The company decided to establish the NFAP to enable a more efficient flow of data between its internal and external applications, while offering simplified management across its business processes. The platform replaces existing point-to-point links using SeeBeyond's integrated composite application network (SeeBeyond ICAN) for developing integration and composite application solutions.

UBS says it selected SeeBeyond as it was able to fulfil requirements including data conversion, the design and management of data flow and the operation, monitoring and control of data transport between internal and external applications. SeeBeyond supports almost all business processes for fund administration, including initial capture of buying and selling, pricing inquiries of market-data companies, annual reports and the publication of fund prices.

The NFAP solution has been in production since June 2004, with some components, including Swift interfaces and a link to Bloomberg, having been in operation since October 2003. Ultimately the SeeBeyond solution will support all the UBS fund administration processes. Today, the new platform connects the internal enterprise systems with external systems via electronic interfaces. By the end of 2004, UBS Global Asset Management plans to bring the Swiss funds on board, with the funds of Great Britain targeted for 2005.

Gerhard Fusenig, head of Investment Fund Services, UBS Global Asset Management, says: "It is our aim to increase efficiencies, to create synergies, to eliminate manual processes and to reduce operational risks through the adaptation of business processes across countries. Without SeeBeyond, UBS would have to build each interface manually and implement independent point-to-point connections. The cost for the maintenance alone would be enormous and the flexibility needed to support the business could not be achieved."