Hedge IT Blog

We spend a lot of time here on Hedge IT making suggestions about what hedge funds and investment firms should do when it comes to their technology. But today, we’re not going to tell you what you should do. In fact, these are things we definitely DON’T want you to do!
 
Plan your infrastructure only for the short-term.
A crucial mistake often made by funds is not planning for the future. Even at launch, you should be thinking about what your firm will look like and what technology you will require down the road. Planning out two to three years in advance is recommended in order to reap the most benefits when it comes to your infrastructure. Plus, if you don’t plan ahead, you may wind up incurring more costs if technology decisions need to be made unexpectedly.
 
Ignore the importance of a business continuity plan.
It has become commonplace for hedge funds to employ disaster recovery strategies to protect mission-critical data and applications (due to a number of reasons including investor expectations, new regulations and the effect of unexpected natural disasters, e.g. Hurricane Sandy). But firms often overlook the equally important business continuity plan, which provides guidelines for what employees need to do in the event of a disaster.  Yes, focusing on your infrastructure is essential to keeping your business afloat, but that business also cannot survive without its employees. Don’t forget to test that BCP plan once you’ve developed it – a good plan will only work if people know how to follow it.

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We hosted a webinar earlier this week, App Hosting 101: Managing Your Essential Applications in the Cloud, in which Steve Schoener, Eze Castle Integration’s Vice President of Client Technology, and Martin Sreba, Senior Director at Advent Software, discussed topics such as industry trends in application hosting, key drivers of application solutions, common myths about the cloud, and the right time to put an application into effect. Continue reading for an overview of the webinar.

Industry Update: What’s Going On?

Increasing demands from hedge funds’ current and target investors are driving a variety of trends. Due diligence requirements are more advanced, as investors expect to see candid looks into a fund’s systems, disaster recovery capabilities and more. The increasing complexity of investments is also driving the need for more complex systems to handle these instruments.
 
Firms are starting smaller in today’s environment, with many starting with under $100mm in assets under management. Startup funds are looking for technology solutions to complement their size and give them the tools to efficiently run their businesses.

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With mounting regulations, stringent reporting requirements and heightened investor expectations, we know that managers who are considering starting a hedge fund have a lot to think about. So, we joined forces with KPMG to host a jam-packed half-day seminar and networking event yesterday in New York City: Hedge Fund Launch 2.0: Navigating the New Environment.
 
During the event, we had the pleasure of bringing together over 100 investment management professionals for an exciting and educational day. Attendees heard from over 30 notable industry experts engaging in panel discussions on an array of topics related to launching a hedge fund.
 
Here’s a look at some of the insights and lessons learned from a few of our favorite panel discussions.

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VMware, the original virtualization company, is continuing to evolve as virtualization technology heads towards the commodity department.  The company’s newest push is around the concept of End-User Computing. 

With its end-user computing products and strategy, VMware is aiming to give IT the tools and means to transform “siloed desktops, applications, and data into centrally managed IT services, delivered to end-users securely, on the device of their choice.”  This means allowing IT to centrally set policies, encrypt data, ensure corporate governance is followed and do much more on all devices a user may use.

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Cloud computing is becoming a standard IT deployment method for the investment management industry. In fact, our 2012 survey found that 8 in 10 investment management firms are either currently or planning to use a cloud service. So once a hedge fund or alternative decides to go cloud the next question is "why go Eze Private Cloud?"

Well, we have the perfect answer to that, and you can have it in just 60-seconds. Watch our quick video and learn why Eze Private Cloud is the investment industry standard for cloud services. 


 

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On 19^th March, the Eze Castle Integration team in London hosted their first-ever Hedge Fund Cloud Summit at the Prince Philip House. 

Eze Castle Integration along with leading experts in the financial services industry - INDOS Financial Limited, Morgan Stanley Prime Brokerage, Bloomberg, Credit Suisse Prime Services, Lucidus Capital Partners LLP, Portman Square, LLP, eSentire, Global Relay, and Simmons & Simmons - came together to provide a half day educational seminar featuring a wealth of information on the cloud to over 100 hedge fund and alternative investments firms.

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Today, we're excited be hosting the 2013 London Hedge Fund Cloud Summit at the Prince Philip House in London. The event features a variety of industry experts participating in thought-provoking panel disccussions focused on the cloud adoption trends shaping the investment industry. Conversations will touch on everything from the differences between public and private clouds to cloud security and application hosting.

In honor of this event and to provide a visual to help encapsulate the many benefits that come from leveraging a private cloud, we have published a new infographic entitled “You Might be a Private Cloud User If…” Check it out to see the top 10 signs that you are likely a private cloud user. For more information and details on the 2013 London Hedge Fund Cloud Summit please visit the event page. Also, be sure to look out for a recap of the event here on the Hedge IT blog next week!

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Yesterday our VP of client technology, Steve Schoener, presented on a California Hedge Fund Association webinar about building an institutional infrastructure at today’s hedge funds. A lofty topic (so consider this a basic primer), Steve focused on four key discussion areas, which we’ll recap here. They were:

• Investor Expectations of IT

• On-premise & Cloud solutions: Which is right?

• Security Risks & Best Practices

• Disaster Recovery How-Tos

You can watch the 30-minute webinar now or keep reading below.

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Last year, Eze Castle Integration expanded their award winning Eze Private Cloud services to Asia. The Eze Private Cloud is used by more than 2,000 hedge fund professionals worldwide to simplify operations, minimise upfront capital costs and gain a highly resilient, enterprise-grade IT infrastructure on par with billion-dollar funds.

I recently sat down with Serge Bukhar, Executive Director of International Operations at Eze Castle Integration, to talk about the hedge fund market in Asia, and the attitude and adoption of cloud computing.

What is the current state of the hedge fund industry in Asia?

Singapore and Hong Kong are the hedge fund capitals in Asia.  We have seen a contrast between the status of large and small hedge funds in Asia.  Many larger funds are struggling, with some shutting down, while smaller funds are increasingly doing well and delivering positive results to their investors.  Both groups, however, are looking for ways to increase efficiencies and reduce costs.

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Today we released our Best Practices for Managing IT Security Risks: A Hedge Fund Manager’s Guide, which we developed with eSentire.  Following is a sneak peek of the guidance included in the 10-page guidebook.  Assuming we have whet your appetite, you can download the entire guidebook here or attend our upcoming webinar on the topic (register here).

Managing Security Threats Facing Hedge Funds

Most successful cybersecurity attacks in today’s environment occur via three different methods: malware via email, malware via a website download (drive-by download or man-in-the-middle) and transfer via USB. In most cases, an employee will download an unsuspecting virus or open an unsuspecting email, triggering a malware attack that could open the door for further intrusion. Alternatively, a trend becoming more common is the threat of employees transferring information onto USB drives (whether knowingly or unknowingly), resulting in an internal security breach. Externally –and regardless of the intrusion method – attacks typically follow a similar path from start to finish. Global security firm Lockheed Martin has identified steps to what they call the “cyber kill chain.”

• Reconnaissance: Collecting information and learning about the internal structure of the host organization
• Weaponization: How the attacker packages the threat for delivery
• Delivery: The actual delivery of the threat (via email, web, USB, etc.)
• Exploitation: Once the host is compromised, the attacker can take advantage and conduct further attacks
• Installation: Installing the actual malware, for example
• Command & Control: Setting up controls so the attacker can have future access to the host’s network
• Actions or Objections: The attacker meets his/her goal (e.g. stealing information, gaining elevated privileges or damaging the host completely)

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