The first two Work Packages (WP) focused on extending business and technical functionalities of the product. The most significant achievement was review and extensions of the standardized format for storing terms of business of the sales agreements (Open Terms). We also completed functionalities required by the market such as search and print tools for the product, security features, versioning terms and the workflow functionality. The mechanism of pre-defined and configurable templates for entering terms of business was built. In line with project assumptions, we created a separate publicly available service for reading and visualizing terms of business stored in XML standard. And finally, the interaction with the real market players allowed us to improve the software significantly. The feedback received from clients and prospects enriched the existing functionalities and triggered development of new value-added features.
We completed the adjustments of the application to finally install it and expose to the external world in the Amazon Cloud. We also completed the tasks related to electronic signature of terms of business, with accordance with EU’s eIDAS regulation, under WP2.
In parallel, we completed the WP3, where we designed, procured and installed the environment and Fundsphere Terms product in the hosting facility in Luxembourg. This allowed to achieve an important milestone, which is the ability to offer the software in a software-as-a-service model.
In January 2018, it occurred to us that our pilot client and other prospects are so distracted by Brexit and a number of impacting them EU regulations (MiFID II, GDPR, PRIIPs) that they delay significantly the cooperation with Metrosoft on Fundsphere Terms.
Having little interaction with the market to validate the software, we asked European Commission (EC) to extend the timelines of the project by 6 months during which we would focus on sales efforts and dissemination of the information. Thanks to the positive reaction from the EC, a lot was achieved in the WP4 and WP5 dedicated for communicating about the project and for commercializing the solution. We attended 30 industry events disseminating the information and seeking for prospects, conducted many demos for potential clients, organized dedicated workshops for industry influencers from Luxembourg, mostly ALFI members and speakers on conferences. We closed the deal with Funds Europe and Asset Servicing Times, the well-known industry magazines to conduct the promotion of Fundsphere Terms and our company. A series of interviews with Metrosoft appeared in the magazine. In recognition of our effort to disrupt the industry, the independent jury of the Funds Europe Awards 2017, granted us with a special commendation in the category “European Innovator of the Year”.
All actions above brought a result of signing a licensing contract for portions of Fundsphere Terms with one of our existing clients. We also signed a letter of intent with a European fund distribution platform, MFEX. The pilot project with MFEX gives the exposition to 840 asset managers they are servicing. These achievements allowed us to get back on track and start developing extensions in line with market needs.
All the above efforts allowed us to approach closely the ultimate goal of the project: we convinced three industry players to use Fundsphere Terms: an asset manager, a distribution platform, and a service provider. We are engaged in a process of implementation at four other clients.
