Whether it’s traders reacting to hourly stock fluctuations or brokers responding to unexpected transaction requests, the financial services industry moves quickly, and leaves little room for error. Few understand this better than Infusion Development, a unique IT consulting, solutions and training firm with headquarters in Toronto and New York as well as offices in Boston, and London, UK. Infusion Development counts some of the world’s largest financial companies among its clientele.

“Infusion Development has made its mark through remaining focused on emerging technologies,” says Infusion’s president, Alim Somani.

Since opening its doors in 1998, Infusion Development has grown steadily to over 175 employees, a feat the independently owned company attributes to its passion for new technology.

“Infusion Development has made its mark through remaining focused on emerging technologies,” says Alim Somani, president, Infusion Development. “We use some of the latest and greatest Microsoft products to drive collaboration and innovation in the trading floors and operations areas of Toronto, New York and London’s most influential financial institutions.”

Innovation on the Microsoft Vista platform

One such example is an application Infusion Development created, leveraging Windows Vista, just after its November 2006 release. “We were one of the first to build a ‘gadget’ for Canadian banking customers,” recalls Bill Baldasti, director and practice manager and one of six Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals (MVP’s) under Infusion’s employ. “Through this feature, customers had real-time access to customized information directly on their desktop, re-enforcing the bank not only as a thought-leader, but one directly in tune with the needs of their customers. It was a real win for us.”

A “gadget” is a new feature that can be customized at will, and placed in a pane on a Vista desktop. “Using this sidebar gadget, stock investors can, for example, include several stocks with their charts updating in real-time in a pane. This is ideal for following sectors of stocks or for pairs traders,” Baldasti says. Users can close the panes when they don’t need them, but the updating will continue.

Harnessing the Power of Collaboration and Data Mining

Infusion Development was also among the first solution providers to work with Microsoft Office SharePoint 2007. By taking advantage of the collaboration platform, the company helped the venture capital arm of a Top 5 asset management firm automate the way it manages its investments and evaluates prospects. The client’s previous process required endless emails and a long, cumbersome paper trail. Additionally, there was no easy way to use past experiences to allow for better decision making in the future.

By customizing the workflow with SharePoint and linking a series of data feeds into a new, customized user interface, the asset management firm’s employees have significantly improved their investment selection processes. They can also track the effectiveness of their evaluation methodology quickly and easily, resulting in time and costs savings, as well as a marked increase in productivity. But best of all, they now have access to key data to learn from past deals, in order to be well positioned for future transactions.

Ensuring Business Continuity

Given how fast money and securities are moved around the world, business continuity has emerged as a serious concern for financial firms. To manage business interruptions caused by disasters or crises, Infusion Development developed JEPRS (Joint Emergency Planning and Response System), its real-time crisis and planned event management solution to create Web-based services that help clients manage these issues.

“Businesses, and most particularly financial businesses, need real-time access to key people and information during a crisis,” Baldasti says. “We have a JEPRS-based solution that meets this need.”

Imagine that a branch bank or brokerage office integral to company operations is suddenly off-line because of a fire or other emergency. A JEPRS–based solution can help a company manage such a crisis in a seamless, secure fashion through connecting all necessary stakeholders in real-time.

Harnessing the Talent of North America’s Best and Brightest

Another key component to Infusion’s success has been its work in developing near-shore capacity to meet the requirements of global markets. By taking advantage of a robust and healthy .NET developer community in Canada, Infusion has distinguished itself in building near-shore resource pools to serve its key customers in New York and London.

“Sometimes a project is too sensitive to send to the other side of the world,” says Somani. “Our developers are in the right time zone with the right cultural sensitivities to ensure that projects are completed on time and on budget while ensuring that changes and other inputs are incorporated into an impactful solution.”

Infusion’s solutions commitment to emerging technologies, customer development capability and access to Canada’s best and brightest talent pool, have helped to make its financial services customers more efficient and more competitive in the global economy.

“Our stock gadget, our SharePoint collaboration solution, and our JEPRS business continuity tool are examples that show how we at Infusion Development, a highly valued partner of Microsoft, can draw on this partnership to build unique and innovative solutions for financial firms,” says Somani.


www.infusion.com