CoMetrix CRM
Security Model
The core system consists of a single, integrated database with a solid security and role-based authorisation model. It accurately represents the real world through its tree-structured hierarchy of institutions, dealer groups, practices and advisers.
Label-based security enforeces role-based access to entities such as people, companies, contact events and documents.
Security is managed through a set of defined privileges which are enforced by both the application and the underlying server run-time infrastructure. In addition, a person's location in the hierarchical tree defines the level of the tree that is visible to them.
Event logging of system events that change database records leaves an audit trail that is available for subsequent reporting.
Integrated Database
The database stores and manages a fully integrated set of objects that include companies, people, documents, workflows, activities, competencies and financial metrics.
The high level of integration helps to avoid problems faced by organisations whose corporate assets are dispersed across separate and non-integrated systems - including email - that do a good job solving specific problems, but fail to give management a total view of all relevant information.
For example, a standalone document management system cannot integrate with corporate compliance and approved product list systems. A desktop email client cannot contribute information to a compliance audit. When people leave, the information in their emails is often unavailable to the organisation.
The CoMetrix integrated database is vastly superior to having a number of "islands of automation" because corporate information is made available in the context of other relevant information.
Internet Delivery
CoMetrix is delivered using the "software as a service" model, allowing access to corporate data for geographically distributed stakeholders. Well-defined service levels give management confidence that their corporate assets will be available to the organisation.
Industry Focus
The system includes many features that meet the specific needs of the financial services industry. For example, it has built-in awareness of entities such as institutions, dealer groups, practices and advisers. Concepts such as product lists, compliance, competencies and checklists are built-in.
Corporate Directory
CoMetrix can be configured using the LDAP standard for authentication of users, and is capable of utilising existing corporate directories. If an organisation does not yet have a corporate directory, then a CoMetrix implementation can provide an opportunity to realise the benefits of using LDAP.
Email Integration
During creation of an activity, CoMetrix can automatically send emails to all people involved in the activity. Emails generated this way will subsequently appear in email clients such as Outlook, as well as a record of the activity existing in the database, together with an event log record.
The system can also be configured to recognise emails sent from email clients that have been copied to a CoMetrix system email address, and automatically create new activities from them. This effectively expands the audience of this important form of corporate communication by creating activities that are visible and reportable via the Internet.
If LDAP is employed as the authentication mechanism, then email clients such as Outlook may be configured to recognise email addresses of people in the LDAP directory, who include the users of CoMetrix.
Dynamic Attributes
Dynamic attributes provide a flexible and rapid means of defining new data items without the need to change the structure of the database. This capability leads to faster implementations and satisfaction of a variety of customer requirements, while using a common core database structure and common software engine. Having a common engine results in the availability of core enhancements to all customers.
Workflow
CoMetrix provides a simple but powerful workflow capability. Support is provided for workflow events to "fan-out" into, or "fan-in" from, other events. A workflow item may include detailed instructions to be followed in addition to the label of the action to be performed.
An expression evaluator allows conditions such as AND ("event C depends on A * B") and OR ("event C depends on A + B"). More complex expressions can be created ("event D depends on (A + B) * C").
The workflow engine provides users with great flexibility during execution, allowing users to move backwards as well as forwards through the workflow. They may also cancel events (and the workflow) that are no longer applicable. This contrasts with alternative approaches that often deny users the flexibility that they might have if they were following a manual process, by forcing them to follow a predetermined path through the workflow.
Generic Functions
CoMetrix provides generic capabilities that are applicable to most industry sectors, including:
- recording and reporting of activities with advisers, including past/present/future, and complete/incomplete activities,
- file attachments to activities, people, companies and product lists,
- powerful facilities to generate programs of standard activities to ensure that essential account management activities are performed, and bring consistency to the business.
Document Management
The document management subsystem enables documents to be attached to people, companies, communities of interest and product lists. A powerful two-dimensional access control model allows users to control access, viewing, insertion and editing protection by degree of privacy and by user role.
Communities of Interest
CoMetrix provides a facility for groups who share common interests, to communicate documents, issues and messages. Such groups, or "teams", may include investment committees, practice management, operations, professional standards, compliance, and company boards, including boards from multiple companies. Access to teams is managed by the CoMetrix role-based access control model.
Scalability
The system has been designed for high performance and scalability. Current implementations of CoMetrix have scaled to include most of the dealer groups and advisers in Australia.
Activity Based Costing
A cost for financial services companies includes the time spent in support of the adviser network. CoMetrix allows the capture of time spent in support of an adviser, and breakdown of that time spent, by various staff, by individual adviser, and by specific purpose. Management may view reports based on the most up to date information, at any time. The resultant information could be used to estimate cost to serve.
Back-end Integration
Integration points have been built into the system to enable synchronous or asynchronous integration with corporate data. This has been implemented in practice with a large scale commissions system, which constitutes the "source of truth". The role of CoMetrix is then to extend corporate data to the field in a more user-friendly manner.