The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Bahamian software provider believes “a very interesting marriage” will enable it to penetrate Europe and larger clients, and enable it to hire four-five more local staff within the next year.

Bruce Raine, president and founder of International Private Banking Systems (IPBS), the specialist software developer for the wealth management industry, told Tribune Business that its co-operation agreement with Italian-headquartererd contemporary, ObjectWay, would enable it to offer clients “a classier product”.

Mr Raine explained that the partnership, which will see IPBS and ObjectWay work together in the offshore, Central and South American markets, would allow them to offer private wealth management clients an integrated, ‘one-stop shop’ solution.

ObjectWay, through its eXimius subsidiary that it acquired from Thomson Reuters on year ago, provides clients with “a front end decision-making tool.

“But it doesn’t have the back end core piece that comes before it,” Mr Raine explained. “That’s what we provide to build the database before they interface, and our software.

“[ObjectWay’s] is really a decision-making tool. It does a lot of real time analysis, but needs a back end database to store the stuff.”

He told Tribune Business of the tie-up: “It’s a good fit. I think it’s a good deal. I think we’re going to be able to offer our clients a classier product, a more professional, in-depth management capability with the decision-making tool, and give our clients a better experience with a stronger platform.

“It’s going to make us larger, for sure, and be a very interesting marriage. We’re looking forward to it, and it seems a good thing to do. They have a big presence in Europe, and this may get us into Europe in some respects.

“I think this will get us into larger clients that are looking for that level of decision-making and can pay for it. They will open doors for us, and we’ll open doors for them. That’s what we hope. They [ObjectWay] have a more global group presence than we do.”

IPBS has been one of the Bahamas’ leading software and technology exporters, and the company now has 25 financial and private wealth clients spread across the globe.

Apart from a strong presence in the Caribbean, where its product is employed in the Bahamas, Barbados, Trinidad and the Turks & Caicos Islands, IPBS’s software also services institutions in Hong Kong and Vanuatu.

“We hope to do more in Panama now, and are in the US with Royal Bank in New York,” Mr Raine added. “We’re doing quite well with new clients, and there’s a deal I can’t disclose just yet, but we’re talking and just finishing an implementation.

“They’re [ObjectWay] a bit in Africa, and we’ll help them with the Caribbean, Latin America and Central America, and possibly down into South America. We’ll help them with that.”

And, as result of the partnership, he told Tribune Business: “I think we’ll certainly be increasing our staff. We’ll have to build the interface between our software and their software.

“It’s probably another four-five good technical jobs we’ll add over the next year.”

IPBS currently employs 12 staff in Nassau, and its relative success as a small business technology exporter highlights one way the Bahamas could go in developing new, high margin industries and markets.

Mr Raine, though, lamented the difficulties he and others in the sector faced in finding qualified Bahamians to fill these posts. “It’s hard to find developers,” he told Tribune Business.

“We just hired a new guy; he’s very good, but junior. We’re always looking for Bahamians interested in being in this market.”