Half a year after acquiring the second largest investment house in the country, Altshuler-Shaham completed the project of transferring and merging information and data systems managed and assisted by the technology company Matrix. The move was completed with the final closure of Psagot and included, among other things, the improvement and conversion of more than 130 Psagot information and data systems to Altshuler systems, while separating systems and data sold as part of the transaction to other entities.
Altshuler Shaham Provident and Pension, managed and assisted by the technology company Matrix, has completed a project to transfer and merge information and data systems from Psagot Investment House, all in record time. The project, which was led by Altshuler Shaham’s Operations and Information Systems Division alongside Matrix’s technology experts and content world experts, included optimization and conversion of more than 130 Psagot information systems and data to Altshuler systems, all while separating systems and data sold as part of the acquisition. For other entities – in particular Valio Capital and Harel. Work on the project lasted about six months, including planning, carrying out the conversion process while maintaining quality control and comprehensive administrative and accounting control to ensure its completion on the planned date in October 2021.
Altshuler Shaham Investment House is one of the leading investment houses in the Israeli capital market and manages investment portfolios, provident funds, pension funds and mutual funds in the amount of approximately NIS 300 billion. Against the background of the approval of the transaction The acquisition of Psagot by Altshuler Shaham, The company chose to convert and merge the information and systems into Altshuler Shaham systems in a way that would allow the organization and members to enjoy the synergistic value of the transaction.
An event in it The largest investment company in Israel Acquires the second largest investment house, involves a project that includes the conversion of dozens of systems, data optimization, synchronization of information between different organizations and touches the core systems of organizations and their suppliers, which contain sensitive financial information of customers and subject to strict control and regulation rules. The most significant challenge in the project was meeting a short and unprecedented schedule: the timing of the conversion was pre-planned in accordance with the quarter-closing process and therefore it was clear that the project could not withstand even a one-day delay. These are almost impossible schedules that required a dedicated workforce to entrust the project with the continuation of the day-to-day operations of the two organizations, Altshuler and Psagot, until the merger. Another challenge is related to the content of the work, which was not known in advance and became clear during the project, which required all parties to work flexibly and hybridly. The project was managed in full cooperation with the key suppliers of Altshuler Shaham and Psagot, and in particular with the national assistance of Shasha – the entity that operates the Altshuler Shaham provident system.
The project lasted about six months and was carried out in several experimental rounds of data transfer, with each round held in a test environment and at the end conclusions were drawn for implementation and implementation regarding data optimization, information transfer and synchronization between systems, for the next steps in the project. The working method in rounds proved itself when there were improvements in performance even during the stages of work on the project until the final data transfer, thanks to the use of advanced tools, process improvement, rewriting of some of the processes, while being able Making business decisions By leading factors in the management of the organization and their immediate implementation in the following round.
A necessary condition for success was the joint work of the technology people with the content experts in the organization, led by Altshuler Shaham’s VP of Operations, Anat Knafo.
Another significant key factor for success was the hybrid working model of Matrix experts with Altshuler experts. Along with Altshuler’s VP of Information Systems, who led the Information Systems Division in the merger project, was Arnon Sharira, Director of the Matrix Special Projects Division, who managed the project in full cooperation with the Division. Information Systems. Instead of working with the classic supplier-customer method, Keren and Arnon chose to put hybrid teams in the joint work of systems analysts, testing teams, development people and experts in various fields. The expert teams were professionally accompanied by Ranit Zackzer, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Matrix.
The last and decisive phase of the project took place at the end of September, with the closure of provident and pension peaks, during which the company’s systems were silent for an entire weekend, and the transfer of information between the systems took place in a real environment. Upon completion of the project, Psagot’s information systems data were converted to Altshuler Shaham in full and the organization continued its work without the need for downtime or ongoing operations.
Fox Foundation, VP of Information Systems, Altshuler Shaham: “The process of acquiring Psagot and transferring the information systems to the complete control of Altshuler Shaham was accompanied by enormous technological and process complexities, all while carrying out additional projects and responding to ongoing activities required by a functioning organization. This is a complex task with short and unprecedented half-year schedules, in which hundreds of thousands of financial records were added, all service systems were converted, digital processes were updated and the entire Psagot computer room was copied. Thanks to the capabilities and huge investment of all parties involved – our information systems people, at Psagot (under the management of Eli Mativis), Leumi Shas and with the uncompromising professionalism of the experts we brought from Matrix, it can be said that we met the challenge and the transfer of systems was completed in the best way imaginable. Without compromising on maintaining the data and activity of our customers. “
Arnon Sharira, Director of the Matrix Special Projects Division: “flexibility Is the name of the game today in management. We did not wait for the picture to be clear to the end, but we just set off without fear. Despite the complexity of the project, we were able to meet all its goals in an impossible schedule, thanks to the close cooperation with the information systems teams at Altshuler Shaham. Of the process, while making smart and quick business decisions as needed. “
