14 DAY TRIAL // If you're a financial advisors who wants to take a centralized view of both customers and investment products and services, then you're in luck. Microsoft Corp. has launched a new Web service called Microsoft Advisor Platform.
This new platform is designed to improve financial advisors' ability to provide customer service while also leveraging firms' existing IT infrastructures to find the wealth within.
Bill Hartnett, General Manager - strategy and solutions for the Financial Services Group at Microsoft, said "Wealth management clients are becoming increasingly sophisticated. They expect an advisor who understands their complete financial situation. The Microsoft Advisor Platform helps advisors give better, more holistic advice, and also helps firms compete more effectively by using technology to differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive marketplace."
By giving advisors centralized access to client information, this will ultimately help them offer better and well rounded advice, increase cross-selling opportunities and enhance regulatory compliance. The Microsoft Advisor Platform deals with the problem of integrating with existing systems by using the Microsoft .NET Framework and SOA (Service-Oriented Architecture) to tie multiple back-office systems together into a platform for investment planners, wealth managers and others. Microsoft's been quite the busy bee when it comes to their latest multi-faceted assault on the market.