Cloud Archives

FPPad Bits and Bytes for April 26

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Bill Winterberg in Bits & Bytes

Get a lead on the weekend with this week’s best stories in technology

It’s been a slow week with respect to technology news in the financial planning industry. So get your quick update below and get a fast start to your weekend.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

Fidelity selects External IT for a cloud-based virtual desktop solution for financial advisers from FPPad

[In case you missed it, Fidelity announced it has vetted cloud desktop provider External IT for its advisers, giving them a fast track solution to leave legacy servers behind and move critical resources to the cloud. Pricing is around $150/month/user, so while it may not save advisers tons of money, it will give them greater mobility in business and better backup and disaster recovery.] In a press release today, Fidelity announced it has selected External IT as the exclusive provider of a cloud-based virtual desktop solution to financial advisers.

AP Twitter Hack Preceded By A Phishing Attempt, News Org Says from TechCrunch

[Don’t think Twitter moves the stock market? Think again. One rogue tweet from a hacked AP account sent the Dow plunging nearly 150 points in a matter of seconds. What’s your takeaway from all this? Vigorously guard your online credentials, because attackers will do everything they can to get them and then exploit them for financial gain.] The AP Twitter hack which sent the stock market briefly crashing was caused by a phishing attack, according to the AP. The news organization now says the attack on Twitter was “preceded by a phishing attempt on AP’s corporate network.”

Erado Message Control Solutions Reports First Quarter Growth Strongest in Company History from Erado

[Social media archiving provider Erado continues to grow quickly. You’ve read here before about its relationships with firms like LPL, the largest independent broker dealer ranked by revenue as wel as account assets.] Erado, the nation’s leading compliance and archiving firm in electronic communication, announced today their record first quarter growth. Erado added new services for over 500 offices, and continued hiring due to its continued growth. The quarter was the strongest in the company’s history.

Fidelity selects External IT for a cloud-based virtual desktop solution for financial advisers

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Bill Winterberg in Technology

Fidelity selects External IT to deliver a “first-of-its-kind solution” to advisers

In a press release today, Fidelity announced it has selected External IT as the exclusive provider of a cloud-based virtual desktop solution to financial advisers.

The Cloud Virtual Desktop

Advisers who custody client assets with Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services® (IWS) will soon leverage External IT’s technology known as the OS33 Portal Desktop.

According to Ed O’Brien, head of technology for Fidelity IWS, pricing for the virtual desktop will be approximately $150 per user per month.

Native, Not Watered-Down

In the virtual desktop solution, advisors will find familiar programs including Adobe Acrobat, the Microsoft Office 2010 suite, Quickbooks and more.

External IT users get access to full versions of the office productivity software through Citrix Receiver, not scaled down web-based counterparts with limited functionality.

The External IT dashboard with office productivity programs included (click to view full size image)

File Access

The virtual desktop also supports traditional file management, accessed in two ways.

First, a file manager interface can be accessed directly within the web browser, allowing users to browse a file directory structure similar to those found in most computer operating systems.

The alternate file access method actually launches a separate file manager window that looks just like the Windows 7 file explorer. Users can browse files and folders in both the hosted file system as well as their local hard drive using the External IT file manager window. Worth noting is that the search field works in this separate file manager window just as it does in the native Windows 7 operating system, so users may find this method a bit faster to find documents and files.

Mobile

The External IT solution is also accessible from mobile devices using the standard mobile web browser. Users have a few options when working with office files like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents.

The mobile optimized External IT dashboard, viewed on an iPad (click to view full size image)

First, the full versions of Office programs can be streamed to the mobile device using the Citrix Receiver app. However, most will find that attempting to touch menu bars and manipulating the cursor is challenging on non-touch optimized software.

Therefore, if users have appropriate permissions, Office documents can be downloaded and opened in third party apps such as QuickOffice Pro HD or Office² HD. Changes can then be uploaded back into the External IT solution.

Security

Advisers will also benefit from a wide array of security features available in the External IT solution. Users can easily add and delete (aka provision) employee accounts, prohibit file downloads onto personal devices, and enforce multi-factor authentication when users log in.

Reactions

For reaction on the solution announcement, I reached out to several providers of virtual desktop solutions for those in financial services.

Wes Stilman, CEO of Right Size Solutions. “If the custodian desires, it provides an opportunity to integrate their technology with a cloud provider.”

“If the custodian desires, it provides an opportunity to integrate their technology with a cloud provider. For example, it could simplify single sign on,” said Wes Stillman, president of Right Size Solutions.

“The potential negative for the custodian is that the cloud provider has to earn consistent high marks,” added Stillman. “Should the quality of service falter, it could reflect badly on the custodian.”

For this reason, Fidelity arranged dedicated support for advisers from External IT and also aligned support times with the equity and bond market schedule, according to O’Brien.

O’Brien added that advisers always have access to the online External IT help desk and can also call in for support during both peak and non-peak hours.

Ryan Terwedo, founder and CEO of CloudRIA: “Depending on how they are providing the [virtual desktop] window, the user experience is not great.”

Ryan Terwedo, founder and CEO of cloudRIA, agrees with Stillman’s sentiment of the provider’s service quality, including the user experience.

“Depending on how they are providing the [virtual desktop] window, the user experience is not great,” said Terwedo. “Microsoft Word was never designed for anything but being installed on a local windows machine.”

TD Ameritrade adds iRebal to the cloud and offers it for free to affiliated advisers

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Bill Winterberg in Software, Technology

TD Ameritrade’s rebalancing software will soon be available online via the cloud and at no additional cost to affiliated advisers.

In a press release today, TD Ameritrade Institutional announced that it will soon offer its proprietary iRebal® portfolio rebalancing software directly through the cloud. Also, advisers who custody assets with the custodian can access the web-based version of iRebal for free.

The new version of iRebal will be integrated with TD Ameritrade Institutional’s Veo® adviser platform (see: TD Ameritrade Institutional’s Veo® Open Access to enhance trading, fee billing, and client on-boarding processes), giving advisers access to powerful rebalancing software once reserved for desktop or server installations.

“With iRebal in Veo, advisers can reduce weeks-long processes down to minutes, putting them in a better position to pursue potential opportunities, react to changing market conditions and ultimately provide more valuable service to their clients,” said Tom Nally, president, TD Ameritrade Institutional, in the press release.

Although I have no official metrics, iRebal seemed to have leveled off in its growth of new users, so this move will no doubt put the software package back on the growth track.

Not only that, but eliminating the cost of the software for advisers who custody with TD Ameritrade Institutional should attract a significant number of the company’s 4,500 RIA custody clients.

Because of its high cost of ownership, rebalancing software has historically been within reach of only the largest RIAs.

Now with no fee, iRebal in the cloud puts significant pressure on vendors such as Tamarac, RedBlack, TRX, BlazePortfolio, and more.

The desktop version of iRebal will still be sold to “well-established” advisers, according to the press release, with pricing of a one-time $10,000 implementation fee and AUM-based pricing starting at $20,000.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for April 13

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Bill Winterberg in Bits & Bytes

Wednesday’s post on client spoofing received tremendous response from readers and subscribers. Many of you shared your own stories of attempted client spoofing that was eventually detected, and several asked about practices that can be employed to increase the recognition of spoofing without overburdening back office staff and clients. I’m working on several follow up posts to break down examples and provide more information and resources advisers can use to be vigilant against spoofing.

And with that, let’s move on to this week’s stories of interest:

First up is this month’s Morningstar Advisor column, Laserfiche Offers Cloud Connectivity. This leading provider of on-premises document management software is now extending its product line to include a service delivered exclusively over the cloud. This makes the program, one that traditionally required large up-front costs, a more cost-effective option for advisers.

Advisers and iPads: Signs of a tipping point? from InvestmentNews.com

[You know all-too well that iPads are the tablet of choice among advisers. I have the following slide shown below in my iPad presentation showing how much traffic FPPad.com gets from the device. I get 53% from iPads, 27% from iPhone, 16% from Android and 4% for everything else. The FPPad adviser audience should be more tech-savvy than the broad InvestmentNews audience, and it shows! Thank you!] Roughly 36% of our mobile visits [to InvestmentNews.com] came from the iPad in March, compared with roughly 35% from the iPhone, which came in as No. 2 for mobile traffic sources.

2012 Is on Us: Egnyte Announces Box Buster Buyout Program from MarketWatch.com

[Advisers visit FPPad for information on cloud file storage services like Dropbox, ShareFile, and Box, but one that I haven’t specifically covered (though it’s on my resource radar) is Egnyte. This press release from the company features useful feedback from one Dallas-based RIA, True North Advisors, on how the solution satisfied the firm’s needs for security and easy deployment.] Egnyte, the leading provider of Cloud and HybridCloud File Sharing solutions for Businesses, today announced the Box Buster Buyout program. Aimed at businesses that are paying for Box accounts and found they’ve outgrown their usefulness, the Box Buster program allows paying Box customers to switch to a matching plan on Egnyte, at no cost for the duration of 2012 and free migration.

LogMeIn Prepares To Take On Dropbox & Box With Launch Of Cloud Storage Service Cubby from TechCrunch.com

[Like I said above, cloud file storage services are getting lots of attention from everywhere. Here’s yet another service from the folks at LogMeIn called Cubby to add to your list of potential resources.] LogMeIn, the company known best for its remote access tools, is today launching its own cloud storage service, as an alternative to those from Dropbox or Box, for example.