PreyerMiner – A Tool for Pruning Overgrown Datasets

...for use with SimCorp Dimension  

Large datasets – the biggest obstacles to high performance

The dependencies between different parameters in state-of-the-art portfolio management software have become a real headache, impacting productivity at many of our clients.

Preyer rose to this challenge by developing a tool to combat it, Preyer Miner. With Preyer Miner, dependencies can be extracted directly from the database in the SimCorp Dimension (SCD) asset management system and displayed as graphics. This allows our clients to organize their work more efficiently and our consultants to offer them a service that is one of a kind.  

Our client, one of the largest pension and asset administrators for Dutch pension funds, runs an end-to-end asset management service for Dutch institutional clients with total assets under management of more than €130 billion. Its Information Management department has been using SCD for 19 years. Dozens of system extensions had been implemented or were under development in order to meet market and regulatory requirements. At the same time, a number of projects had been launched to add new interfaces and functionality to the system.

The problem

This situation posed a number of challenges. To understand the size of the problem, it may help to imagine that the system had been adapted to complex market changes over two entire decades, and that all these modifications had been stored as data. A significant rise in regulatory requirements will be seen in the future, too, and continuous upgrades have been, and will continue to be, made to SCD as well. All in all, the complexity introduced in the past meant that the team could no longer see the big picture when it came to the system.

The solution

We provided the material needed to be able to decide with confidence to delete a large number of configurations. Our client only had to get involved in this to a very limited extent. In addition, we developed SCD configuration standards and drafted guiding principles that allow our client to optimize its SCD configuration, improve system performance and take a consistent approach to configuration going forward. We then presented the client with tools that help them avoid duplicate configurations and assign unique ownership. Last but not least, we reviewed our client’s change process and submitted a list of practical recommendations.

28% of all configurations were deleted from the SCD installation without impacting business operations.

If you have questions regarding the PreyerMiner, please feel free to contact our expert Jan-Paul Köster.