ISAs and Legacy Systems

1999-04-09

ISAs are quietly posing a significant problem to the IT departments of financial services companies. There are several factors for this. First, ISAs are essentially a management vehicle with which a customer can manage a variety of investment types. The implication for IT is that legacy systems which could previously be run standalone now require to interoperate. Similarly, business processes, for example for savings and for investment customers, are having to be merged. Second, the complex rules governing ISAs were only available in draft form until very recently, hence organisations have had very little time to implement ISA facilities in their applications. Together these factors are causing much of grief, not to mention cost. It could be argued that the ISA situation will be beneficial, as it encourages companies to integrate their legacy applications and, in the process, provide a better overall service. However, what with the Year 2000 and the Euro, it is probably an additional headache they would have been glad to do without.

(First published 9 April 1999)