THE MAGAZINE OF THE CIOs AND IT DECISION MAKERS IN LUXEMBOURG - EBRC SPECIAL EDITION 2017/2018
Give life to your projects
Tailor-made project
IT transformation
start-up innovation
set up your business in europe
EBRC key numbers 22%
400+
€70 million
4x
50%
0 downtime
growth in 2016
of turnover in 2016
reduction of the carbon footprint of EBRC clients, thanks to the innovative “Green IT” programme
100%
green energy supply
clients entrust EBRC with the partial or full management of their ICT and their security
Best Workplace since 2014
100% Data Centres availability since 2000
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Data Centre locations in Europe: England, France, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg
70+
awards and certifications
40
FinTech clients
3
Tier-IV-certified Data Centres (including two Tier IV Fault Tolerant Constructed Facility)
190+ employees
latest awards We owe this recognition to the talent and commitment of our employees. Our teams of experts are always ready to listen to our Clients while focusing on innovation and excellence.
Sandrine Boucquey, Head of Human Resources & Legal
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This award rewards the experience we accumulated over the years. Our teams support our Clients in their migration to the cloud using a pragmatic approach that is optimised for low cost and thorough planning.
Philippe Dann, Head of Risk & Business Advisory
These awards recognise not only Luxembourg's ICT community but also and especially our clients. We owe them to the maturity of our solutions as well as to the expertise and commitment of our teams.
Thierry Taildeman, Director Client Service and Operations
EDITORIAl TABLE OF CONTENTS
TOWARDS A TRUSTED DIGITAL EUROPE
Cybersecurity: Our clients' risks are our risks
p.4
NS ALLIANCE, AUTHENTICATION AT YOUR FINGERTIPS
p.5
JAO, the guarantor of the electric comfort of 500 millions of European
p.8
The digital transformation – two sides of a coin
Security, an ally for your digital transformation p.10 KNEIP: sustainably integrating change p.12 Powered by EBRC: boosting client development and business hybridisation p.14 FinTech: Exceptional things are happening in Luxembourg
p.15
B2 Group’s “Multi-Bank Integrator” financial messaging platform, a solution “Powered by EBRC” p.19 EBRC strengthens its European position
p.21
Brexit: why bet on Luxembourg?
p.23
PingPong, a solution “Powered by EBRC”
p.25
is a MAKANA Magazine 153-155 B, rue du Kiem L-8030 Strassen Grand Duchy of Luxembourg T. +352 26 10 86 26, E. info@itnation.lu
We are witnessing an exponential acceleration of society. Technology is invading our everyday life: connected cars will soon be autonomous, medical care is increasingly assisted by artificial intelligence, there’s the Internet of Things, robotics, big data,... Right after the 3rd industrial revolution, the 4th is already coming, with digital technology as its catalyst. Very soon, robots will be everywhere, both the physical robots that we already know and the logical kind: algorithms. Under the 2017 presidency of Estonia, the European Union has accelerated its digital agenda: the "free movement of non-personal data" is becoming the "5th fundamental freedom", after the free movement of goods, capital, services and people. On top of this new framework, new cybersecurity measures are being taken to better protect EU citizens and businesses in the digital age. Unbridled digitalisation indeed has two closely linked sides: On one hand, it allows the economy to reinvent itself and bring about new innovative business models that are sometimes disruptive. It promotes agility and increases efficacy and efficiency. On the other hand, it also introduces new risks with brutal and immediate consequences, such as increasingly complex cybersecurity attacks, the leakage of personal or strategic data, or incidents like the failure of a Data Centre which recently grounded the flights of an entire airline.
Accelerate and protect, with trust The construction of the digital single market is a great opportunity for European companies. EBRC's ambition is to be a trusted European player in the management of sensitive information. And our name, "European Business Reliance Centre", reflects this desire. We are convinced that without Trust, there can be no digital transformation. The digital revolution cannot be one-sided. For this reason, our business model and our services offer integrate these two sides of the coin - agility and security - across the entire value chain, to better meet the expectations of our clients. Trust is the key to their success. We strive on our own level to build a digital Europe of Trust for the benefit of our clients. EBRC has and will continue to invest in the construction of an ecosystem built on win-win alliances and partnerships beyond national barriers, barriers that are destined to evaporate in the coming months. Our mission is not only to help our clients accelerate their business as a partner in their drive for innovation on the European market, but also to protect them. Yves Reding, CEO, EBRC
In collaboration with the Marketing Department, EBRC
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TAILOR-MADE PROJECT/EXPERT OPINION
Cybersecurity “Our clients' risks are our risks” Faced with the evolution of the cybercrime threat and taking into account the new requirements, economic actors managing sensitive data have to be able to rely on a trusted technological platform. A discussion on these challenges with Fabien Huraux, Chief Risk, Information Security and Data Protection Officer at EBRC.
How is the view on cybercrime threats evolving?
Fabien Huraux, Chief Risk, Information Security & Data Protection, EBRC
Recent widely publicised attacks enable us to become more aware of a real and permanent threat. Everyone now realises the risks they are exposed to if their data is taken hostage by ransomware or if their transactional systems are rendered unavailable. In response, European regulators are setting new requirements. They do so in particular through the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which will apply in less than a year to all players using the data of citizens residing in the European Union area, and whose goal is among other things to ensure that European personal data is properly identified and protected.
How does EBRC address these challenges? Our intention is to offer a “Trusted Platform” on which organisations can rely. Each client, by choosing to host their data with us, is guaranteed a high level of protection on the lower layers, in compliance with the highest standards of quality and safety. And beyond these lower layers, they can define a personalised security approach, because each player has a different type of risk exposure.
How do you approach risk management and the solutions to be implemented? The solutions can vary considerably, from the synchronous replication of data at remote sites to the implementation of a “Disaster Recovery Plan” with backup sites... As a rule, we always design the most appropriate response to ensure the best protection. At
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EBRC, our strength lies in being able to offer tailor-made solutions on all IT layers, from the infrastructure to the operating system, as well as via the applications under our control. Our teams ensure access to and monitoring of incoming and outgoing data systems and flows, they patch systems in case of a vulnerability, and alert you to suspicious behaviour.
How does EBRC deal with the evolving nature of the threats? We have our own CERT, an operational command centre that we use to cooperate with other actors. So we adopted a “security by design” approach. Our continuous improvement process allows us to implement preventive security approaches. A thorough risk analysis of our clients is a critical step because their risks are our own.
How do you help players comply with the GDPR? They are bound by the new obligations of the GDPR. These include documenting the use of data and how it is protected and conducting a “Privacy Impact Assessment”. We use our experience and expertise in the management of sensitive data to provide them with better control and protection for their own sensitive data. We ensure that our clients manage their risks more effectively, from the identification of key datasets to their processing and the design of their protection.
Tailor-Made project/CLIENT CASE
NS ALLIANCE, Authentication at your fingertips In partnership with EBRC, NS Alliance has developed a revolutionary authentication solution based on the biometric data of each individual. Among other things, it allows users to initiate payment transactions with just their fingerprint, while their phone stays in their pocket. This allows for simpler and faster transactions while guaranteeing a high level of security in retail, banking and even online operations. The solution is being progressively deployed internationally.
The players who stand out will be those who manage to propose a user experience of higher quality than what their competitors offer. A considerable number of businesses, therefore, strive to reduce the friction that can occur at the heart of a commercial relationship. How can you facilitate the checkout process without forcing the client to look for money or his payment card? How can you enable a secure online transaction without forcing the user to take out his token?
Pay without the need to search for your means of payment In the context of a project initiated within the framework of the e-commerce center for excellence in the Lille region in France, a group of actors has been working since 2006 on the development of simple, secure and easy-to-use solutions to simplify transactions. “We quickly realised we wanted to develop a solution that would allow us to carry out commercial transactions without the need to take out any means of payment, explains Cédric Hozanne, CEO of NS Alliance. The idea behind it was to end up with a simple process, like the handshake that allows us to seal a deal, without sacrificing the increasingly important high level of security.” Natural Security was born at the end of 2008 out of the merger between retail, banking and industry players, with the ambition to develop an innovative authentication solution to facilitate transactions in a few years. It was able to count on the support of its members,
which include BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, Safran Morpho, Oney Bank, Crédit Mutuel Arkéa, Carrefour Banque, Ingenico, Leroy Merlin and Groupe Auchan, to name only a few.
Biometrics and communication technology “We have combined the potential of biometrics with the opportunities offered by mid-range telecommunications technologies, adds the CEO. With our solution, paying is now as simple as putting your finger on a biometric authentication terminal.” The use of biometrics, the most personal data available to an individual, requires strict precautions. Within the framework of the protection of personal data (GDPR), NS Alliance has developed an innovative system allowing it to authenticate users without maintaining a central register of all of their biometric data. The centralised management of such data would be too risky. “We have developed an extremely secure mobile application through which each user records and retains his own data”, Cédric Hozanne explains.
Passing through the cash register with your finger, while the smartphone stays in your pocket
Cédric Hozanne, CEO, NS Alliance
“Paying is now as simple as putting your finger on a biometric authentication terminal.”
“The user has his biometric data with him, encrypted in our application, which is stored on his smartphone. We do not have access to that data. Our solution allows us to authenticate people we do not know.
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“From the beginning, our members' goal was to define a new standard. We want to widely deploy the technology in the months and years to come.”
“We have found in EBRC a player who shares our desire to innovate and to strengthen its services through solutions like ours.”
Based on two factors specific to the user, we can guarantee his authentication for the service provider who then proposes to carry out a transaction.” With the smartphone in his pocket, the user only has to put his finger on a reader. He is thus located in the right place and his data stored in the application ensures that it is indeed the right person. Behind the scenes, the NS Alliance solution checks whether the authentication factors match and confirms that it is the right person, according to the principles in this area. “Our solution's only purpose is the user authentication. The resulting transaction does not depend on us, but on our client. The possible applications, therefore, are vast. We can easily use the solution to initiate a payment at the cash register, or to open a door in the context of better access management”, adds Cédric Hozanne.
A strategic partnership with EBRC
“In implementing this solution, EBRC acts like an entrepreneur in the project.” 6
This “Powered by EBRC” solution is distributed as a SaaS based in the Tier IV Data Centres of EBRC, the European leader in sensitive data management. In addition to being hosted by EBRC, the Natural Security solution is operated and fully managed by the IT expert and support PFS. “From the beginning, our members' goal was to define a new standard. We want to widely deploy the technology in the months and years to come”, highlights Cédric Hozanne. The association's model, based on open governance, makes it easy to welcome new members, even if they compete with the existing ones. Sharing technology should be even faster as a result. “But to meet the challenge, we have to convince both those who propose the transaction and the end
users of the advantages. And to do so, we need to provide strong guarantees. It is both a matter of protecting and managing sensitive data and of guaranteeing critical transactions. We need to gain the trust of those who implement the solution just as much as the trust of the end users, says the CEO. For this purpose, we have developed strong strategic partnerships. The software solution, designed in partnership with Trust Designer, without a central biometric database, responds by design to the issues of data protection. On the other hand, we had to guarantee the highest availability of the service. Ease of access is essential for the adoption of our tool. The partnership with EBRC, which operates the solution, gives us a high level of certification (ISO27001, ISO20000, ISO27018), very high quality infrastructures (three Tier-IV-certified Data Centres), protection against cyberthreats and 24/7 availability, which is essential for this kind of activity.” According to NS Alliance, it is a real partnership between the association and EBRC, rather than a client-provider relationship. “In implementing this solution, EBRC acts like an entrepreneur in the project. We sought a partner who believes in our solution and who is able to help us deploy it by taking into consideration the requirements of this model. We have found a player in Luxembourg who shares our desire to innovate and to strengthen our services through solutions like the one we now offer together”, adds Cédric Hozanne.
A rapidly adopted technology The solution is now mature. The first proof of concept dates back to early 2013. Back then, the solution was deployed for six months, with the authorisation of the
CNIL, in shops (Auchan, Leroy-Merlin, Flunch, Decathlon, small retailers,...) and three banks in the French cities of Lille and Angoulême. 1000 users were able to carry out transactions without having to take out any means of payment. “The feedback was excellent, which confirmed our approach. We found that the technology works, that it is appealing and ergonomic, but also that biometrics are not scary. An additional advantage is that the solution is effective and attractive regardless of age or sex. It has even been met with increased interest among the elderly, who adopted it quickly.” The solution responds to regulatory issues such as the requirements defined by the PSD2 directive. “The other advantage lies in the fact that a single application allows users to access the services of all the partners who have chosen to work with us”, explains Cédric Hozanne.
Deployment on a large scale with an international scope
in Bucharest, and in several large stores in France. On the other hand, the solution also meets the needs for strong authentication outside of brick and mortar shops. For example, it allows you to authenticate yourself when carrying out transactions online, without the need to enter anything. “Banks can simplify access to web banking while enhancing security. The standards we implemented meet the reinforced requirements defined by the European Banking Authority (EBA). Our own and the EBA's goal is to enhance safety while improving the user experience”, summarises Cédric Hozanne.
“The technology works, it is appealing and ergonomic, and we found that biometrics are not scary.”
NS Alliance is also talking about other major announcements in the coming months. Deployment is expected to accelerate. The solution is going viral because users, who are satisfied with the results, are looking forward to seeing it implemented by other merchants.
Today, NS Alliance has embarked on a mission to deploy the solution on a larger scale. In the Lille region, two places have already been equipped with it since January: the EDHEC Business School and the headquarters of the bank ONEY, which both totalised more than 2000 transactions since the beginning of the year. The solution was also implemented in San José, California, where it is used to enable access to a university restaurant. In the coming weeks, the association will launch the solution in the restaurants of several companies. Additional deployments are also being considered in Romania, in stores of the Auchan Group
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TAILOR-MADE PROJECT/CLIENT CASE
JAO, the guarantor of the electric comfort of 500 millions of European JAO is a Joint Auction Office for European cross-border transmission capacity of electricity. With an annual turnover of 2 billion euros and a very specific activity, JAO is facing an increasing demand for IT services. To respond to its financial and operational challenges, JAO trusts the IT services provider EBRC.
A merger for a single energy market across Europe
Frederik Johnsen, COO, JAO
In 2015, following the initiative of the respective shareholders and strongly supported by the European Commission and European regulators who welcomed the further increase of harmonisation and efficiency across Europe, JAO (Joint Allocation Office) appeared as the natural response to the need for one single auction platform to buy cross-border capacity for electricity. Therefore, JAO is born from the merger of CASC (Capacity Allocation Service Company), for Western and Southern Europe and CAO (Central Allocation Office), for Central and Eastern Europe. This merger was thus synonym of presence across the whole Continent for the Company. As a matter of fact, JAO became a major trade platform on the European energy market. Its shareholders, who are Transmission System Operators (TSOs), own the Electricity grids in their respective countries; for example, RTE in France, CREOS in Luxembourg,...
A trustful partnership
“We are an invisible operation.”
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Already collaborating with CASC since 2014, EBRC was the trustful partner for its ambitious merger with CAO. “Our collaboration with EBRC, our highly professional hosting partner, helped make the decision for keeping the offices in Luxembourg instead of Germany, for instance”, says Frederik Johnsen, COO at JAO. In the same state of mind, its new IT tool, which had to support the new requirements and
bring together the ones from both previous companies according to their specific constraints, had to be hosted by EBRC. “Working with EBRC gave us some flexibility in defining our new requirements. It did not have to be a specific technology (Windows or Linuxbased for instance). EBRC offers a wide scope of solutions”, explains Frederik Johnsen. With twenty-nine people in the office, and soon thirty-four, JAO leans on EBRC professional IT teams and its full Managed Services. “With only a few IT persons in-house, our business generates 2 billion euros a year. We can run a small and very efficient operation internally because the necessary resources are outsourced to EBRC. EBRC Managed Services is something that really works”, adds Frederik Johnsen. “EBRC is proud to count JAO as one of its strongest partner. This international client is continually pushing the boundaries of Service Level Management, on-line reporting, availability and PCI DSS Security. Thus, as true European believer, JAO is a beacon for a brilliant journey that we are excited to be a part of”, declares Ludovic Gilles, Head of Sales BeLux of EBRC.
The hip factor JAO’s work is for the general public an invisible operation. Its activity has to be operational, flawlessly and constantly. A failure would impact many stakeholders on the energy market and they would immediately be put on the spotlight. “As
“EBRC can understand what we need and react on it quickly. The people working at EBRC go beyond their job description. They think out of the box, they find solutions that work for us, that are sized for us”, says Frederik Johnsen.
per someone’s hip, as long as everything works smoothly, you never think about it. But as soon as something goes wrong, you notice it immediately”, smiles Frederik Johnsen. Indeed, selling rights to transport electricity across Europe is a high-skilled and complex mechanism that requires reactivity and precise planning through a reliable IT system. The cross-border exchanges attain more than 3.504.000 terawatts/year and the actual value of the electricity crossing the borders reaches around three hundred million euros per day. It must be dealt carefully. “Because we operate 24/7, our IT system efficiency must be perfectly running 365 days a year. For us, it is vital to have a partner like EBRC who constantly guarantees high-level services.”
Agility and security to reach tomorrow’s objectives Together, JAO and EBRC are reaching out for new capacities and new opportunities through European issues. Currently JAO’s aim is to cover all the remaining European borders. The auction office can count on EBRC scalability and “think out of the box” corporate culture to find solutions that size its growing business and its challenges. “EBRC can understand what we need and react on it quickly. The people working at EBRC go beyond their job description. They think out of the box, they find solutions that work for us, that are sized for us”, says Frederik Johnsen. By working in collaborative spirit, EBRC makes sure that everything runs flawlessly
for JAO and its IT structure but also accompanies the auction office on its new projects. As per the announcement from the European regulators, in October 2017, to name a European “Single Allocation Platform”, JAO’s objective is to become this one and only Single Allocation Platform. And the Company would be the natural choice considering that today it already covers a large part of Europe. For EBRC, this would mean new necessities and new responsibilities in terms of IT infrastructure. “In this scenario, we would have to scale up our operations having more borders and TSOs joining our platform”, predicts the COO. To ensure a robust and sustainable environment for the company and since JAO is operating in a financial environment, though not being regulated by the Luxembourg financial regulator, JAO wants to ensure that its IT provider has all required skills in-house. Therefore the EBRC support PFS Status is much valued.
“We can run a small and very efficient operation internally because the necessary resources are outsourced to EBRC.”
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IT Transformation/EXPERT OPINION
Security, an ally for your digital transformation Caught between constantly changing regulations and the requirement to maintain the trust of their users, companies who want to endure at the heart of a digital economy have to think thoroughly about protecting their data, processes and applications. EBRC deploys an approach that integrates security right from the beginning of any transformation project, to enable its customers to go further and faster.
Ludovic Gilles, Head of Sales Be/Lux, EBRC
A few years back in our industry, the watchword was IT optimisation. A few initiatives relating to “IT Transformation” have sprouted out of this desire to become even more efficient. From a business perspective, IT was considered as a cost that was always too high and that required continuous optimisation. Consolidation, standardisation and industrialisation were what CIOs and their IT teams spent their days on. The outsourcing of IT, which aims to meet these challenges, has gained more ground in Luxembourg. Since then, the main concerns have evolved. We went from an era of IT optimisation to an era of digital transformation. IT gradually ceases to be regarded as a mere support function and is becoming a driving force for business development.
“Today, any kind of IT Transformation project stems from a desire to continue developing the business.” 10
Being in control of your environment Today, any kind of IT Transformation project stems from a desire to continue developing the business, to improve the performance of processes, to achieve a better user experience, or to develop new services. Companies have no choice but to move forward. With new players always trying to catch up, companies have to reinvent themselves constantly. Yet this does not mean they should heedlessly embark on transformation projects.
It is essential for a company to maintain control over its system environment and even more so over its information. As guarantor of information security and governance, the CIO has to remain a key player in the digital transformation. While improving the quality of IT services, he has to provide the best possible support to the professional teams and their increasingly numerous and diverse business needs. In the financial sector, the major concern of companies today is the digitalisation of the bank, its products, and its client channels. Indeed, the new generation of customers expects banking services to be accessible anytime and anywhere. To offer such an experience, banks have to streamline their often obsolete, inflexible, and uncompetitive processes and systems. They have to be able to exploit the nowadays existing wide variety of channels. The digital medium should ultimately enable banks to retain clients and potentially increase their sales. On the other hand, it has to enable process optimisation and cost reductions, thanks to the possibilities automation affords. At the industry level, the fourth revolution is underway. It is characterised by the arrival of connected objects. This technology, which combines sensors and data analysis, can improve the quality and productivity of the production lines. Machine-to-machine interaction has a lot of potential
for automation and optimisation. Furthermore, connected objects can enhance the interaction between the individual and the organisation, as well as the knowledge about the customer. Every industry faces a growing need for mobility. Agility is also an important concern when it comes to accelerating development and ensuring compliance under constantly changing regulations.
Trust rises from compliance and data protection The need to be compliant and to ensure the security of IT services and information are the common denominator in all these digitisation projects. Since its inception, EBRC has developed a strong expertise in the management of sensitive data, ensuring the highest level of protection and availability for its customers. The answers to security issues in our more open, more interconnected and therefore more vulnerable world, moved from the protection of systems to the security of the data itself, its applications and processes. Business stakeholders first and foremost have to ensure trust, which is essential to the success of any digital transformation. EBRC has made data protection its area of expertise. As such, in order to ensure trust, we look at each digital transformation in the light of a security strategy including assessment of risk, security tools and specific priorities worth investing in to guarantee trust. In the development of an international business, regulatory issues on their own can be extremely complex, with modalities oscillating between standards shared by all countries and the specifics of each jurisdiction. Approaching the digital transformation in this way, while ensuring optimal data protection and compliance with all regulations requires the help of specialists, both at the technical level to develop appropriate architectures, implement data encryption or monitor operations, and also at governance and risk management levels. EBRC teams have assembled and developed a unique transversal expertise including skills, methods and tools to better support customers in
their transformation while implementing safeguards to ensure trust. We have an unrivalled offer to address the key issues of any IT transformation, ranging from our certified Tier IV Data Centres to specialised system engineers. And it is now pooled to better serve a growing number of customers.
Security as a transformation facilitator Our mission is to ensure that security is no longer perceived as an obstacle to the digital transformation but as an enabler of future development. According to EBRC and to achieve this goal, security has to be taken into consideration by design, from the beginning of each project. The players who will endure the digital economy will be the ones who manage to ensure the trust of the final user. Our awards - including the “Best Cloud Transformation Methods 2016” award that we received from EuroCloud Luxembourg and Europe - testify to this culture of excellence. EBRC has seen its approach become a trusted label: “Powered by EBRC” granted by the IT expert to its customers who have chosen to rely on its services and the guarantees it offers in terms of data protection in order to present their own solutions “as-a-service”.
“The need to be compliant and to ensure the security of IT services and information are the common denominator in all these digitalisation projects.”
“Our mission is to ensure that security is no longer perceived as an obstacle to the digital transformation but as an enabler of future development.”
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IT Transformation/CLIENT CASE
KNEIP: sustainably integrating change In 23 years, KNEIP has lived through several major digital transformations. Today, the FinTech company has adopted an open IT architecture and a flexible IT infrastructure, whose implementation and management were entrusted to EBRC. Thanks to these efforts, the company, which is involved in the management of financial data, is ready to confront the technological and regulatory revolutions to come.
Lee Godfrey, CEO, KNEIP
“EBRC allows us to focus on our core business and applications. We know that we have a trustful partner who is able to scale and meet the demands of our business.” 12
23 years ago, KNEIP mostly juggled with impressive amounts of paper. The company founded by Bob Kneip has always responded to the needs of the investment funds industry. At the time, it supported companies in their efforts to meet legal obligations, by offering distribution channels for their official publications and ensuring the legally required publishing of their general assemblies. “Digital was just a dream for most, we were living in a world of print”, says Lee Marshall, Head of IT Operations & Infrastructure of KNEIP. Since then, the world has changed, and KNEIP brilliantly managed to take the digital turn, again and again. “Digital has always been key for KNEIP and happened early on in our life as we continued to grow our business within Europe and also outside.” KNEIP quickly realised that its development would depend on the commodity that financial data represents and on its own ability to exploit it. “To ensure sustainable development in a rapidly changing environment, it is important to be able to project into the future, starting with a good understanding of the trends driving the current market, explains Lee Godfrey, CEO of KNEIP. By becoming aware of the growing need for information of companies in the fund industry, we could consistently adapt our IT systems in order to process an increasing volume of data and to deliver information more quickly, in a wide variety of media, while ensuring its high quality...”
One of the largest suppliers in the world for fund-related information In 2008, KNEIP contacts Bloomberg. The Luxembourg hub wishes to deliver
information on its investment fund customers to the media company. To convince this influential player, KNEIP offers to provide information that can immediately be released. Until then, Bloomberg had to verify the information it received in heterogeneous tables from fund managers, prior their broadcast. 8 or 10 days could pass before the release of these transmitted data. “Internally, we had implemented processes and information systems to check the validity of the transmitted information directly, in order to use it immediately”, recalls Lee Godfrey. It did not take long to convince Bloomberg and then other media companies to trust KNEIP. The company quickly started allowing its customers to upload their data via a simple portal. The FinTech Company then took care of its verification, while making the effort to automate the processing methods over time to improve efficiency. “In this way, KNEIP has become one of the largest information providers in the whole world in terms of fund data for Bloomberg”, says Lee Godfrey.
Combining automation and diversification Based on the data itself and on its processing, the company diversified its services to make things easier for the actors of the fund industry. “As the number of services provided along with the volume and diverse reach for these products grew, we have always needed to remain cognizant to ensure their automation and the high level of accuracy and control for the contained data. It is vital not only for the operations side of KNEIP but most importantly for the clients, while ensuring their own corporate brand
and image remain true”, says Lee Marshall. Full control of the data eases its use for different purposes. “Using the high quality data we receive from our customers, we can respond easily to a wide variety of needs. For example, we have greatly facilitated the production of KIIDs - Key Investor Information Documents - which are legally required for each UCITS fund. The use of our services in this area allows fund promoters to accelerate the commercialisation of their products and to ensure compliance”, adds Lee Godfrey. KNEIP's dynamic management now makes it possible to automatically produce a new KIID if the change of the values linked to the fund makes it necessary. “Try creating a document manually and you could do this within a few days. Try creating thousands of these and then updating just a few data elements and you will be there for a few months! Our system makes this process efficient, very quick and manageable”, says Lee Marshall. Today, KNEIP is also able to meet the requirements of PRIIPs Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products - new directive that disrupted the insurance industry.
Focus on value creation To reach such a level of data management and to facilitate the production of such a wide variety of quality documents, KNEIP had to develop a high-performance system environment. “Nearly four years ago, we embarked on a large scale project to completely rethink our approach to managing the IT landscape from the bottom up. This was the only way to ensure we were able to keep up with the constant changing demands on our IT teams”, says Lee Marshall. This transformation was first thought of in terms of data governance, including the matter of quality, safety and identification. Then, they had to rethink the infrastructure. “The management of infrastructure is not our core business. The infrastructure layer is essential to our operations to the extent that it underpins all our processes, but it is not where our value is created. So we chose to outsource its management to EBRC”, adds Lee Marshall. As an IT service provider, a support PSF and a specialist in sensitive data management, EBRC handles and adapts the entire IT infrastructure for
KNEIP according to its actual needs. “EBRC allows us to focus on our core business and applications. We know that we have a trustful partner who is able to scale and meet the demands of our business, continues Lee Marshall. Leveraging the skilled resources across both companies and the infrastructure platform, EBRC allows us to provide strong guarantees in terms of security, service availability and quality.”
Lee Marshall, Head of IT Operations & Infrastructure, KNEIP
A sustainable architecture to support a changing strategy “The heart of our clients' business is investment advice and risk management, but certainly not producing reports or calculating NAVs, explains Lee Godfrey. Through our services, and starting with a set of high quality data sources, we automate the production of key information, indicators and various documents. Starting with the fund, analysing its lifecycle, we strive to constantly improve the support we provide to companies for their business and regulatory needs.” For KNEIP, a digital transformation is a matter of looking at long-term opportunities to offer its customers an optimal experience. “With our approach and on open architecture, we are able to adapt to the opportunities of the future from a client, technology or regulatory perspective without the headaches and hurdles of the past”, adds Lee Marshall. In this environment, an open architecture is the key to surviving and adapting quickly. “Everything is constantly changing and we need to adapt our strategy to meet these demands. We do not want to have IT as brakes on progress but as a catalyst to allow our business to meet these demands while ensuring the platform is able to solution some of the upcoming industry challenges”, says Lee Marshall.
“With our approach and on open architecture, we are able to adapt to the opportunities of the future from a client, technology or regulatory perspective.”
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START-UP & INNOVATION/EXPERT OPINION
“Powered by EBRC”: boosting client development and business hybridisation In Europe, EBRC has established itself as the leading player in the management of sensitive information. The Luxembourg company has deployed a unique ecosystem of trust.
Jean-François Hugon, Head of Marketing, EBRC
“We support companies at the heart of their digital transformation, in the implementation and management of their IT environment with our IT services based on our Tier IV Data Centres, explains Jean-François Hugon, Head of Marketing at EBRC. Our expertise integrates regulatory issues and the highest standards in terms of quality, integrity, security and confidentiality. This expertise is now a valuable catalyst for our clients wishing to deploy innovative digital services while benefiting from a very high level of services and an extremely short time-to-market.”
Addressing business more directly EBRC meets the needs of international stakeholders who want to further develop their business in Europe. The company supports large accounts in their digital transformation process as well as Startups or FinTech companies developing new digital services. “All these players have high standards regarding the protection of their data and the availability of their operational systems, often in a strict and restrictive regulatory environment.” In the context of digitalisation, companies look for turnkey solutions that meet their needs. “Our clients who look for solutions to digitalise their business have to ensure their service provider’s quality. The “Powered by EBRC” label provides the first level of guarantees, certifying that the service is hosted by EBRC”, states Jean-François Hugon.
A catalogue of “Trusted” solutions The “Powered by EBRC” programme provides an answer to these concrete expectations. The catalogue is made up of selected solutions driven by EBRC clients.
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“These solutions rely on our infrastructure and expertise. The goal of “Powered by EBRC” is to kick off a virtuous circle by helping our partners convince their own clients more easily, continues Jean-François Hugon. The label reflects services with high added value and high levels of availability and data protection. We want to make it easier to identify our clients and partners using our services, which thereby automatically inherit EBRC's built-in guarantees.”
A win-win approach The solutions “Powered by EBRC” process sensitive data in the areas of FinTech, health, artificial intelligence and space. “This programme reinforces relationships we already have with our clients to create strong partnerships. We are aware that their success contributes to our own growth. “Powered by EBRC” aims to support them, to boost their OPEX-centric business solutions. Our collaboration enables them to better respond to specific requests from major customers requiring for instance the implementation of dedicated environments that provide all the necessary guarantees. Through this approach, it is possible to convince new businesses to rely on our trusted ecosystem. We promote the hybridisation of our clients' information systems by enriching them with solutions that are certified and ready to use.”
START-UP & INNOVATION/EXPERT OPINION
FinTech: Exceptional things happen in Luxembourg Nasir Zubairi, CEO of the Luxembourg House of Financial Technology (LHoFT), and EBRC discuss the opportunities and challenges to make Luxembourg an efficient international FinTech hub.
Nasir, you've been in Luxembourg for several months now. What made the biggest impression on you when you discovered this country?
The first time I came to Luxembourg was in 2015. I was invited to speak at the ICT Spring. Back then, what I saw of the country was mainly my hotel and the conference centre. But at that time, I already picked up on the attitude of the people I had the opportunity to meet and which, in my opinion, is quite unique. I immediately understood how Luxembourg could be a great place to develop a business, because incredible things can be done here. Simply because the local players, instead of just wanting to grow their own business, want to and are able to collaborate and do something great for the whole country. I've never seen something like that anywhere else. This undoubtedly explains how a country of 500'000 inhabitants managed to become the second biggest investment fund centre in the world in just 20 years. It also explains why, in so many areas, Luxembourg has achieved remarkable results. This would not possible without the people supporting these businesses and even the entire national economy.
In which way can this community help make Luxembourg into a FinTech hub that matters? To achieve this, we have to be able to rely on a committed community. It is the people here, all working towards the same goals, who allow us to do incredible
things. I am always impressed by the ease of bringing these players together at a table, and by the commitment and availability of the CEOs at the heart of our joint actions. I lived in the biggest financial centres of the world, in London, New York, Tokyo and Singapore, but I have never felt a spirit of community similar to the one that prevails in Luxembourg. There is a real desire to do great things together. In London or New York, people work for their own interests, not for the United Kingdom or the New York financial centre as a whole. There is a great openness among the business leaders here, and great humility, little ego, and a real willingness to learn in order to move forward. This readiness to learn in a changing world is crucial for the success of what we seek to accomplish.
Nasir Zubairi, CEO, Luxembourg House of Financial Technology (LHoFT)
Luxembourg had a reputation for being relatively conservative. How did things evolve in this regard? Everything changes. Historically, financial services around the world have grown by recruiting the brightest minds on the planet. Banks recruited the best students from the most prestigious universities. This is no longer the case. These brilliant minds are now turning to Google, PayPal or Amazon. Banks are no longer attractive. And they took more time than others to adapt, because of a strong culture within them. Banking players think they know what they have to do and how to do it... They think they know everything. But they are mistaken. We have to be humble, ask questions, even
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“The focus is on doing, rather than talking. Luxembourg is a place where everything is possible, incredible things are already happening.�
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question ourselves and, above all, be ready to learn. I personally am 42Â years old and I still learn something new every day. It is with this readiness to learn that Luxembourg will be able to make progress, innovate, and do great things by mobilising all of its players.
When you took office, your speech emphasised the importance of fighting the fear of change. In the face of the risks and opportunities associated with the digital transformation of the economy that we are witnessing, are finance players becoming more open? I think there is still some fear. But over the past year, the mind-set of leaders has changed dramatically. Last summer, one particular idea was recurring regularly in the speeches of those working in the management and distribution of funds. Many said they don't carry a lot of weight, being in Luxembourg, because this financial centre is only seen as an operational one, and the decisions are being made elsewhere in the world. I think that this kind of speech was an excuse to cover up this fear of change. But things did change since then. The projects that have been initiated are the best proof for how Luxembourgbased teams are making themselves heard through group initiatives. An incredible community is revealing itself in Luxembourg. I am face to face with it each and every day. It speaks its mind with enthusiasm, regarding the initiatives implemented by the government, like the LHoFT itself, including on social networks. I think, given the tokens of
support I receive, that I have never been so popular in my entire life (laughs).
What goals should be pursued in financial services by capitalising on this community? The main objective is to create a real international FinTech centre here in Luxembourg. The goal is certainly not to be the biggest, or number one. Because basically, it is not worth that much to be first. Of course, if you happen to be the first, so much the better. But the main idea is to implement projects, to allow new services to launch from Luxembourg. The focus is on doing, rather than talking. And in this area, Luxembourg is a place where everything is possible. Incredible things are already happening.
Can you give us an example? With the current push to put the blockchain to use in the investment fund industry, we now have solutions that are already operational and that have been created in Luxembourg. The FundsDLT platform, which provides a more efficient and cost-effective way to invest in investment funds, is a good example. Transactions have been made thanks to this platform based on blockchain technology. It's a first. Others around the world have tried to do similar things, probably with more resources and by mobilising armies of consultants, without success. The fact is that in Luxembourg we have done it in a pragmatic and effective way. We did it calmly, but effectively. We must be proud of this, and able to value it. LHoFT has to play its role
“There is a great openness among the business leaders here, and great humility, and a real willingness to learn in order to move forward.”
at this level and be the mouthpiece of these initiatives. I think that, in general, Luxembourg does not sufficiently emphasise its exceptional achievements in this area. Around the world, it is not yet common knowledge that Luxembourg is the leader in the field of satellites with SES. And few people know that the RTL media group originates in Luxembourg. We do incredible things here. We have to make that known.
What do you see as the great opportunities for Luxembourg? Its ability to do great things has to enable the country to attract other players and invite them to take advantage of this exceptional environment. This attractiveness is real. We see it through the Brexit lens, which is a huge opportunity for Luxembourg. According to KPMG research that looks at the various announcements of London players who have chosen to open a new EU hub or augment an existing one to ensure access to the single market, Luxembourg has received the largest number of votes. 21 players showed their preference for Luxembourg, 14 favoured Dublin, 8 Germany and 4 France. People are choosing Luxembourg! And this trend will continue. In the longer term, Brexit also holds another opportunity for Luxembourg. International start-ups in the US, Asia and the Middle East are targeting the European market, one of the most attractive in the world. Now, with Brexit, London no longer belongs to the European Union. It's as simple as that. And Luxembourg can play its hand to attract these innovative players.
What are the relevant strengths of Luxembourg? In Luxembourg, you can do business in English. You do not have to practice Dutch, German or French to be understood by the regulator, or to draw up contracts. Here, everything can be done in English, just like in Dublin, for that matter. This may appear like a small detail compared to infrastructure issues and the need for good connectivity, but in reality, it is crucial. People know that there are great skills, high-quality infrastructure, here and elsewhere. But being able to easily get on with day to day business in English is an important differentiating element.
We talked about the importance of attracting start-ups. The other big challenge lies in the transformation of the existing financial players. How do you approach that? Even in large firms, the culture is changing. Just look at how they develop innovative projects now. In the case of LHoFT, we can count on 13 partners, major institutions that are committed and on our side. This shows that there is a real desire to change. And this is also reflected in the collaboration with start-ups, and in the in-house development of innovative projects. At this level, Luxembourg may be yet lagging behind other financial centres. But things are changing quickly. The will to change is now there. And Luxembourg, a very agile country, can transform itself faster than others, even if there are still some barriers to get rid of.
“The will to change is now there. And Luxembourg, a very agile country, can transform itself faster than others.”
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Significant regulatory barriers are falling, particularly regarding the location of the financial data of the players established in Luxembourg. What are your views on these reforms?
“Luxembourg is the only country to have seven Tier IV Data Centres, three of which belong to EBRC. It was on the basis of this infrastructure […] that Luxembourg was able to become one of the most important financial centres in the world.”
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They show that things here can move very quickly. I see these measures as very positive. Start-ups are an essential part of the FinTech ecosystem that we want to develop in Luxembourg. However, all start-ups use cloud services. The regulations which were in force in the past forced them to use systems hosted in Luxembourg. In the negotiations to convince these companies to join Luxembourg, that was an important limiting factor. So I see these reforms as a very positive example of change for Luxembourg. And many supporting PSF players, such as EBRC, whose business will also be influenced by these transformations, adopt the right attitude towards these changes. Beyond the risks, they see the opportunities. They have chosen to adapt their strategy, to move forward in order to build this FinTech hub.
In this environment, what are the advantages of Luxembourg's IT service providers? They are numerous. The license as a supporting PSF (Professional of the Financial Sector) for example is an important asset. For start-ups, it is a guarantee of credibility when they need to convince financial players. A bank, as a business, needs guarantees when it chooses to carry out transformation projects involving start-ups. A financial institution has to ensure that its partner can support it over time, that it is sufficiently robust. By developing partnerships with supporting PSFs, which have specific requirements in terms of technological standards and due diligence processes, it is easier to reassure a financial institution. There is no equivalent to Luxembourg's supporting PSF status elsewhere in Europe. This is in any case one of the means available to start-ups to ensure their credibility.
What do you think about Luxembourg's IT infrastructure? It is exceptional. Luxembourg is the only country to have seven Tier IV Data Centres, three of which belong to EBRC. London has just one, like Frankfurt, while Paris has none. It was on the basis of this infrastructure and a unique pragmatism that Luxembourg was able to become one of the most important financial centres in the world. And it has also become a centre of excellence in the field of data hosting. I have discovered that gaming players such as Valve, who are even more dependent on technology than financial services, have also chosen Luxembourg to serve the European market, and I am very impressed. Gaming companies can connect 30 million users simultaneously while guaranteeing a high-quality experience through Luxembourg’s infrastructure. This is, in my opinion, a marketing argument that must be put forward to highlight this technological expertise. But this expertise, of course, can also be used to convince financial service providers. However, I think that while technology is necessary and has to rely on high-quality infrastructure, technology alone is not the main issue in financial services. Technology is secondary, and comes after marketing. Today, with the various players that are now involved, like EBRC, one of the main challenges remains to better sell Luxembourg. On that front, I think we can do better.
START-UP & INNOVATION/CLIENT CASE
B2 Group’s “Multi-Bank Integrator” financial messaging platform, a solution “Powered by EBRC” The B2 Multi-Bank Integrator has been developed to smooth exchanges between international business players and their banks. Since 2009, B2 Group’s founders, Phil Boland, CEO and Marc Bink, CTO, have brought their expertise to bear on the traditionally heavy and expensive connectivity solutions that are at the heart of banking integration systems. Thus the Multi-Bank platform facilitates payments, securities, and FX transaction and reporting automation for banks, insurers, third-party fund administrators, and corporates.
The cash and securities management “Holy Grail” Accurate, real-time data about cash and securities positions, as payments and trades are made is the “Holy Grail” for corporate treasurers, asset managers and insurers managing their own or their clients’ cash and securities. This is a rather complex task when managing hundreds of accounts with dozens of transaction and depository banks around the world. Moreover, these payments and reporting processes must be fully secure and reliable. B2’s Multi-Bank Integrator delivers the solution, via a secure, robust, easy to install, easy-to-use, one-stop-shop platform for automated payments, securities trades and statement processing. This STP automated payment processing system gives real-time on-screen visibility of payments and bank statements across all subsidiaries. Users can view positions in a variety of ways (e.g. by bank, account, subsidiary, or territory), including tools to keep manage complex operations such as cash pooling. Multi-Bank Integrator plugs into existing systems, such as ERP, Life or TMS platforms, to provide a secure interface with clients’ and partners’ networks. There
is a complete audit trail, and regulatory reporting is streamlined. Valuable realtime alerts may also be generated, to remind users of issues such as failed payments or statements not arriving on time. Multi-Bank is an adaptation of B2’s proven GTS banking integration platform. Clients can either host the Multi-Bank software on their own servers or choose a SaaS cloud solution. In either case, substantial processing is provided by B2 using EBRC’s services, particularly the standardisation and consolidation of data coming from the various correspondent banks.
Phil Boland, CEO, B2 Group
B2 Group chose EBRC as their trusted IT partner to host their solution and software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications. They know they can rely on EBRC expertise and services to focus on their core business. “We work in genuine partnership with EBRC’s expert teams, sharing and exploring together the business requirements of our clients, says Phil Boland. This symbiotic relationship is central to the early success of our solution.”
Designed for international business There has been significant interest from across the Luxembourg financial sector, and players in the cross-border
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life insurance industry have been early adopters. Wealins (former Foyer International, the wealth management arm Luxembourg’s Foyer Group) started to use Multi-Bank Integrator shortly after B2 began working with EBRC, about a year ago.
Marc Binck, CTO, B2 Group
“We work in genuine partnership with EBRC’s expert teams, sharing and exploring together the business requirements of our clients.”
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“Wealins has an open architecture policy, and this means new relationships may need to be established with several banks each time a client is on-boarded”, explains Marc Binck. Secure, quick flexibility is required given that these demanding clients generally have complex financial affairs, often using several different banks for cash management and asset safekeeping. “We integrate with each of Wealins’ banks in a different manner, but link up to Wealins’ internal systems via a single pipe”, adds Phil Boland. Information from different depository banks in Luxembourg and elsewhere is normalised and consolidated into a single console giving up-to-the-minute information. This portal provides a seamless overview of cash and securities positions, facilitating efficient portfolio management, regulatory reporting, client communication, and more. “Clients are more demanding than ever in today’s low interest environment. Regulators also want more and are less forgiving of errors. Being in control of the data helps financial companies manage these complex market and compliance requirements”, says Marc Binck. “Following from this success with Wealins we have started working with many other insurers to provide their banking connectivity”, comments Phil Boland. Indeed the CEO predicts that at least 80% of Luxembourg’s international wealth management life insurance businesses may be using Multi-Bank Integrator in the coming years. And whilst Multi-Bank originally catered for large corporates, banks and fund administration firms are now also coming on board. “Right now, hundreds of banks are part of our community. We want it to be thousands! From Luxembourg we can compete with the biggest kids on the block and EBRC gives us the
hosting platform to make this happen”, says Phil Boland.
World-class performance EBRC’s commitment to resilience and security represents major added value. For the former, it is the Data Centre redundancy and resilience that impresses B2 and their final clients. “The traditional arrangement of a primary Data Centre with a back-up can make it complicated to provide a seamless service if there is an outage”, comments Marc Binck. However, with the dual-active model used by EBRC all processes are mirrored permanently and run in a fully redundant environment. “EBRC’s uptime is fantastic”, adds Phil Boland, meaning no disruption to timesensitive trades, payments and reporting of positions. EBRC’s Data Centre Tier IV standards guarantee this uptime, providing B2 Group with the highest levels of availability. Cyber security has risen up the business agenda, and here too EBRC has it covered. “Whether security threats are perceived or real is not the question. We have to work to the highest levels and EBRC provides this for us, backed up by PwC which provides B2 with cyber security advice and audits”, explains Phil Boland. This goes to the heart of the relationship between the two firms. “EBRC is a real partner to us, not just a supplier which answers a call for tender”, says Phil Boland. The result is a powerful, reliable and secure system that is putting clients in control.
Set up your business in europe/Success Story
EBRC strengthens its European position The digital market is evolving, worldwide, in Europe and in Luxembourg. IT providers have to adapt. EBRC, a service provider for IT and cloud solutions specialised in the management of sensitive data, is pushing forward its international growth through a stake in Digora (France).
EBRC’s ambitions go far beyond the borders of the Grand Duchy. The first letter of its acronym - European Business Reliance Centre - proves it. “We built our business model and strategy starting in Luxembourg to support the development of our customers across Europe, says Yves Reding, CEO of EBRC. In an environment that is quickly changing, we reaffirm our position ever more confidently. Today our European ambitions are gaining a new dimension, with our stake in Digora, a business that is complementary to our own and that works mainly on French territory in the field of data management.” Digora is indeed an expert in the effective use of data and has seven branches (Paris, Strasbourg, Lille, Lyon, Rennes, Bordeaux and Toulouse) as well as two subsidiaries in Morocco and Luxembourg. The company has about one hundred employees whose skills are recognised in France as belonging to one of the best teams in terms of servicing databases for best performance (Oracle, Microsoft, NoSQL,...).
A transformation based on data For the CEO of EBRC, this development is a logical consequence of the evolution of the market. “Nobody can deny the growing digitalisation of the economy, with
business developments that are accelerating on all levels. In this context, companies have to rely on strong IT partners that integrate the necessary skills and allow them to access greater agility.” In recent years, EBRC moved up the value chain to set itself up as a single point of contact able to meet the digital needs of each customer. “We support them, often starting with a blank page, in the design of their own model and their own digital platforms. We help them transform and adapt their business model to increase efficiency”, explains Yves Reding.
Yves Reding, CEO, EBRC
Accompanying complex projects For example, EBRC currently works on the implementation of a digital bank of a new kind, a bank built from scratch and destined to quickly serve up to 20 million potential users. ‘‘We are able to implement and operate the IT side of such complex projects and to create innovative platforms, a kind of bank-as-a-service, explains Yves Reding. In the future, data will increasingly be at the heart of business, including outside the financial sector. The opportunities afforded by the IoT demonstrate it clearly. More and more data will be generated and will require adequate protection. In this regard, our strategy of positioning ourselves around a focus on sensitive data remains extremely relevant.”
‘‘With increasing digitalisation, companies have to rely on strong IT partners that integrate all the necessary skills.’‘ 21
‘‘With this alliance, we will be able to expand our presence in France and upgrade our service offering by better integrating our services and skills.’‘
Becoming a European player
Preserving Luxembourg’s capital
While overall there has been an acceleration in the digitalisation of the economy, the European market is specifically experiencing deep transformations. “You have to see the new regulatory measures, such as the GDPR, as an opportunity. The European Union remains the biggest market in the world in terms of the consumption of goods and services. This position should enable us to impose our requirements and our values to the digital giants that have been dominating the market so far. The implementation of a digital single market that is accelerated by these new regulations has to enable new players to gain a foothold. And we are here, especially through the development of our international presence, to better support them”, says Yves Reding.
However, the CEO of EBRC does highlight the risk of seeing these skills leave the country. The opening in terms of professional secrecy and data confidentiality in the financial sector could have systemic consequences for the future of the digital sector. ‘‘Giving up professional secrecy as it is currently considered risks to undo the high-quality ICT ecosystem that we took 20 years to build. Abandoning the need for explicit agreement of the end customer as part of the push for IT outsourcing will inevitably generate a re-concentration of the financial ICT centres now present in Luxembourg to other places. And if the financial sector’s ICT leaves Luxembourg, there will no longer be sufficient substance and customers to maintain and develop the nascent FinTech, Big Data or Cybersecurity activities that will naturally follow and also move to these other ICT places.”
Tailor-made In this context, EBRC is confident that its differentiation strategy will pay off. ‘‘Global players may have considerable clout, with standardised offers, but they do not have the opportunity to respond to specific requests in a local manner. With them, there are no possibilities to negotiate for medium-sized businesses. This is our strength. We can take into account the particular needs of each customer to ensure a tailor-made service”, says Yves Reding. EBRC will, in the future, increase its differentiation strategy to better meet the needs of companies keen on developing their digital business while ensuring better protection of their sensitive data, with Luxembourg as its basis, but not exclusively so. ‘‘Our business has grown to meet the needs of the financial hub, explains the CEO. Without the financial sector, we would not exist. And it is because of this expertise which Luxembourg has accumulated and consolidated over the years that we are in a good position to shape the finance and banking sectors of tomorrow. By relying on fully developed skills, we are also able to meet the challenges of exploiting data in other fields.”
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Complementary players In this context, EBRC diversifies its scope and strengthens its position in the single European Digital Market, by acquiring a stake in Digora. ‘‘Their activity as a specialist in data management is complementary to our own. Furthermore, our new partner is present throughout the entire French territory, says Yves Reding. With this alliance, we will be able to expand our presence in France and upgrade our service offering by better integrating our services and skills, from infrastructure to the provision of bank-as-a-service and software-as-a-service solutions.” EBRC thus intends to compete with the industry giants by adopting a more customer-focused approach. The company will thus even better meet the needs of European businesses, both large accounts and smaller companies that wish to improve the protection of their data assets.
set up your business in europe/EXPERT OPINION
Brexit: why bet on Luxembourg? If the Grand Duchy and its stakeholders manage to develop a strategic position, the effects of Brexit can turn out to be a great opportunity for the country. British companies wishing to maintain their link with the single market would be well advised to consider what Luxembourg has to offer. Furthermore, when wondering where to develop their business activity in Europe, international players no longer look to London as their first destination.
A POST-BREXIT WORLD Only two years are left for the United Kingdom and the European Union to agree on the details of a post-Brexit world. There is considerable uncertainty about the future relations between the British and the Europeans. Economic stakeholders are among the first to reposition themselves in order to keep developing their activities on the continent. And because it is impossible to know the outlines of future trade agreements, many are considering developing positions on our side of the English Channel, to ensure simplicity of access to the single market. Every week, I meet more and more players willing to develop their activities from Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam, Dublin,‌ or Luxembourg. However, despite the importance of its financial centre, the Grand Duchy still isn't widely known as the best place to develop business activity in Europe. In our prospecting efforts, we always have to first highlight the value of Luxembourg itself before putting forward the arguments justifying the opportunity to set up shop here. Too often, the country is still looked at through the lens of past tax optimisation practices. Nowadays, its key features - state-ofthe-art infrastructure, connectivity, a multicultural environment and
influence at the heart of the European Union's densest economic territory have to be brought to the forefront.
LUXEMBOURG, A PROMISED LAND What we need to do is convince people to come and discover the country, and then our infrastructures. Generally, and to their own surprise, they then discover the benefits of this location. Luxembourg will be able to benefit from the positive side effects of Brexit, but it is essential to intensify efforts to position the country alongside other major European cities. EBRC, for example, has formalised a partnership with Migsolv (UK) offering colocation services to better support companies from the UK in their migration to the continent. It is up to us, and to other players in their respective fields, while highlighting our presence, to position Luxembourg and to showcase its strengths.
Alexander Duwaerts, Director Client Development, EBRC
There are many arguments for convincing foreign enterprises to develop their European activities from Luxembourg. The first one is the language of business. Companies discovering Luxembourg especially appreciate the easy access to the authorities and key interlocutors relevant to the development of their business. They can find the entire
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“Luxembourg’s quality of infrastructures and connectivity are ranking among the best in Europe.”
“Our quality of infrastructures, our connectivity and multicultural environment must be highlighted.”
“We want to help the economic players to find the best way to maintain their link with Europe through EBRC.” 24
ecosystem of their major business partners here - lawyers, consultants, banks, and more - people they already know but whose enthusiasm for their country was still unknown to them. The strength of this network is conducive to business. In addition, Luxembourg is an international capital, at the junction of Germanic and Latin cultures. It speaks many languages besides English, the one language shared by all, which is less obvious in Paris or Frankfurt. The second argument to be made is Luxembourg’s quality of infrastructures and connectivity ranking among the best in Europe. We are now able to compete with places like Frankfurt, Paris or Amsterdam. It is up to us to make this fact known and encourage companies to look to Luxembourg for the development of their business. That includes British organisations, of course, but also other international companies, which in the past were more willing to move to London - nowadays quite challenged - for the development of their activities in Europe. Of course, not all economic players will leave London. Some of the activity will remain there, and oftentimes it will be the heart of the business. But the environment is clearly changing, and so
we need to work with business players and allow them, with small teams, to continue their development from Luxembourg. This is what we want to offer, through quality support services that meet their needs in IT and beyond. We want them to be able to find the best way to maintain their link with Europe through EBRC. If we want to be convincing, we have to fulfil this promise in targeted areas, notably in FinTech, but also in others where Luxembourg has invested heavily in recent years: BioTech, life sciences, healthcare, space, and so on. This way, we will be able to take advantage of the opportunities afforded to us by Brexit.
Set up your business in Europe/client case
PingPong, a solution “Powered by EBRC” Allowing Chinese merchants to sell their products through e-commerce platforms worldwide is the goal pursued by PingPong. Its technology solution can easily collect payments before sending them cheaply to China. The FinTech company chose Luxembourg and EBRC to deploy its European payment platform.
Earlier this year, Luxembourg welcomed a new FinTech company with a unique position that differentiates it from many other young innovative companies. PingPong was founded in China to serve companies in the Middle Kingdom that wish to sell their products via international e-commerce platforms. “We are here to offer our Chinese customers the opportunity to sell more easily across the world, by relying on an efficient, fast, and accessible payment service”, explains Danielle Kuhn, Chief Operating Officer of PingPong Finance.
NEW BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES The ambition of this young FinTech company is none other than enabling Chinese stakeholders to improve their trade ties with the world. The stakes are high. China is now one of the largest producers of goods in the world. PingPong wants to allow many Chinese manufacturers to access new markets internationally and sell more easily by facilitating relations and trade ties with their partners. For small and medium-sized businesses, opening a foreign bank account can be complicated. Consequently, trade with the world and ensuring that the fruits of your sales are collected can be a difficult task.
“In this context, we want to enable our customers, established Chinese merchants, to access the global banking system and to have the necessary guarantees to make transactions, adds Holly Flocker, Chief Risk Officer and Head of Legal at PingPong. To achieve this, you need to take into account the Chinese regulation with its numerous specificities, and be able to connect to various international markets which also operate according to established and diverse rules.”
COLLECTING PAYMENTS AND SENDING THEM ON The customers of the technological payment platform implemented by the startup are located in China. The parent company of PingPong is strategically located in Hangzhou, China's e-commerce capital. The FinTech collects payments made abroad before sending them rapidly and simply to its customers. “We now serve tens of thousands of businesses and individual entrepreneurs established in China or Hong Kong”, says Danielle Kuhn. Of course, China did not wait for PingPong to arrive before it started trading with the world. However, from the point of view of the FinTech company, the potential for improvement in trade relations and payment processes
Holly Flocker, Chief Risk Officer and Head of Legal, PingPong
“We want to give our customers the necessary guarantees to confidently make transactions.”
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“EBRC enables the rapid deployment of our platform and helps us to easily gather the documents needed to obtain a license as a payment institution.”
Danielle Kuhn, Chief Operating Officer, PingPong Financial
is considerable. Now, technology can simplify exchanges while offering better guarantees to customers. “Our goal is to manage and track payments at low costs that are less than or equal to 1% of the amount exchanged, by consolidating our position based on our expertise and our technology. We only charge a fee based on the amount of the transaction, and nothing else. So there are no hidden fees”, says Danielle Kuhn.
AFTER THE US, EUROPE
“Today, we serve tens of thousands of businesses and individual entrepreneurs based in China or Hong Kong.” 26
PingPong just moved to Luxembourg but it's been months since the young FinTech company began its international expansion. PingPong first opened offices in the United States, to connect the US market and China. Today, the company is present in New York and San Francisco. The US, with its many connected consumers, is indeed a high-priority market for China. “We work with banking partners in the US to more easily collect payments and ensure their transfer to our customers”, adds Danielle Kuhn. After the United States, PingPong and its 80 employees worldwide wanted to open up to other markets for its customers. “Our customers have widely expressed a desire to work with a similar platform in Europe to open up new channels between
China and the old continent, explains Danielle Kuhn. They see Europe as an important market.”
LUXEMBOURG AND CHINA, A DEEP CONNECTION According to PingPong, Luxembourg was the ideal place to setup this new platform, for several reasons. “The business links between China and Luxembourg are already strong. Several Chinese banks have chosen to open subsidiaries in the Grand Duchy. Healthy cooperation between the two countries led to an interesting business alignment. Moreover, the regulatory framework is favourable and the CSSF has an open mind in welcoming newcomers. While always being ready to listen, it also guided us in our effortsand Luxembourg has a rich pool full of appropriate skills. Even outside the financial sector, many companies in the e-commerce and payment industries have a local presence.”
EBRC DEPLOYED THE PLATFORM AND MANAGES THE INFRASTRUCTURE From Luxembourg, PingPong will act as a payment institution. Its technology platform will be hosted by EBRC and it will build on the services of the European
“The data, its management, its protection and processing are obviously critical to our business.”
cloud provider to ensure the operational side of its services. “Within EBRC, we found many useful skills to support our development throughout the European Union. Through its services, the operator was able to offer us all the guarantees we needed, including in terms of security, availability and performance”, adds Danielle Kuhn. PingPong chose a private cloud hosted in EBRC’s data centres. “EBRC will deploy the initial infrastructure and will be responsible for maintaining it. In a Managed Services perspective, EBRC will develop close ties with our own teams to ensure the efficiency of our platform and our services”, says Danielle Kuhn. EBRC has been accompanying financial and FinTech stakeholders for many years. “The on-site expertise, which is evident due to the numerous licenses and certifications held by EBRC, ensures we meet all regulatory requirements, says Holly Flocker. This partnership allows for a rapid deployment of our platform and helped us to easily collect all the necessary elements to obtain a license as a payment institution, which is crucial for our operations. The data, its management, its protection and processing are obviously critical to our business. A robust technology platform and optimised processes are essential to ensure the best service to our customers.”
A TEAM OF ABOUT TEN PEOPLE IN LUXEMBOURG Knowing that its platform provides high availability, and that any issues relating to security and data protection are fully covered, PingPong can focus on its core business. “From our office in Luxembourg, a team will ensure the administration of the company, particularly regarding compliance and accounting and financial monitoring, explains Danielle Kuhn. Our office will also incorporate an R&D team that will work on implementing new services depending on the needs of our customers and to ensure further optimisation of our costs and operations. At the end of the first quarter, PingPong should have grown to a local team of ten people, which will grow further as we gain market share.”
“There are already strong business ties between China and Luxembourg.”
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