Solutions
Why Advanced Fintech Options (AFO)?
AFO stands out as the sole independent player in Africa and the Middle East dedicated to optimizing Market Data and Software Asset Management (SAM) solutions while providing access to cutting edge knowledge. In today’s landscape, where the blend of people skills, technology, and knowledge is paramount, we recognize the shifting dynamics of managing critical processes once handled in-house. Hence, our focus is on tailoring and customizing solutions to meet our clients’ needs precisely.
We excel in helping our clients establish protocols that drive cost savings, enhance operational efficiencies, and mitigate risks inherent in complex, detail-driven environments. Through our flagship product, AFO Monitor, we level the playing field for smaller organizations, enabling them to compete with global giants at a fraction of the cost in managing market data. With AFO XRAY we provide a more wholistic and localized solution for SAM. For technology partners that want to enter these markets we are more than happy to have a discussion. We can incubate and provide funding.
AFO Service Offering Overview
Introducing AFO Monitor (In-House and Managed Services):
AFO is pleased to unveil AFO Monitor—an advanced Market Data Service meticulously crafted to streamline the intricate management of market data contracts, licenses, and invoices. With AFO Monitor, navigating the complexities of market data management becomes effortless.
Our rigorous onboarding process ensures the seamless collection of organizational hierarchy information and vendor contract data, delivering clients a comprehensive overview of their market/IT licenses spend and product usage. Regular checks are conducted to capture any human resource changes, ensuring contract dates are met and resources are optimally utilized.
Driven by our unwavering commitment to automation, AFO Monitor minimizes manual processes and input errors, guaranteeing precision and efficiency in data management. Bid farewell to Excel sheets and coordination challenges between Finance and IT departments—we have you covered at every turn.
In today’s fiercely competitive landscape, effective management of complex market data environments is imperative. AFO Monitor’s Reference Data Solution empowers organizations to monitor and control data flows in real-time, reducing costs and mitigating compliance risks. With our exclusive rights to market and provide this technology in the Middle East and Africa, clients can rely on AFO Monitor to remain at the forefront of innovation.
But that’s not all. At AFO, we offer managed services for any provider, alongside our proprietary solution. Witness the future of market data management with AFO Monitor—where professionalism seamlessly intersects with innovation.
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Introducing AFO X-Ray (Managed Solutions):
AFO X-Ray offers advanced Software Asset Management (SAM) solutions meticulously crafted to efficiently manage and oversee software assets across organizations. Our License Optimization and Harvesting feature allows for precise license management, enabling the removal or reassignment of licenses to optimize your software estate. This not only mitigates risk and ensures compliance but also yields significant cost savings. Furthermore, our solution provides robust Audit Defense capabilities, shielding organizations from unexpected vendor fines resulting from non-compliance.
According to Gartner, 68% of organizations can anticipate an audit from at least one software vendor in the next 12 months. With AFO X-Ray, you can proactively address this risk by effectively managing your software assets and ensuring compliance with licensing agreements. Our solution empowers organizations to confidently navigate the complexities of software asset management, enabling them to optimize their investments and enhance operational efficiency.
Additionally, AFO X-Ray goes beyond traditional SAM solutions, offering a comprehensive suite of managed services. Our dedicated team of seasoned professionals collaborates closely with clients to tailor solutions to their unique requirements, ensuring seamless implementation and ongoing success.
With AFO X-Ray, you gain control over your software assets and unlock their full potential. Bid farewell to compliance concerns and unexpected audit fines—choose AFO X-Ray for proactive software asset management and unparalleled peace of mind.
The AFO X-Ray SAM and Audit Defense solution represent a unique fusion of technology and expert consulting services. It is the only solution that covers your entire IT estate across Server, Desktop, Virtual, and Mobile environments. With over 500,000 applications from more than 80,000 vendors and over a million SKUs, our solution boasts the broadest software recognition database in the industry. This database accurately determines your exact software asset license exposure in relation to your asset register and contracts, ensuring full software policy and contract compliance across Oracle, IBM, SAP, Microsoft, and more.
Outsourcing and Digital Services
Exemplifying Excellence: AFO’s Innovative Strategy in Outsourcing and Digital Solutions
Embark on a transformative journey with AFO as we unveil the pinnacle of outsourcing and digital services through our strategic partnerships. With a steadfast commitment to innovation and excellence, we offer two core services that redefine the paradigm of business transformation:
Product Engineering: Experience the synergy of creativity and precision as our adept teams expedite the delivery of high-quality digital products. At AFO, we pride ourselves on exceeding expectations by orchestrating fully functional teams that bring your digital aspirations to fruitionwith unparalleled speed and proficiency. Witness the seamless fusion of ingenuity and efficiency as we navigate the complexities of product engineering, ensuring that each deliverable reflects our unwavering commitment to excellence.
System Integration: Enter a realm of seamless connectivity and enhanced efficiency as we integrate your systems into a cohesive ecosystem primed for digital transformation. With AFO’s expertise in system integration, we transcend the boundaries between disparate systems, fostering synergy and cohesion that lay the groundwork for your digital evolution. From optimizing processes to fostering collaboration, our meticulous approach ensures that your systems work in perfect harmony, driving sustained success and innovation.
Join us at the forefront of innovation as we empower your organization to navigate the digital landscape with confidence and agility. With AFO as your partner, embrace a future where possibilities are limitless, and success is redefined through strategic collaboration and visionary solutions.
Business Intelligence
Data is one of the most valuable resources for organizations today, yet widely underutilized. With AFO you can leverage relevant and useful business information to gain unique actionable insight to detect and adapt quickly to the constantly evolving business environment.
Through effective business intelligence reporting in your organization, you can improve the decision-making processes at all levels of management and improve your tactical and strategic management processes.
Analytics is much more than data visualization. It is the art of discovering insights from your data. Our solution is designed to empower everyone in an organization with analytics, regardless of skill. The data analytics platform supports the full spectrum of BI use cases, from self-service, guided and embedded analytics to custom applications and reporting.
Freely search and explore across all your data, instantly pivoting your analysis when new ideas surface. You’re not restricted to linear exploration within partial views of data. And you get total flexibility with a cloud-ready data analytics platform that supports the full spectrum of BI use cases – ideal for any analyst, team or global enterprise.
Technology Partnership Program
At AFO, collaboration is the cornerstone of innovation. Our Technology Partnership Program is a dynamic platform that unites visionary Product Partners with our team to co-create tailored solutions that precisely address the needs of our clients. Through this program, our esteemed partners gain access to our extensive sales distribution network, empowering them to broaden their market reach and capitalize on new growth opportunities.
To ensure excellence and innovation in our partnerships, we maintain stringent criteria for consideration. Firstly, prospective Partners must present a proven product with a minimum of five current clients, demonstrating its reliability and market acceptance. Additionally, we require Partners to commit a substantial portion, at least 20%, of their profits towards Research and Development (R&D), highlighting their dedication to continuous improvement and advancement.
Moreover, AFO boasts significant ‘C’ level contacts in the region, allowing us to establish meaningful connections and drive business growth. Within the first six months of the partnership, we secure at least one client with significant brand recognition in the region. We are selective in the clients we onboard, prioritizing those with strategic fit and growth potential. For the clients we have taken on, we have delivered remarkable results, adding between 50% to 100% return on the investment put into the market.
Our track record speaks for itself. By leveraging our business development expertise and industry connections, we consistently drive tangible results for our partners, facilitating rapid market penetration and revenue growth.
Ready to Join the Family? Let's Get Started!
AFO actively seeks collaborations with vendors offering cutting-edge technology-based solutions. If you’re a technology provider looking for a strategic channel partner to expand your presence in the Middle East and Africa markets, we invite you to engage with us. By joining forces, we can unlock new opportunities for growth and innovation, driving mutual success and impact in the industry. Contact us today to explore how we can create synergies and drive meaningful change together.
Ready to Join the Family? Let's Get Started!
AFO actively seeks collaborations with vendors offering cutting-edge technology-based solutions. If you’re a technology provider looking for a strategic channel partner to expand your presence in the Middle East and Africa markets, we invite you to engage with us. By joining forces, we can unlock new opportunities for growth and innovation, driving mutual success and impact in the industry. Contact us today to explore how we can create synergies and drive meaningful change together.
Case Study
Market Data cost savings and optimisation
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High-Level Process
- The following approach was put forward by AFO and agreed to by the Client.
- Work with existing market data structures and inventory tools within the bank to identify cost-saving and service duplication opportunities
- Analysis and presentation of findings to executive management
- Vendor savings proposal review
The Client
The client is one of the Top 5 South African Investment banks, headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa with global operations.
Executive Summary
The bank approached AFO for assistance with achieving savings and optimisation of market data. Not just as a once off but to also plan for a longer-term preservation of savings and efficiencies through clear and effective workflow processes.
An additional driver of the effort was the bank had invited two of its largest key market data vendors to submit proposals on how they bank could possibly reduce market data spend without negatively impacting service or operations. AFO was to assist with reviewing and advising on submitted proposals.
Process breakdown
Work with existing market data structures and inventory tools within the bank to identify cost-saving and service duplication opportunities:
This was the longest part of the process, and the following activities were undertaken:
- Mandate clarity. AFO worked with the executive management to ensure the mandate and approach was clear as well as which internal resources were to be made available to AFO.
- Stakeholder Communication. A bank is a relatively large place and market data works across many functional areas and regions. A stakeholder communication process was created to keep various department and business heads informed as to the purpose and progress of the work being undertaken.
- Terminal Review. A full terminal review was undertaken across all users and vendors. A key part of this is also the clear identification of the product types within the Market Data inventory tool. We ensured that product types such as terminals, infrastructure, research product and such were consistently applied throughout the inventory tool to ensure consistency. This allowed us to review types of terminals by vendors and users as well as identify dual-terminal users.
- Application Mapping. All applications that consumed market data were mapped and reviewed to identify data compliance gaps and potential datafeed alternatives.
- Datafeed Identification. All incoming datafeed providers were identified and reviewed in terms of contract obligation and costs. Potential alternatives were reviewed against the incumbent providers as well.
- Interview with department heads and business managers. Interviews were set up and undertaken with various managers and heads to ensure they were aware of terminal usage, alternatives, and costs. As well as provide the manager with input on alternatives against cost. (i.e. does the user really need a Bloomberg?)
- Market data vendor contract review. A full review of all market data contracts and products was undertaken to ensure all contracts were in the inventory tool with the correct contract types, contract periods and notice conditions.
- Identification of duplicate or unused services. With the above undertaken, we were able to identify both duplicate as well as unused market data services across the estate.
- Review of inputs to the market data inventory platform. This included but wasn’t limited to HR and organisational structure data, group finance cross-rates for normalisation of all foreign exchange costs into South African Rands at a historically correct rates over time as well as if all invoices are being captured in the platform.
- Review of cost saving proposals submitted by both key vendors.
Analysis and presentation of findings to executive management
The presentation of the findings to the executive management included a review of 4 main categories:
- Terminals
- Datafeeds
- Infrastructure
- Overall review of both key vendor savings proposals.
The analysis looked at:
1. Reduction in unnecessary spending, including:
- Cancellation of unused services
- Cancellation of duplicate services
- Alternative service opportunities
2. Review of vendor proposals, including:
- Contracts horizons
- Future costs
- Short-term savings vs Long-term operational impacts
- Planning for unexpected changes to market conditions
- Alternative vendors
- Infrastructure cost
The presentation of key findings:
- Immediate, year-to-year, savings of over ZAR 17,000,000 achieved through the elimination of unused or duplicate services.
- Further cost-avoidance measures resulting in over ZAR 9,000,000 cost avoidance through updating entitlement platforms, subscription review and vendor substitutions.
- The above equated to a year-on-year saving of over ZAR 26,000,000 – almost 10% of the annual market data budget.
- Implementation of market data best practice to preserve savings and encourage ongoing data compliance.
- Alignment of spend and procurement systems with market data inventory to ensure full market data estate is controlled. This is often overlooked and, in my opinion, a key market data command and control KPI.
- Internal process engineering resources allocated by client to assist with workflow mapping and implementation.
Vendor savings proposal review
Review of vendor proposals clearly showed that is in the best interests of the bank to seek savings and cost optimisation opportunities through effective workflow and market data control regimes than to rely too heavily on single-vendors to provide short and medium cost savings frameworks as they come with lengthy and complex contracting obligations and periods.
Material cost savings would only be realised in the long term when more and more services are pivoted away from competing vendors to the single key vendor. This leaves the client in a precarious position. Unable to contract with other vendors without sacrificing discounts and locked in for potentially longer and longer contracting periods. The cost of exiting those contracts become significant and leave the client unable to reposition quickly to accommodate changes in market data sources or technology.
In other words, an effective Market Data command and control environment managed by the client is critical to the effective management of its Market Data estate. It was proposed that the client did not seek additional discounts from market data vendors in exchange to longer contacts or additional obligations.
Executive summary
The use of a Market Data inventory tool alone was not sufficient to enable cost savings or workflow process efficiencies in an enterprise market data environment.
Proactive market data management processes and skills combined with an inventory tool are key elements in ensuring market data cost savings and workflow optimisations are achieved and preserved.
Banks and treasury operations are complex, resource constrained environments. Specialist market data consultancies like AFO can provide exceptional value in the market data management space by facilitating not only cost savings, avoidance of cost-duplication and data compliance risk mitigation but ensuring those savings and optimisations are preserved over time whilst ensuring expensive banking resources spend time undertaking complex, knowledge work and projects instead of churning time on repetitive and error-prone tasks.