service to managed service Embassy model provides dedicated access to network, phone and In-house applications enabling smooth transition Follow-the-sun support model Cost Continuity Capability Operating from low-cost Near Shore centres enables FD to minimise cost without compromising on quality or availability of resources. It recruits skilled resources to benefit from their experience and domain knowledge. Its pre-employment screening, recruitment and on-boarding processes have been industrialised to enable it to scale up at short notice and its core business is predicated upon flexing recruitment numbers to meet fluctuations in demand. As a result FD can ramp up dedicated resourcing for fixed periods at short notice and we can also supply resources for additional ad hoc Statements of Work outside of the initial engagement. In addition, through careful capacity planning and service provider selection it continually ensures it has sufficient excess capacity in its physical infrastructure to accommodate significant scaling of engagements. Page 5 of 16

6 Collaboration and Alignment The purpose of any outsourcing engagement whether Near Shore, off-shore or on-shore, is to leverage the expertise and processing capabilities of a third party to deliver services in a cheaper, more efficient and more reliable manner than can be achieved by the outsourcing party alone. To that end FD s expertise spans the technical, financial and legal challenges that face its clients. It has expertise across multiple technologies, asset classes and regulatory frameworks. It has unrivalled proficiency in managing third-party banking systems as well as its own Delta Suite of products for developing, delivering and managing a range of mission-critical trading and data management solutions. Finally its service centres provide the manpower, infrastructure and resilience to ensure robust and sustained delivery. Skills and technology alone, however, are not enough to ensure a predictable, repeatable and sustainable delivery of service. A further crucial ingredient is collaboration and alignment between both parties - collaboration to agree on the scope of the engagement and alignment on where responsibilities lie. Many outsourcing arrangements ultimately fail because they fail to agree on these basic points. With FD s Near Shore service these areas are addressed directly during the on-boarding process where FD consultants shadow the existing process to fully understand the requirements. It is at this point that the core competencies of both parties can be assessed and aligned. The outsourcer will have the in-depth knowledge of the systems, interfaces, procedures and special cases that prevail in the existing processes and they will almost invariably have been through many initiatives to catalogue and eliminate exceptional processes for individual clients. FD consultants, having analysed many similar cases, will be able to identify gaps and inefficiencies in the existing process that allow such variations and their inherent risks to prevail. Both parties expertise will overlap and transition in areas like business requirements where the client has the foremost knowledge in the underlying needs while FD has the expertise in formalising them and bringing them to delivery. Collaboration across these areas of competence to assess, refine and where appropriate, redefine processes to follow best practices provide benefits for both parties. It leverages skill sets, focuses on best solution and ensures optimal delivery. The secret of successful outsourcing for both parties is avoiding a liftout engagement that simply replicates the existing process in a new environment where slavish adoption of previous practices achieves neither the elimination of risk the client requires nor the economies of scale the provider must attain to sustain the service. Collaboration to acknowledge, address and amend such deficiencies is the hallmark of successful long term engagement. The next critical step is alignment of responsibilities during daily operations, particularly at handover points. To that end, a crucial element of the engagement is defining the incident management and escalation processes to handle exceptions and non-standard processes that arise. Through its Global Business Support Unit, FD operates formal recording, tracking and reporting procedures to ensure that processes are well defined and proudly carry SSAE16 certification attesting to their adherence. Page 6 of 16

7 Case Studies Background: The Global Data Group within our client, a tier 1 US investment bank, provides data to both internal and external customers. The group utilizes a kdb+ database technology with reliable processes for data acquisition, data quality and production support. These tools deal with a wide range of asset classes, data types and frequencies that meet the existing and future trading, analytical and operational requirements for our client s end users. Drivers: Our client wished to establish a cost effective centre of excellence for kdb+ development and production support to cater for the millions of customer queries sent on 24/7 basis. This required comprehensive project management skills and in-depth product knowledge, along with expert development skills in technologies such as PERL, Java, Unix, JIRA, Perforce and robust regression testing and software release procedures. The service was subsequently extended to other functional groups based on the success of the initial project. What we did: Built a dedicated team, including an onsite team lead, Near Shore team lead and a group of highly skilled developers. Formalised a Service Level Agreement and Business Continuity Plan. Established a secure technological and Near Shore office infrastructure, meeting the highest facility standards. Ongoing, intensive training of team members on the client s methodology, development framework and other company practices. Knowledge transfer (onsite to Near Shore/offshore). Formalised communication mechanisms. Leveraged FD s expertise in kdb+ solutions. Benefits: Facilitated scaling of developer team size to meet budget/ project needs. Proximity Near Shore services facilitate physical and financial ease in travelling to the Near Shore location for training. Reduce the dependency upon internal resources. Equivalent time zones Near Shore location is in a similar time zone to the company and crosses between the Asian, European and American trading sessions. Reduced language barriers. Faster turnaround and increased productivity On-call production support 24 hours a day. Background: FD had been working on a cross asset Calypso project as part of the business analysis team in a large European investment bank. The client approached FD to outsource their complete QA testing for all products and processes using their proposed Near Shore model for Quality Assurance services. FD proposed a full skilled Calypso Near Shore team at FD HQ with onsite representation for iterative solutions. Drivers: The client faced a great challenge to deliver a major cross asset, cross processes and cross functions plan in multiple phases over a 12 month period. The client required a highly experienced Calypso solution provider who understood their product suite and were fully trained on Calypso cross asset features. The client required test cases and test execution which could be achieved within their milestones on time and on budget. What we did: Analysed Cross Asset Business requirements and identified all test cases. Developed test scripts and test data. Executed all test cases. Scaled resourcing based on highly aggressive milestones in order to meet delivery schedule. Onsite QA guidance throughout to manage the deliverables and communications within their large organisation. Benefits: Client went live with multiple projects on time and on budget. QA service delivered at a fixed price. FD absorbed all training, resource and relocation overheads. Client received 1000 s of test cases for continuous execution and improvement. A fixed-price servicing model created to scale their delivery team based on the complexity and volume of testing requirements. Page 7 of 16

8 Case Studies Background: Follow-the-sun support model for a large UK bank s 3rd Party Settlement and Confirmation Application (Wall Street Systems). The project was based around 5 application instances with differing base versions. Drivers: Reducing the cost of operating and maintaining their post-trade processing without compromising the quality of service What we did: Weekend release, implementation and on call support model. Technologies used: UNIX, SQL, Java, XML, Alpha VMS. Monitoring performance & usage of live systems, including monitoring of overnight batches and resolving failures. App Upgrades / Migrations / Bug fixes / Fix Testing. Performing system maintenance in terms of setting up new static data such as accounts / portfolios / currencies / routing / payment and receipt release times. Analysing issues and changes through weekly Incident and Change Management to ensure non re-occurrence of system and business impacting issues. Ongoing intensive training of team members on new system requirements, processes and procedures. Leveraged FD s expertise and experience in WSS system support. Benefits: Low cost. Excellent training. Unrivalled staff retention. Ease of staff augmenting. Holiday and sickness cover. Proximity Near Shore services facilitate physically and financially easier travel to the Near Shore location for training. Faster turnaround on issue resolution and increased productivity. Flexibility on providing extra support as and when needed for major releases. Dedicated On-Call support and assistance team, providing L1 & L2 support for over 1,000 active global users. Onshore and Near Shore bases providing 24/5.5 daily support for issues reported via hotline, or ticketing system. Knowledge transfer (between onsite/offsite) Background: FD had built a strong relationship with a client, a large UK financial institution, through a number of onsite projects. The client approached FD to help in forming a strategy for their proposed offshore model as part of their support and development services. FD proposed an interim hybrid on shore/near Shore team at FD HQ as a POC for client s APAC Centre of Excellence Drivers: The client wanted to pilot a Near Shore project before embarking on their long-term off shore strategy. The goal was to ensure that there was no degradation in production service levels while still maintaining pace of development during the transition period. It was also a medium for assessing the efficiency of the newly adopted processes and amending them where appropriate. In order to maintain service levels while meeting headcount and cost challenges they sought early identification/resolution of transition issues. They required resources to be available onsite within 24hrs and have a Near Shore Business Continuity Plan in place What we did: Ramped up onsite team to build short-term resource buffer. Completed infrastructure set-up phase. Staggered roll-off of project team to Near Shore location to mitigate risk. Completed full migration within six months Reverted to original team size. Benefits: Pilot proved successful and FD were asked to provide resources/training for initial offshore project. Headcount and cost objectives were met six months ahead of deadline. FD absorbed all training, resource and relocation overheads. Page 8 of 16

9 Case Studies Background: A legacy system in a large UK financial conglomerate provided finance teams with global, cross product and net credit reserve information, across asset classes. The solution was being decommissioned and has been replaced by a new credit risk system Drivers: The client needed resources with comprehensive technical skills, solid domain knowledge and good communication skills to assist in the transition. The teams needed to be well structured with strong group leaders surrounded by a number of enthusiastic team players. What we did: Technical support on a 24/5 basis, with on-call support over the weekend. Resolving of system user queries, incidents and automated system alerts. Managing all incoming and outgoing file and data streams. Investigating and fixing any job or process failures, data corruption, erroneous front end figures, rejected trades and performance issues. Integrate with other credit risk systems in the organisation. Ensuring testing strategy for full implementation is durable and effective Running tests to assess the impact of large scale trade migrations and novations to the bank s credit risk exposure. Benefits: All teams involved in delivering significant improvements in operating model and constantly reducing operational risk. Full understanding of changes to the credit risk system, from UAT testing with the Unicorn team to OAT testing with Pre- Production Support team and right through to the release to Production monitored by the Production Support team Careful maintenance of support documentation within teams to allow for easy roll on and roll off of resources. Providing morning status reports to all end users. Results from tests were used to identify any breaches to trading limits in advance of the actual migration event, to avoid interruptions to normal trading activity. Background: FD had engaged with a major South African bank to deliver a full Calypso upgrade from version 9 to version 13. As part of the project FD proposed a hybrid onsite/near Shore model to provide Project Management, Technical Analysis, Business Analysis and Quality Assurance functions. Drivers: The client had set aggressive timelines to deliver the upgrade on its front-to-back cross-asset platform. With a significant volume of functional and technical changes between versions, the client wanted to implement a robust, efficient and flexible upgrade and testing solution. The client had additional challenges in relation to budget, headcount and desk-space so it required a partner to take ownership of the key deliverables and to provide a significant proportion of these services from a Near Shore location. What we did: Provided a pre-engagement on-site POC of our automated tools capability to help shape the delivery scope. Partnered with the client to prepare a project plan defining which functions would best be delivered Near Shore Provided flexible resourcing to scale up or down and rotation between on-site and Near Shore locations as required. Deployed and customised automated solutions from Near Shore location. Benefits: FD successfully built all technical deliverables from Near Shore location. Provided resources on-site at short notice to ramp up onsite team. Partnership agreement provided client comfort by mitigating some delivery risk. Client expected to deliver project on time at fixed price. Automated tools provided significant resource and time saving. Page 9 of 16

10 Technical Infrastructure FD has invested in state-of-the art facilities and infrastructure to underpin the business services it provides to its customers. Across IT security, global infrastructure and business support it adheres to best practice approaches. FD operates on best-of-breed hardware and follows documented, audited procedures to provide and protect the quality of service it commits to its customers. IT Security & Compliance Infrastructure Global Business Support Unit Defence in Depth philosophy and approach SSAE16 certification and alignment with industry standard such as ISO27001 and COBIT Physical & logical controls including monitored secure access, change & patch management, data backup & archive, sandboxing, physical & logical segregation SIEM (Security Info & Event Management) system which includes intrusion detection, monitoring & logging, clustered redundant firewalls & DDoS protection Regular UAM audits, Vulnerability & Penetration scans Global Infrastructure management team engaged 24/7 on network servers and applications Near Shore Data Centres deliver 5*9s SLAs in power, AC, network & hosting space to ensure site uptime Best of Breed approach in selection and benchmarking of IT solution hardware & service providers including Data Centre ISPs, hosting partners Equinix & Steadfast) Very high network carrier density and VPNs over dedicated bandwidth provides increased flexibility in Global Infrastructure & Technical Services Team and supports traffic prioritisation High availability clustered /redundant solutions with resilient failover implemented Central point of contact for all service & support operations aligned with ITIL Best Practice 24hr / 5.5 Global coverage with client access to 3 BSU hubs (UK, US & APAC ) Centralised infrastructure monitoring tools providing realtime & historic status updates on environmental health, performance & historic trending etc. Application monitoring o DeltaMon proprietary Delta suite monitoring application o Delta Flow Alert messaging system and alert generation o Enterprise-wide IT Infrastructure monitoring Incident & Problem Management Issues prioritisation, logging and tracking procedures FD offers an embassy model approach to service provision that enables clients to select segregation levels which are appropriate to their level of risk and cost consideration: Gold level offers complete physical and logical separation including dedicated network, phone and power in a standalone facility. Silver offers logical separation within shared facilities, while Bronze is appropriate for non-data related services where segregation is not a priority. Physical Security features Infrastructure Building Access & Main entrance security/reception Security CCTV Internal access card system Physical Security Audit Work Space Access & Security Segregated workspace and separate security access system Fire safe storage Secured communications room. Network Circuits & Hardware Dedicated data switch with dedicated VLAN configured to control all inward/outward access Dedicated phone systems Local Server infrastructure Fire detection and suppression Fire and smoke detection system in line with H&S regulations Business Continuity Plan Power Supply Uninterrupted power supply Back-up power supply Page 10 of 16

11 Resource Quality, Supply and Sustainability Quality, supply and sustainability of high calibre, knowledgeable staff is critical to the delivery of our service to our clients. Underpinning our service delivery is a large core of seasoned, highly experienced practitioners who have worked in banks, software development companies or other consultancies. This team brings hands-on experience across a range of disciplines including technology, finance and legal. FD consultants are continually expanding that core competence in our Capital Markets Practice through working client assignments and working across multiple projects, systems and asset classes. Further supporting the supply chain are graduates recruited directly from Universities who participate in our Capital Markets Training Programme, (CMTP) for a deep and thorough training in the financial markets and its technology. This combination of experience, education and on-going training ensure that our high calibre performance is maintained and keeps pace with market changes. Coupled with a low attrition rate of less than 8% per annum, this ensures that we can respond quickly to any increase in requirements for client initiatives.. The training offered at FD focuses not only on initial training and immediate effectiveness but also on the continuously developing skills. Even after our employees start their on-site deployment, they will remain on the CMTP for a period of 24 months where they will have the opportunity to hone their leadership and management skills as well as their financial and technical abilities. Throughout their career they receive direction and tuition to help them continue their formal education. FD has successfully grown and adapted to various new environments without losing its sense of cohesion or compromising its principles. This resilience and adaptability is based on our ability to continually attract and retain world class resources. We recruit independent thinkers and achievement orientated individuals with the expectation they are self starters individuals who ensure they have armed themselves with the required level of information and knowledge to meet the requirements of our clients. However, it is our culture that is the glue that makes this possible, enabling colleagues old and new to work together to meet the demanding standards of our clients and shareholders. Page 11 of 16

12 Service Governance Project governance is an essential aspect of a successful collaborative engagement. We believe in providing a management framework within which project information is fully transparent and by which decisions are enabled. Our framework is logical, robust and repeatable to govern your investment. The FD Governance Model is designed to ensure clear reporting lines for performance and status information to reach the client and FD decision makers. This enables control and direction to be exercised over the delivery of service. Processes The groups identified in the diagram will meet on pre-defined schedules. Performance reports and status information will be collated by the Service Delivery Leads, and will be escalated to the Service Delivery Working Group and the steering group according to defined thresholds. Organisation Body Activities Steering Committee Undertake checkpoint reviews of the status of the engagement Scope of forthcoming work packages Plan any scaling of the engagement Consider any related SOWs for onsite work in other locations High level scoping of the forthcoming work packages Consider personnel issues Assess training requirements Assess any required changes to the physical infrastructure Dealing with any contractual issues around additional SOWs Working Group Undertake checkpoint reviews of the status of the engagement Scope forthcoming work packages Day to day operation of the engagement Preparation of info and metrics for the Steering Committee Planning for engagement escalations Implementation of the recommendations of the Steering Committee Liaising with infrastructure teams Near Shore Lead Facing off to project team Communicating requirements to development team Undertaking actual development work Preparing reviews Mentoring the development team Dealing with personnel issues and transitions Protocols The governance organisation shown will be supported by protocols to manage the process: Risks Actions, Issues, Dependencies (RAID) Change Requests Project Inception Service Performance Reports (against KPIs for each element of service provided Project Management Approaches tools and standards for all aspects of the service Page 12 of 16

13 On-boarding Process A smooth on-boarding process is a critical component of each Near Shore engagement. In the short-term it provides early visibility into the collaboration and co-operation between both parties. This involves a series of on-shore workshops and documentation reviews to determine the scope, risks and responsibilities within the engagement. In the longer term it sets the parameters for the on-going service delivery in terms of support, incident management, SLAs and an agreed approach on how to assess and address new risks and challenges as they arise. Like all aspects of FD s service offering the on-boarding process combines elements of on-site and Near Shore as required.. It maximises proximity to streamline the initial knowledge transfer via face-to-face workshops while it leverages its low-cost location to deliver world class servicing at cost-effective rates. The on-board process follows a series of well defined, best practice steps as illustrated below: Knowledge Transfer Session: designed to gather requisite information from the client that will inform FD of the project scope, the system architecture and the internal and external tools used. Training Review Session: a session to identify knowledge gaps and to identify training requirements. Support Session: designed to understand the expectations of what levels of support are to be provided. Incident Levels Session: designed to map the flow of incidents which are created by the users or the technical applications from initiation to resolution and to set the process for change management and also for fix resolution processes to be incorporated before introducing changes into production. Severity Session: designed to define the severity levels and the escalation and communication processes required for each level. Testing protocols: designed to establish the protocols and testing methodologies that the team is expected to adhere to. KPI Session: designed to define which key performance indicators are required to be set to measure the performance of FD. Documentation Session: designed to establish the process for handover of changes into production and to establish what documentation requirements are to be set. During the on-boarding process FD will place a core team of consultants onsite with the customer for a period of 4-8 weeks to review and, where appropriate, redefine existing documentation and procedures. (As discussed previously such process re-engineering at this stage is often a lynchpin in the longer term success of the project for both parties.) The migration from onsite to Near Shore typically starts after 2-3 months and a fully functional Near Shore support service is normally operational after 4 months. Crucially, however, our distribution of Near Shore service centres means that resources can continue to be available at short notice should the need arise. Page 13 of 16

14 Other Services First Derivatives works with many of the world s leading investment banks and hedge funds, helping them achieve success in an ever changing business environment. We capitalise on our experience as a provider of technological services and also as a dedicated product supplier. First Derivatives can find the right solution for you and has the expertise to get the job done. First Derivatives has a number of specialist practices headed by subject matter experts each with between years of experience in the capital markets industry. First Derivatives provides expertise across a number of areas: Financial Markets Practice Third Party Vendor Products Regulatory and Compliance Software and Services Staff Augmentation Operations Clearing and Collateral Electronic Markets Commodities & Energy Trading Market Data Services Business Intelligence kdb+ Murex Calypso Wall St. Opics Summit Kondor+ OpenLink Loan IQ Summit Dodd-Frank FATCA ISDA AIFMD EMIR Non-Core Asset Disposal Business Conduct Rules Delta Flow Delta Margin Delta Algo Delta Stream Delta Surveillance Delta Data Factory kdb+ develoment and training SAP HANA Centre of Excellence Financial Services Practice: First Derivatives offers in-depth knowledge of capital markets combined with extensive technical expertise. We work with clients to gain an understanding of their individual and unique needs and offer a variety of services at competitive fees. We believe in investing in our people and endeavour to employ the brightest graduates along with proven winners from across the capital markets sector. Our Capital Markets Training Programme provides continued professional development for our consultants. Third Party Vendor Products: We have over 15 years experience of supplying implementation and support services to the world s leading financial institutions on the choice and usage of vendor applications. We are not only experts in our field, but we have an expert methodology in place to ensure that our clients get the best advice. Our Vendor Services team is dedicated to giving you the best possible service in line with your expectations and requirements. Regulatory and Compliance: First Derivatives has a unique capability and proven track record in providing consultants who can add value from day one. Each possesses deep capital markets knowledge as well as legal and technical expertise. As a result, First Derivatives is ideally placed to assist organisations in interpreting regulations and implementing the necessary changes. Our typical consultant will have a legal qualification (many are qualified lawyers), experience in searching and extracting data from multiple systems as well as the ability to categorise and interpret vast amounts of documentation. Software & Services: Delta suite is a powerful Big Data platform, offering capabilities in reference data management, market data management, CEP, algorithmic and high-frequency trading, FX trading, treasury risk management and exchange management and surveillance. First Derivatives has been instrumental in selling Kx technology to the vast majority of the world s leading financial institutions and has built a solid services business on our market leading expertise in the technology. We provide a full range of Kx services including: training, support and consulting. First Derivatives services offering can help you to achieve a number of business goals including faster speed-to-market accelerated by industry and technical experience while avoiding the cost and time required for internal training and skill development. FD s services provide skilled personnel to work under your direction to help you develop, maintain, manage and support your applications. Our skilled professionals can help you manage fluctuating skill needs, skills gaps and changing staffing needs to meet your aggressive project timelines Page 14 of 16

15 First Derivatives Corporate First Derivatives plc ( FD ) is a leading provider of software solutions and consulting services to the capital markets industry. Founded in 1996, FD occupies a niche market position in terms of deep domain knowledge and technical expertise. Headquartered in Ireland, FD has a global presence with offices across EMEA, the Americas and Asia Pacific. Publically held company on London Stock Exchange (LSE FDP.L) Headquartered in Newry, Co. Down, N Ireland employees worldwide Consulting Services Multi Vendor Services Calypso, Murex, Wall Street, Summit, Opics Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Data Management Software Development Big Data and Data Science Big Data Solutions Delta Flow/Delta Flow+ Foreign Exchange Trading Delta Algo Low latency trading strategies and execution Delta Surveillance For Regulators, Exchange and Brokers Delta Data Factory Market and Reference Data Management Delta Stream High Volume data capture, analysis and distribution... powered by kdb+ and other Big Data technologies Page 15 of 16

16 Delta Suite Delta is a powerful Big Data platform, offering capabilities in reference data management, market data management, CEP, algorithmic and high-frequency trading, FX trading, treasury risk management and exchange management surveillance. Deployed in some of the world s largest banks, exchanges and hedge funds, Delta applications are designed for Volume and Velocity low-latency, high-throughput applications delivered as a hosted service or deployed locally. FD provides a range of brochures on its products and services. For more information please contact us via our website or the numbers below Contact Us New York +1 (212) Europe +44 (28) Asia-Pacific [email protected] This information is subject to change without notice and is offered for information purposes only. Page 16 of 16