Adoption of S+S architecture increases MAAKL’s agility amid today’s volatile business environment
Kuala Lumpur, May 27, 2008 – MAAKL Mutual Bhd (MAAKL) today announced the latest version of its in-house solution, MAAKL Home Office (MHO) Version 3.0 at a media briefing session held at its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. The latest version of MHO leverages on Microsoft's Software + Services (S+S) architecture, resulting in an advanced, process driven sales and client management system that enables its unit trust advisers to provide more professional services to their customers.
Due to the innovativeness of MHO v3, MAAKL was selected to receive the best Home Office Appliance in the Windows in Financial Services Developer Awards (FSDA). The FSDA recognizes business or solutions developers in the banking, insurance and investment sectors, and MAAKL is one of five winners of this year’s awards. To add another feather to its crown, this is the first time an Asia Pacific country was given this prestigious award.
With MHO v3, advisers have increased flexibility and efficiency with report generation and client account management, cutting down on manual efforts. This is further enhanced by a reduction in on-site support required by IT personnel, less reliance on staff and resources, thus improving the company's returns on IT investment and overall customer satisfaction while reducing overall costs.
MAAKL Chief Executive Officer Wong Boon Choy said that MAAKL’s adviser-centric business model means its future lies in the hands of its unit trust professionals who need the right tools to meet the needs of its increasingly Web and investment savvy clientele base. The S+S architecture implemented by MAAKL is instrumental in equipping its unit trust advisers with new tools that will help them build their business professionally and keep a competitive edge over its rivals.
“To continue our lead in the technology space in the unit trust industry, we constantly look for innovative ideas that give us the quantum leap. This has lead to the development of MHO Version 3.0.”
Wong said that prior versions of MHO were primarily pre- and post-sales software used by its unit trusts advisers as well as clients. But as customers grow increasingly savvy with the Internet and rapid business expansion, the need for more up-to-date tools to meet today's knowledge-driven demand cannot be ignored. MAAKL decided to adopt Microsoft's S+S architecture in their latest version of MHO, consequently increasing speed and development efficiencies, greater opportunities for business expansion and better customer experience.
According to Jimmy Yeoh, Chief Executive Officer of MAAGNET Systems Sdn. Bhd, among the advantages of MHO v3 is a time-weighted rate of return capability that measures the compound growth rate of any portfolio by eliminating distortions resulting from the inflows of new money. Hence, it provides a clearer comparison point for the actual returns a particular fund is achieving overtime.
“Furthermore, as time-to-market for implementing new functionality has quickened with the updated technology, our advisers will be able to do more analysis and communicate information to their clients faster. Additionally, our unit trust advisers will find it more convenient to update our MHO remotely, without the need for installation CDs or on-site technical support."
The switch to an S+S architecture, a 'mixed' environment that combines the local in-house software (such as MHO) with “cloud” services, is the transformation aspect of MHO v3 over previous versions. S+S seeks to fuse the architectural strengths of enterprise solutions (such as Windows Server 2008), the Internet, desktop applications (such as Windows Vista) and mobile devices, giving MAAKL more flexibility, greater choice and enhanced capabilities. Additionally, it also combines the security, stability and high standards of in-house software with the speed and innovation of Internet-developed applications - a 'best-of-all-worlds' solution.
With S+S and MHO v3, MAAKL advisers can now access to their clients’ investment data anytime, anywhere with their notebooks and PDAs. With mobility and ease of access to data, the MAAKL advisers’ productivity and service level will certainly be enhanced. MHO v3 employs a wide range of Microsoft technologies, including aspects of Microsoft’s yet-to-be-released 2008 technology suite. The main components that make up MHO Version 3.0 are:·
Windows Server 2008·
Windows SQL Server 2008·
Visual Studio 2008
NET 3.5·
Windows Mobile 6,
Windows Vista
Also present at the event was Yasmin Mahmood, Managing Director of Microsoft Malaysia and Vincent Ler, General Manager, Enterprise and Partner Group, Microsoft Malaysia, who commended on the speed with which MAAKL has adopted its S+S architecture model to its MHO software solution.
“MAAKL’s decision to adopt the S+S architectural model is a testament to the developer productivity afforded by our platform, and demonstrates MAAKL’s confidence in a number of our leading products, like Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and Microsoft .NET Framework, to name a few,” said Vincent. “S+S represents the next industry shift which combines the capabilities of both software and services to deliver more compelling opportunities and solutions for our partners and customers. MAAKL’s adoption of S+S architecture is a timely move, and is ideally placed to capitalize on the move to Software-plus-Services because of the capabilities, choice and flexibility of its platform.
Vincent continued, “The S+S architecture model allows customers a platform to collaborate successfully with their customers, employees and suppliers. Importantly, it offers real insight and flexibility to pursue new strategies, operate across borders, and expand capabilities in tandem with business growth.”
He added that because MHO integrates efficiently with Microsoft products – such as Windows Server 2008 and Windows SQL Server 2008 – business and solution developers in the banking, insurance and investment industry can work with tools they are likely to be already familiar with, thereby lowering training cost and making it an economical solution to adopt.
“Overall, the adoption of the S+S architecture model will put us ahead of our competitors in the unit trust industry and will certainly make our unit trust advisers look more professional when dealing with their clients,” concluded Wong. The original version of MHO was first released in 2005, followed by Version 2.0 which was subsequently rolled out in April 2007. Among its features includes MAAKL Planners, which helps advisers guide their clients on the best way to allocate their assets in-line with their specific investment objectives. It also features a Client Account Management System (CAMS), a mobile office capability with features that include an asset rebalancing tool and unit trust investment reports, which enables advisers to manage and track their clients' investments anytime, anywhere. Version 2.0 also offered What-If Analysis, a fund price/index history charting tool, and fund/index comparisons so advisers can track the performance of target funds or indices against various benchmarks. The first stage of Version 3.0 is expected to be launched in 3Q2008.
### About MAAKL Mutual BhdIncorporated on 16 October 2000, MAAKL Mutual Bhd was formerly known as MAA Mutual Berhad. The shareholders of the company are MAA Corporation Sdn Bhd which holds 70% equity of the company, Khyra Liberty Sdn Bhd which holds 20% equity and the remaining 10% are held by individuals. The company, led by an experienced management team, is well-positioned to build the most professional unit trust force in the country. MAAKL Mutual currently manages 22 unit trust funds, including the 1st foreign unit trust fund in Malaysia – the MAAKL Pacific Fund.
Visit MAAKL Mutual online at www.maaklmutual.com.my.
About MicrosoftMicrosoft (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (www.microsoft.com/malaysia) is a subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation and was incorporated on July 8, 1992. Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software – any time, any place and on any device.
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