To enhance customer satisfaction, the new applications also allow clients to access their account information through the same backend system as the brokers, providing a real time update, as well as a single view for multiple investments.

As the Securities and Futures Commission in recent years, has allowed investors to make multiple investments within a single account, the new system supports clients with that new option and also provides an integrated view of their portfolios.

Server decisions

Following the application development, the server layer was revamped. In the previous system, Ying said the choice of servers was dictated by the applications, thus Tai Fook's previous system was a multi-vendor environment with boxes from HP, Sun and IBM.

Moreover, since they were installed by system integrators, who did not understand the industry and Tai Fook's business process, a lot of education was required, said Ying. However, with a high staff turnover among the system integrators, constant re-education and training for the new SI staff often brought delays in projects and upgrades.