Cohere Communications has launched a cloud-based compliance service intended to help buy side firms get out from under burdensome regulatory reporting requirements, many of them brought on by the Dodd-Frank Act.
The service, called Cohere Cloud Solutions, which will ease regulatory compliance for hedge funds, broker-dealers and investment advisory firms with the newest enterprise-grade, private cloud infrastructure available.
"We began working on Cohere Cloud Solutions and its offerings in early 2013 to support the increased demand from our existing clients for a turn-key, cloud solution focusing on their current operating needs and emerging regulatory requirements,” said Cohere Communications CEO Steven Francesco. “These firms are conscious that doing filings and adhering to new compliance rules under DFA is a requirement.”
Philip Reicherz, who will serve as co-founder and president of Cohere Cloud Solutions, has 20 years of financial services experience, includes positions at global investment banks and most recently as a partner at SecondMarket, Inc. “As chairman of the risk committee and chief principal officer of a large, active broker-dealer, we often sought after a cloud solution that could ensure my compliance and legal team to comply with both mandatory and regulatory requirements,” he said.
Reicherz joined Cohere as an advisor earlier this year, and began working with Francesco to map out a strategy that would address a glaring business issue while at the same time boosting Cohere’s visibility with the financial services sector.
“Based on Steve’s success in the financial services community with over 200 clients and 9,000 users, it seemed like the right time to launch this product, which is focused on hedge funds, asset managers, RIAs, and broker-dealers,” said Reicherz.
Cohere Cloud Solutions includes a fully-managed IT environment available through a three-tiered service package. Users will have access to an à la carte style application store offering a multitude of commonly utilized and industry compliant apps including a wide range of business resiliency services, such as disaster recovery, online backup and message archiving.
“We’re aggregating solutions that will streamline the regulatory and internal compliance functions, all the way through business continuity plans,” Reicherz said. “We are working with a technology software partner to provide a turnkey compliance solution that will commoditize the compliance burdens.”
Separately, an Aite Group survey of 29 senior IT executives at financial institutions around the globe found that cloud computing holds the potential to redefine the relationship between corporate IT departments and financial institution business units at a time when cost optimization and regulatory compliance are immediate priorities.
Cloud-based services are being adopted for business reasons and technological factors, among them the move toward browser-based technology, cost optimization, increased complexity of data, and the impact of increased regulations and compliance on financial institutions.
Private clouds are the leading deployment model chosen by surveyed FIs, with 50% "likely" or "highly likely" to use private clouds in the next 24 months. In contrast, public clouds are seen as best for non-critical systems, with few willing to deploy all of their retail or enterprise banking systems with personally identifiable information on a public cloud.