Application service provider Swissrisk has teamed up with IBM to offer financial institutions access to risk and portfolio management tools over mobile Internet devices.
The Switzerland-based investment technology vendor will use the ASP model to enable financial institutions to develop, manage and deliver professional financial tools for online investors and employees via cellular handsets and PDAs over WAP, GPRS and UMTS.
IBM's WebSphere Everyplace Server will deliver integration of Swissrisk-based applications onto mobile devices and company intranets, without the need for large-scale software integration and maintenance, say the companies.
Simon Dyson, vice president, communications sector, IBM Emea, comments: "This agreement with Swissrisk will give users wireless access to some of the most sophisticated financial tools available, putting them on an equal footing with desktop users. Using WebSphere Everyplace Suite as the middleware platform of choice means that customers can scale services quickly and securely, adding users as demand for this type of application grows."
As an IBM Partnerworld member, Swissrisk will participate in joint global marketing activities with IBM and utilise hosting services and local support provided by IBM.
The partnership between IBM and Swissrisk comes as questions are being asked about the viability of the ASP-based model for the delivery of complex financial applications, following the recent commercial failures of JPMorgan derivatives spin-offs Arcordia and Cygnifia.