Merrill Lynch Wins Developer Award for Silverlight Framework and Web 2.0 Wealth Management

Silverlight Framework and Web 2.0 Wealth Management
MERRILL LYNCH

Silverlight. With its Silverlight Framework, Merrill Lynch set out to accomplish rich data visualization that was also highly reusable. The primary power of Silverlight is a programming model that enables Rich Internet Applications (RIA) using a powerful declarative paradigm (XAML) as well as an imperative model (C##). “With this combination, we were able to develop a framework/pattern that enables data visualization for hierarchical data-relationships,” says Kumar Vadaparty, first VP, Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management Technology. For example, if there are multiple categories of data, this can be shown in a data-driven manner using our framework. Once a specific category is chosen, further hierarchical subdivisions can be similarly navigated. Additionally, grouping and filtering can be accomplished at any given level. This pattern/framework was used in an in-house system that manages MSI products dropped into our release pipeline. However, the framework itself is re-usable wherever such hierarchical collaborations are needed.

Web 2.0 Wealth Management. To provide a high performing, rich and highly interactive online solution for its wealth management clients, Merrill Lynch deployed its online wealth management solution in October 2008. It chose Ajax.NET. Built on .NET 3.5 with Web services and UI components with asynchronous updates, wealth management online provides the next-generation experience to its clients. “It proved to be extremely successful,” says Suresh Nair, head, Architecture & Technology Strategy, Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management Technology. It took nine months to complete the platform’s architecture including development and deployment. Although it is still early on, so far the solution is proving stable and flexible. It is “fully brandable and customizable, and it provides integrated views,” says Nair. Other benefits expected in the future include rich client interaction, low maintenance, high performance and the ability to quickly turn on new channels.

When profit margins start to shrink, companies are tempted to dramatically decrease their IT budgets, with strategic IT development often suffering the worst of the cuts. But some companies this year are refusing to wait out the downturn, following a maxim that perhaps Ralph Waldo Emerson articulated best: “This time like all times is a very good one if we but know what to do with it.” More companies than expected actually do: they are working to make themselves leaner and nimbler, more able to respond to the changes around the corner they don’t yet see. And there are a few among that select group who stand out in their efforts. They are the five winners of this year’s Windows in Financial Services Developer Awards, chosen among their peers for their effective strategic thinking, for tapping the best of the new technology and then integrating, extending it, and tailoring it to support critical business needs. “Even in this challenging market, innovation in financial services is critical,” says Joseph Cleaver, Microsoft Platform Strategy Advisor. “The WFS award winners leveraged the Microsoft platform to continue providing value to their customers while differentiating themselves from their competitors and leading in the industry.” The awards this year were presented at Microsoft’s Seventh Annual Microsoft Enterprise Developer and Industry Solutions Conference in New York on May 5.