Tata Consultancy To Launch Securities Software Shortly

TCS will unveil its Integrated Brokering System (IBS), a software package for multiple operations in the securities market, soon.

This comes as a part of the software majors diversification plans aimed at tapping the securities-linked software business.

This is part of our attempts to corner a considerable portion of the growing securities market, L C Singh, senior vice-president of TCS, said. Depending on the growth of the market and a host of other factors, the package would fetch the company a gross revenue of nearly Rs 100 crore in the next couple of years, Singh said.

TCS has signed agreements with NSE and BSE for the supply of IBS, with appropriate modifications at an estimated cost of Rs 1 crore, he said. The back office of the UNIX-based package operates on Oracle platform. The composite package reduces risk management and would have enhanced utility for brokers intend to use WAN (wide area network) or LAN (local area network). It also facilitates trading on multi stock exchanges, Singh said adding every large brokerage firm will switch to this package over a period of time minimise risks.

However, the delay on the part of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in formulating guidelines on futures and options market has put on hold the TCS software sale to NSE and Sebi. The sale was a part of TCS plans to shift focus from banking and financial services software to the securities-linked businesses.

TCS was supposed to earn nearly Rs 60 crore from this contract which was crucial to the companys domestic business of nearly Rs 90 crore a year. Though NSE is willing to go ahead with proposal, it is awaiting specific guidelines from the L C Mathur Committee which is supposed to come out with specific guidelines for the options and futures trading, said a TCS official. TCS, has spent nearly 200 man-years in developing this product, which was set to become operational from January this year.

The software for futures and options trading is built on Tcam Systems used extensively in the United States. The company, which modified the software to suit the domestic requirements, has a country-wide licence for the use of this software, said the official.

TCS has hands-on experience in securities trading software with the supply of the software for Swiz depository. In that country, TCS also updated SEGA, the Swiss depository system, and Intersettle, the Swiss depository which deals in cross-border trading. The Swiss depository is operational round-the-clock with a time interface with the Swiss National Bank.

TCS bagged the Rs 100-crore contract overcoming the stiff challenge from Arthur Anderson, Singh said. The depository system perfected by TCS has surpassed the G-30 recommendations, he said.

TCS has also procured an order from the Singapore-based Standard Chartered Securities Group for developing a software to meet the groups requirements in Asian countries, Singh added.