I’ve spoken and posted often about the need for content providers to step up in the value chain by delivering workflow-based solutions, rather than point applications. Yet most content providers continue to develop products based upon the content of their data, rather than the workflow of their customers.
This past week, I attended the Money Laundering Conference in Hollywood, Florida.
The conference was geared towards compliance and AML officers at banks, securities firms, insurance companies and money services businesses worldwide. Patriot Act and Bank Secrecy Act regulations have dramatically changed the “know your customer” provisions for all of these businesses in an effort to disrupt and detect money laundering and terrorist financing activities.
Of course, these initiatives have created a tremendous opportunity for content providers. And while many such providers are merely compiling data from various watch lists, I was heartened to see a number of companies providing workflow-based solutions. Many of the most compelling applications were transaction monitoring solutions coming from traditional analytics providers like SAS. However, a number of content providers also were showing applications mapped to the customer’s workflow.
For example, Factiva PFA (Public Figures and Associates) is a database of politically exposed persons and their associates. In addition to the traditional search approach, Factiva has built PFA as an XML-based solution so that it can easily be integrated into a customer’s account vetting applications.
Alacra used this event to announce and showcase the launch of our newest product, Alacra Compliance. Alacra Compliance is a workflow-based application that helps researchers ensure a comprehensive and consistent approach to new account vetting and enhanced due diligence. Alacra Compliance used federated search to allow a single query to search dozens of premium content databases and the Alacra Compliance Web, an index of more than 600 compliance-related websites.
In the compliance market, customers are scrambling to find solutions which can address current regulatory needs and which also have the scalability and flexibility to adapt to a rapidly changing regulatory environment. Those content and solutions providers who can support these processes are finding compelling market opportunities. There will continue to be a market for general reference databases, but they will see a much smaller piece of the pie for mission-critical applications.
Posted by: |