INDUSTRY

Oracle today announced its intent to enhance the Oracle(R) E-Business Suite and Oracle Application Server to be compatible with SWIFT, the industry owned co-operative providing secure, standardized messaging services and interface software to 7,650 financial institutions in over 200 countries. This integration into SWIFT's messaging platform, SWIFTNet is part of an initiative designed to help business enterprises improve operational efficiency and reduce risk by enabling seamless, back-office integration of critical information from numerous financial institutions. It is also expected to provide an opportunity for financial services providers to extend the information services and value they deliver to their business customers. Complementing this announcement, Oracle President Charles E. Phillips will address Sibos participants during the Thursday, October 14 plenary session. The session will focus on strategies to improve bank and corporate transaction processing through integrated logistical and financial supply chains. Oracle is partnering with SWIFT -. to bridge the "last mile" of integration between financial services providers and customer back-office systems. Historically, financial services organizations have delivered information to their corporate customers' "front doors" but did not take steps to ensure that the information could be integrated with customer back-office business information systems. Corporations have had to develop expensive, customized integration options or work with third parties to effectively leverage such data in their organizations. Numerous business, regulatory and national security requirements -- including corporate governance and compliance directives, and the need to monitor capital adequacy and operational risk to achieve accounting transparency -- are driving the need for an end-to-end solution that bridges the information chasm between financial services organizations and their customers. "By integrating Oracle E-Business Suite applications with SWIFTNet, we can provide tangible benefits to financial services organizations and their business customers," said Steven Miranda, vice president of Financials applications development at Oracle Corp. "Financial services providers, looking for innovative ways to maintain a competitive edge in a market characterized by declining transaction volumes, will have the tools required to expand their role as valued information providers. Business organizations, in turn, will have a fast path to high-quality enterprise intelligence that provides a foundation for informed decision making and profitable growth in a competitive market." Integration will enable enterprises to achieve a single source of data -- encompassing both financial and information transactions -- to run their global business or a personal account. Enhancing Oracle applications for procurement, payables, receivables, payments and expenses to utilize the SWIFTNet standard format will enable corporations to create a single, integrated processing environment. This environment delivers a consistent, transparent view of data across the enterprise to optimize the use of funds on account with various institutions. Corporate treasurers, in turn, will have the ability to integrate back-office information with their bank-supplied cash management services to improve funds allocation throughout the day. The Oracle solution, based on Oracle Application Server, is expected to provide SWIFTNet interoperability for both users of Oracle applications as well as other ERP systems. Oracle Application Server can enable facilities to receive, translate, transform and help ensure delivery of SWIFT messages; to audit and track them; and to integrate them with corporate information systems, enterprise data hubs and Corporate Business Processes. Companies can also use standard Trading Partner Management facilities to create, monitor and manage agreements with SWIFT business partners. "SWIFT is pleased to work with Oracle on this important integration initiative that, ultimately, stands to benefit the global SWIFT community," said Joel Ludvigsen, Director Partner Solutions, SWIFT. "By integrating Oracle E-Business Suite and SWIFTNet, we extend our mutual commitment to helping our customers carry out their business -- efficiently, seamlessly and securely." Availability Oracle plans to complete the first phase of the integration initiative in the first half of 2005.