Category: Private Equity Technology

Why the Leading CRM Needs Altvia

Many firms reach out to Altvia after having tried Salesforce’s out-of-the-box functionality as a substitute for true fund management software and find that the system doesn’t work for alternative investments

This isn’t to say that Salesforce doesn’t have powerful features—some of which are applicable to this industry. In fact, our data management tool is built on the Salesforce platform.

We chose to partner with Salesforce when we developed AIM, and have continued that partnership because the system’s robust infrastructure allows us to provide a premier software solution tailored specifically for private equity.

Salesforce Alone Isn’t True Fund Management Software

We’ve found that there are five primary reasons that Salesforce, straight out-of-the-box, does not work effectively for fund management. Some firms certainly use it for that purpose, but the key is using it “effectively.” 

How much time do those organizations waste each day/week/month on inefficient processes, miscommunications, and functionality “workarounds”—time that could be spent on more productive tasks? It’s an important question. The answer is dictated, in large part, by these five factors:

1. Salesforce is designed for “typical” businesses that sell products and services.

Salesforce out-of-the-box comes with standard objects such as Leads, Accounts, and Contacts. It doesn’t include objects specific to fund management software that support deal flow and investor communications.

2. The terminology and fields are not specific for fund management.

Fund management and purpose-built fund management software use a unique vernacular to describe both the stages of fundraising and the stages of committing to a deal. 

Salesforce out-of-the-box uses traditional sales-related terms such as “qualified” or “booked.” This forces users to adapt to the generic language, which creates a confusing and ineffective fund management system.

3. Connections between relationships aren’t tracked.

Success in the alternative asset management space is based on the quality of the relationships that you maintain with LPs and fund managers. Salesforce out-of-the-box doesn’t allow you to track relationships and the connections between relationships to the extent that most fund managers require and that true fund management software does. This results in gaps in information and connections that might derail a deal.

4. Funds can’t be tracked independently from accounts.

Out-of-the-box, Salesforce can’t differentiate between an account and an investment that an account might make. This means that if an account could potentially make an investment in more than one of your funds, Salesforce would consider those two investments as two distinct accounts. As you can imagine, this creates serious confusion in the deal management process.

5. There’s no distinction between funds in different states.

In a fund management CRM system, most fund managers like to keep a record of not just the funds that they are considering, but also the funds that they passed on or funds that they did not consider. Out-of-the-box, Salesforce lumps all opportunities into one sales funnel. This is a limitation that fund management software shouldn’t have.

So, again, Salesforce is the perfect foundation for fund management software—it just isn’t the perfect fund management software by itself.

Fund Management Software from Industry Experts

Salesforce does not, of course, claim to have extensive expertise in fund management or fund management software. But they don’t have to. At Altvia, fund management software is our sole focus and a solution that we’ve been providing to industry professionals for over a decade. 

Altvia’s integration with Salesforce creates powerful synergy that gives users the backend horsepower and frontend finesse they need to do their job efficiently and effectively. 

The solution enables fund managers to track the interactions of investments, monitor portfolio performance, and create integrations with other systems that give them a competitive edge over firms that continue to just “get by” with a less-than-optimal solution.

Is Altvia the right fund management software solution for your firm?

Contact us and let’s talk about your challenges and how we can address them.

I love dinosaurs, and because it may come off as weird to say that I also “love” analogies, I’ll simply say that I find analogies to be very helpful and I use them a lot. It comes as no surprise to me, then, that dinosaurs are often the source of important analogies; don’t let it surprise you either — this is not the first time I’ve suggested that private capital markets are analogous in some form to dinosaurs. It turned out to be the perfect analogy for describing where data-driven venture-backed IPOs have gone.

Based on what we know, Dinosaurs are the most prolific creatures to have ever inhabited the earth — the success they had in evolving is the ultimate case study in adaptation. Our track record as humans, when comparing the time we’ve been here, doesn’t even register as significant. It’s no wonder, then, that their seemingly sudden disappearance is a marvel that sets up as analogous for wondrous, and yet catastrophic events. Even kids seem to be born with a fascination for these legendary creatures well before they know anything about their amazing story or their sudden demise.

A few weeks back my colleague and friend Kjael Skaalerud penned an amazing piece about the digital collision coming for VC/PE. Equal parts prophetic and doomsday, I simply can’t help but wonder how one could read this piece and see any analogy other than the proliferation and subsequent downfall of the dinosaurs. It doesn’t stop there, though; reading it causes me to wonder things like “how did this happen?”, “what was it like before this?”, etc. Let’s be archaeologists and see if we can find out!

First allow me to set the proper context by summarizing Kjael’s piece, in which Kjael warns us that digital transformation is happening everywhere as software eats the world. There is no hiding; the conveniences afforded by top-tier firms that weren’t as digitally-focused and which allowed them to remain at the top are simply no match for the opportunities that technology-focused firms will take advantage of in the future. It’s a compelling argument and if that’s what the future looks like, I’m here for it.

I don’t inherently believe that anybody at the top should fall, quite the contrary really — I’m a capitalist at my core and believe in survival of the fittest above all things. I have no agenda when it comes to which VC/PE firms survive and/or thrive; I simply believe it’s undeniable that what has differentiated top-tier firms is no longer the best evolutionary predictor. Still today, but certainly up to this point, the most successful PE/VC firms — as measured by historical quartile-based performance of funds — was largely self-fulfilling.  LPs want access to top-quartile managers, and the best way to predict that, but without any guarantee, is by finding those that have generated top-quartile returns in the past. To be sure: there is no flawed logic in this; it’s simply the best predictor because there isn’t yet one that is better. 

That is why I subscribe wholeheartedly to Kjael’s prediction. It suggests there’s a future for data-driven firms in which technology offers a better predictor of this, and in the simplest explanation possible, that is: data-driven stories that prove differentiated access to investment opportunities, differentiated ways to add value, etc. and on top of it all, the compounding effect of data proving the repeatability of the same story that the data began by uncovering. Turns out that just this week, early support — according to the way I interpret it — for this thesis has emerged by way of a Pitchbook story about Hedge funds being quicker to move and paying premiums over traditional venture capital firms to back high-profile venture-stage companies.

While historical performance is at the core of these PE/VC market dynamics up to this point, it’s not the only archaeological evidence that is interesting. Perhaps at the core of the entirety of the existence of this market is what I’ll describe as a sexy opacity. It has always been known that this market moves quickly, efficiently, is relatively exclusive, generates outsized returns, and yet very little is known about it within the general public. To me that seems — if I were to channel an analogy — a bit like that famous item at the world-renowned restaurant you’ve heard somebody gush about. Nobody actually knows how that thing is made, and there are legitimate concerns it will stay that way when the only person that does know dies. That’s sort of intriguing and sets up nicely for something we become enamored by, perhaps even if the story itself helps to compensate for the mediocre quality of the item itself. While I personally happen to appreciate the mysterious, slightly opaque dynamics of private markets, it feels like it’s fair to wonder whether there is a recipe at all for reliable and repeatable success in this market. If there is, I’m led to wonder whether it will be able to hold up against the impending technology-led transformation that will bring data and speed to the forefront.

Predicting the future of data-driven firms is a tricky business; oftentimes changes happen so gradually that we feel — at any given point along the evolution — that the future isn’t quite as futuristic as we imagined it. These evolutions happen slowly and gradually, but if we are to stop for a moment, I think it’s fair to suggest that we already see evidence that the collision is coming: we’re starting to see technology- and data-driven firms move faster, with greater conviction, and it’s only just beginning. It only feels appropriate to use a phrase Kjael uses often if you spent time around him, “let’s put our mouth guards in and get ready”.

A Good Executive Sponsor is Essential

Software implementation of any type requires planning, technical setup, training, and change management. These actions are particularly important for fund administration software implementations. 

However, none of them can be done effectively without proper buy-in from all levels of the organization. 

Unfortunately, many companies assign software implementations to employees who don’t have the knowledge or expertise to properly understand the full scope of the project. 

These people also may not have the authority within the organization to secure the necessary resources to get the job done. 

Consequently, having a good executive sponsor is critical to a successful fund administration software implementation.

What is an Executive Sponsorship in a Software Implementation?

Executive sponsorship is a term commonly used in project management that refers to a situation where a senior-level executive is responsible for the business success of a project.

In software sales, typically a small number of stakeholders are involved in making the decision whether or not to purchase a product. In most cases, this decision will impact a much larger portion of the company. 

In the case of a customer relationship management (CRM) tool, for example, the selection impacts almost everyone in the organization. A CRM software implementation can be a daunting task that not only requires things like technical expertise and user training but change management as well.

Having an executive sponsor on the software implementation team significantly increases a project’s likelihood of success. For one thing, it helps ensure that the software is being set up in a way that will support business needs at a higher level of the organization. 

This oversight also promotes the adoption of the new product at whatever scale is appropriate.

Why is a Sponsorship Important?

At Altvia, we work with people in a variety of roles during the sales process, depending on the firm—CEOs, managing partners, data analysts, heads of investor relations, and others. Most often, an engagement is initiated by associates or analysts who realize there is a better, more efficient way to address tedious, manual data entry. 

They conduct extensive research into which tool is the best fit for their firm, thoroughly vetting the company they choose before the software implementation begins. 

(Note: If you are currently in this process, our free Buyers Guide to Private Equity Technology can be extremely valuable to you.)

However, after the purchase decision is made, all too often the responsibility for integrating the product into the company’s operations is carelessly tossed to lower-level employees. This can occur for a number of reasons. In some cases, these team members are perceived to have more time available. They may also be assigned the task as a form of “paying their dues” or, more positively, to help with their professional development and add to their understanding of the organization’s operations. 

Whatever the reason, a few things usually happen at this point. The firm must assess its data quality in order to extract old information from its original source and seamlessly transfer it into the new system. 

Often, it is during this process that people have some realizations about the quality of their data. There may be contacts that are duplicated several times, they may not have had all the right information in the right fields, or they need to define additional fields in order to create accurate and clean reports. 

Then, frustration sets in. Team members who also have day-to-day tasks on their plate start to feel overwhelmed with the amount of work necessary to ensure the software implementation is successful. 

Generally, the reality is that the task isn’t as daunting as it seems. But nevertheless, this perspective affects their opinion of the new system. 

As a result, they struggle to see the new system’s potential and may be less likely to begin using it and less interested in taking the time to learn how to use it effectively.

An executive sponsor understands these types of software implementation roadblocks and knows how to lead team members, and the organization as a whole, around them. 

How to Engage an Executive Sponsor in a Software Implementation

So, who needs to be involved in a fund administration software implementation? From our work on countless projects, we recommend having:

• A senior-level champion to guide the process and lend support. They should be engaged as needed to keep the project moving forward, but not weighed down by small details. So, as described below, providing them with clear, concise information, and queuing up any challenges the software implementation team faces in a way that the sponsor can address them effectively is essential.  

• A mid-level employee who is more hands-on with the firm’s technology and applications. This person still should be senior enough to understand all of the firm’s “moving parts” and how business processes work independently and within overall operations. They must know what data needs to be tracked and also have enough authority within the organization to effectively engage other senior executives for feedback.

Keep in mind that effective communication is key for every employee affected by a software implementation. That includes interacting with the executive sponsor as needed. 

Here are some tips for engaging your executive sponsor during a software implementation from the Guide to Project Management:

1. Be trustworthy: Trust is built over time, but it’s very valuable. Executives will be more inclined to engage with you and the project if they trust what you are doing. You can earn their confidence by delivering on your promises, completing tasks, and showing that you know what it takes to get things done.
2. Be structured: Being organized in the way you plan, communicate, and execute helps set expectations (and also helps build trust!). It’s easier for an executive to engage with someone they know isn’t going to waste their time by being disorganized.
3. Be clear: Ditch the jargon and technical terms in your communications with executives. They don’t have time and probably won’t have the patience to try to figure out what you’re talking about. Keep it simple, clear, and concise.
4. Be transparent: Hiding problems is a bad strategy at any time, and working with an executive sponsor on a software implementation is certainly no exception. Be transparent about problems the project is facing so the sponsor can determine how to help you. Plus, an executive would much rather know about a problem upfront than be blindsided by it down the road.
5. Be flexible: Every person—like every software implementation—is different. So, be adaptable in your communication type and style. Some sponsors are more formal than others. Some prefer somewhat more detail while others will only listen to an overview. Make sure you’re tailoring your communications and expectations to the project and the sponsor.

It is difficult to understate the significance of executive sponsorship in a fund administration software implementation project. Identifying the right sponsor is an important part of the planning phase. It is a decision that you should not take lightly. 

Without the right people backing your decisions and driving the implementation in the right direction, even the ideal software solution can fall flat and wind up being rarely or ineffectively used in a year. Or worse, it can be discarded altogether, resulting in a significant waste of time and money.

Looking for more information on how to transition your data from Excel or your legacy software? 

Altvia’s advanced platform solution built on top of Salesforce utilizes Force.com’s Account/Company and Contact features. Altvia takes the functionality further with proprietary integrations and interactions to migrate data. This includes connections with products like email marketing, an LP portal, and our data visualization tool. 

The result is a solution that enables firms to raise and deploy capital effectively, maintain compliance, and deliver a secure, reliable, and transparent experience to stakeholders and investors.  

First, however, you have to migrate data into the system. 

In order to make that process easier, our team of experts compiled their knowledge of Salesforce (SF) into clear, concise instructions.  

Use this guide to migrate data, including documents and attachments, to the Content section of Salesforce.com and you can be operational and productive in no time.

Note: there is a per-day limit of 5,000 files for Content submissions as you migrate data.

Covert the org to use content

• Enable Content and add all users as Content users.
• Replace Attachments-related lists throughout the system and add related lists for Content (done by adding a lookup to the objects as custom fields on Content-Type layouts).
• No new attachments can be added during the migration. You might have to do this after-hours to limit disruption.

Exports you will need to Migrate data

Attachments & Document Files: Start by doing a full Export including all files from within SF. This will get you all the attachments, documents, etc. named by their record ID in SF.

• Setup->Data Management->Data Export->Export Now.
• Be sure to check “Include in Export” at top and “Include all Data” at bottom.
• Note: If an export has been done in the last 48 hours, you will not have the option to “Export Now”. You will have to wait.
• The Export will complete in 5 minutes to 2 hours depending on its size and SF system availability, and an email will be sent to the app-xprod email address. Alternatively, you can periodically refresh the page.
• One or more .zip files should be on the Data Export screen after it has completed.
• Download all of them…they will only be available for 48 hours.
• Place the .zip files somewhere on your local machine.
• Extract all of them within a folder:

1. Will result in multiple .csv files of the data. These can be deleted or filed elsewhere.
2. Will result in an Attachments folder with all attachments. You will need these. Make sure they are all in the same folder.
3. Will result in a Documents folder with all documents. If migrating these, you will also need these.

Attachments Data.csv: Export all current attachments in Data Loader. Exclude the column “Body” from the export.

• Keep the original Attachments export .csv in a safe place. You’ll probably need to refer to it.
• Verify the number of Attachments in this export matches the number you have in the Attachments folder from the Export. Ditto if you are also migrating Documents. 

ContentVersion.csv: Export the current CONTENT (Content Version) table in Data Loader. Exclude the column “VERSIONDATA” from the Export.

• Keep the original file as you’ll probably need it later. 

Build your import file

Build your Content Version .csv by first exporting a test record from the Content Version table in data loader. Exclude the “VERSIONDATA” column from the export. Include the following columns or delete the rest after export.

• ID: Unique ID of Current version of Document that is displayed when you click on a document. Will be blank in the import file.
• CONTENTDOCUMENTID: Unique ID of a Content Document. Different than above. Will be blank in the import file.
• TITLE: This is what the document will be called. Title of the document from the Attachments table or other sources.
• VERSIONDATA: Full file path to the document being inserted without file type extension (i.e. C:ClientsAttachments0PA000002gpI3Mai). See Helpful Hints below. Must be populated and without file extension.
• PATHONCLIENT: Full file path to the document being inserted with file type extension (i.e. C:ClientsAttachments0PA000002gpI3Mai.pdf). This tells Content what the file type is so that the document can be previewed in SF. If the extension is not assigned correctly, the import is pretty much worthless. See Helpful Hints below; Must be populated and with the file extension.
• OWNERID: In the case of attachments related to other records, this is the owner id (18 char) of the other record, not the attachment (depending on how attachments were loaded, you may be able to simply take the owner of the attachment). This is because some attachments have the owner as the Admin if they were loaded via an API call. You want the actual Owner, as any security in the org is driven off of that (Requires additional vLookup to the export of the related records tables); must be populated.
• FIRSTPUBLISHLOCATIONID: This is the workspace ID (18 char) that you are inserting each document into. Must be populated.
• RECORDTYPEID: This is the ContentType ID (18 char) of the Content-type you want to assign to this document. Must be populated if more than one Content-Type defined in the org. Otherwise, it defaults to General and you don’t need the column.
• ALL APPROPRIATE LOOKUPS to other objects (i.e. Contact__C, Account__C). Optional.
• ALL APPROPRIATE FILTERS (i.e. Document_Type__C, Year__C. Needs to be populated manually if you want to filter information. Optional.
• ALL APPROPRIATE LEGACY IDS: We like to add the id of the document from where it came from (may be internal or external IDs). Optional, but highly recommended.

Helpful hints before you migrate data

• Build your VERSION DATA: Add the static path in one cell in your .csv (i.e. G2 has “C:ClientsAttachments” in it). Add the appropriate attachment ID for this document (i.e. H2 has “00PA000002gpI3Mai” in it). Build the file path by using concatenate function below; G2&H2. Should result in C:ClientsAttachments0PA000002gpI3Mai.
• Determine File Type: Use formula below to extract the characters after the period at the end of the title of the document to grab the file extension. A2 is the cell reference containing the Title of the document that has an extension (i.e. Sample.pdf); =RIGHT(A2,LEN(A2)-FIND(“^^”,SUBSTITUTE(A2,”.”,”^^”,LEN(A2)-LEN(SUBSTITUTE(A2,”.”,””))))); Result should be “pdf”. Eyeball all the results for sort by the results as many times you get “.pd” or “.xl”. Fix the title of these documents so you get a legit file extension.
• Build your PATHONCLIENT: Concatenate the contents of VERSIONDATA that you already built (C:ClientsAttachments0PA000002gpI3Mai) with the result of the file type you have determined (i.e. “.pdf”). Use concatenate function to give you the following result (i.e. =G2&”.”&H2…note the addition of period in quotes); C:ClientsAttachments0PA000002gpI3Mai.pdf.
• Data Loader 21.0 does not report on “File not Found” Errors. It gives you no error or success file record for this situation. Suggest using Data Loader 20.0 for loading of Content Version table.
• CSV’s are finicky. You cannot have more than 1 worksheet in a given .csv. Well, you can, but when you save, it will delete all but the first.
• VLOOKUP: Excellent function. You will need to use it.
• FIXID: If you happen to have 15 char ids, you can use Excel function =FIXID(A2) where A2 contains the 15 char id.

Following the instructions above will help you migrate data more efficiently and give you positive forward momentum in implementation and product adoption.

There are two facts that define today’s alternative investment industry. One, the data contained in documents is its lifeblood, and being able to access those documents whenever and from wherever you need to is critical in an increasingly competitive business. Two, firms that keep these facts in mind and take steps to address them by implementing the right fund management software give themselves a distinct advantage. Those that don’t inevitably fall behind.

Better Accessibility and Organization With Advanced Fund Management Software

If you work in alternative investments, you know that firms today generate and receive huge numbers of documents as part of their fundraising and due diligence processes. This massive “library” is essential to decision-making and a key to your success.

But simply having these documents isn’t enough. In order for them to be valuable, they have to be easily accessed and organized in a logical manner. Take too much time to locate important documents and you risk losing a deal. 

The days of storing documents on a local shared network drive are long gone. Or at least they should be. Issues ranging from confusing naming conventions to lack of remote access have historically led to terrible inefficiencies. 

Cloud storage gives you access to documents anytime, anywhere — a true game-changer.

Leading-Edge: Efficiency as a Foundation for Success

There are a number of factors that contribute to success in the financial industry. Experience and insight, for example, are crucial. But an often-overlooked attribute of successful firms is technology efficiency. 

Firms that improve the efficiency of their tech stack and processes tend to see a corresponding improvement in the bottom line. The two naturally go hand-in-hand.

Consequently, implementing leading-edge, cloud-based fund management software and the enhanced document management capabilities it offers is one of the best moves your firm can make.  

The linking of documents and other files to contact records, along with powerful search capability, makes it simple to find the information you need and get it to interested parties quickly. 

And, of course, there is no set “business hours” today. So, being able to find and share documents whenever stakeholders request them, and from anywhere, is vital.

Learn more about our full suite of solutions for alternative investment firms.

How can firms benefit from accessibility, interactivity, and visualization of their private equity data?

To explore current trends around data and information solutions in the private equity marketplace, we interviewed Altvia SVP, Industry Solutions & Strategy, Jeff Williams. The discussion will be presented in a series of blog posts in order to provide a comprehensive perspective on this trending subject.

Thanks, Jeff, for joining us to discuss what private equity firms need to know about data. Let’s start with a quick introduction: Please tell us a little about what you do at Altvia.

I lead the team at Altvia that is focused on finding and assessing private equity firm challenges that we believe can be—and really, have to be—solved using technology. Specifically, we’re interested in identifying problems or issues that, when addressed properly, help private equity firms differentiate themselves and become more operationally efficient.

The private equity data solutions we develop enable firms to collaborate and communicate more effectively—both internally and with investors. Our systems are true game-changers in the private equity ecosystem.

What is currently trending around technology in the private equity marketplace? What are people talking about, and which solutions do they need?

When it comes to the problems people are having with technology or problems that technology can help to solve, the big trends center around data. At a strategic level, how to store, accumulate, and analyze data is an important topic right now. And there’s a bigger conversation about relationships with limited partners regarding the ability to service them effectively and be good partners. Often these discussions focus on transparency. But at a relationship level, it’s really more about how these partners interact with each other.

So, the ability of firms to improve their service interactions with stakeholders is top of mind?

Yes. At the end of the day, private equity is a market that provides financial services. A lot of conversations lately are about the service itself and, more specifically, what service is actually being provided. When you look at service industries, they are traditionally driven by incremental steps of differentiation: How can they provide something even slightly better or different from their competitors?

Altvia offers a leading-edge private equity data solution: Altvia Answers. From the perspective of a firm, what exactly does Altvia Answers do?

Altvia Answers is very much a solution built to solve the private equity data problems we’re hearing about. For the better part of the past few decades, this industry has been active in using technology to generate data, and more recently, to consume additional sources of data. We’re at a point where older firms have accumulated data much less methodically than firms that are starting out today, and this reveals several important considerations:

• Firms that have been in business longer have ended up with multiple systems along the way, and there are often no integration points between those systems.
• Often, the systems on their own are not capable of doing much with the data they contain, nor are they capable of performing the complex analyses that firms need today.
• The capabilities of modern technology within the realm of private equity data (complex queries, management of large volumes of information, and making sense of all your data) are not functions that exist in the legacy systems that many firms are using.

In a nutshell, people have systems that don’t interact, even though they’re relevant to each other. Firms would like to look at the data within them together, but there are tremendous inefficiencies with trying to bring those systems together, showing a lack of capabilities of these tools on their own.

Altvia Answers is a solution that addresses the entire chain of these issues by bringing data from disparate sources together in one place, then doing modeling using all of that information to establish a single source of truth for all of your data across all of your systems. Even better, Altvia Answers connects to the data systems a firm already has in place, with no need to export or upload information. This greatly simplifies the process.

It also facilitates very powerful and advanced private equity data capabilities in terms of analysis on a large scale, and it does that in the cloud in an automated fashion so there is no need to embark on time-consuming and error-prone manual processes.

And, most importantly, Altvia Answers enables business users to interact with their data across systems in very intuitive ways, and on any device, eliminating the need for highly skilled, IT-centric resources that would historically have spent weeks at a time developing an analysis. Altvia Answers is right at the fingertips of business users and executives at any point, ready for them to ask their own questions and get their own answers in an engaging and intuitive way.

As you were instrumental in developing and launching Altvia Answers, we’re guessing you have some great stories about how the solution works, specifically to help private equity firms. Could you share some examples?

One particular organization had spent nearly two years assessing vendors in an attempt to find a solution that could deliver on the vision they had. They felt it was not only compelling, but also very different from their competitors. They were looking for a system that would allow them to really provide a service that was highly differentiated, unique, and superior to their competition.

After talking with dozens of vendors, they found a few that came very close to their criteria, but there was always something missing from the bigger picture. As we talked with them and began to understand their vision, what we were able to do with Altvia Answers was allow them to identify the best-of-breed solutions across the entire chain of systems involved in executing their vision. This allowed them to use the best CRM solution, then put Altvia Answers on top to connect their entire system.

Now entirely integrated, this system provides the firm with a single place for business users to go in order to find, analyze, and understand data across their organization. Altvia Answers proved to be the key to a complete solution to their business challenges.

Altvia Answers helps firms position themselves as industry leaders?

Correct, and a big part of it is not only the ability to consume data across systems internally, but also to allow their clients to access important, real-time data that is relevant to them. For data-hungry clients, the scenario went from “We’ll send you a statement in the mail every so often,” to “You don’t even need to pick up the phone to ask us for information. You can access the data that’s relevant to you in real time, at any time.” And they can do so in a way that’s intuitive, efficient, interactive, and engaging.

It’s having a snowball effect on their whole business structure?

Yes, Altvia Answers, and the way it maximizes the value of private equity data, is serving as the cornerstone for more efficient internal operations and processes that are more organized and more systematic. This snowballs all the way through to providing new capabilities to their investors, which in turn strengthens their relationships and positions them as industry leaders.

One of the most daunting parts of a software implementation is the first few months that you’re using it. At this point, there’s no guarantee of success even if you’ve done everything right up to this point. To make sure your investment pays off and not be burdened with trying to fix what might turn out to be irreparable problems in the future, take these steps during your initial use period:

Keep your software implementation simple and complete

First, make sure that the fields you decide to track and the data within those fields are simple and complete. Sometimes people try to overdo it and add way too many fields–perhaps even data that they haven’t tracked in the past but that they want to track in the future. This might be a natural reaction to having a shiny new database toy, but it’s unlikely that these 50 new fields are the core fields that you really need to track, nor are they usually the data you’ve been tracking to make yourself successful up to this point.

The result of over-adding fields, then, is twofold. First, pages with too many fields end up looking blank so users get frustrated working in a database that feels incomplete. Second, many of the reports and analytics that you might be able to run based on comprehensive data are not available so when users go running those reports the reports are essentially meaningless. Also very frustrating.

So the key is to keep the initial configuration simple, focus on the core fields and the core data points you want to track, and make sure that all of those fields are populated. Then when users log in for the first few times, the data is strong and it instills confidence in all of your users.

Tips to keep it simple and complete:

1. Start with simple data tracking
2. Keep configuration simple
3. Ensure all fields are populated
4. Stick to the core data points and fields
5. Always make sure there is confidence in your system

Provide the “why”

So often, users end up getting just the technical how-to training but are never told why this is important or how it will make the firm more efficient. So it’s really important both during training and software implementation to talk to users about why changes are being made and what value the company is hoping to get from the system.

Unfortunately, the seemingly menial task of entering good data happens first and often over time. It’s only after that data is in the system that you get the gratification of finally running that one perfect report that tells you everything you never knew.

If users are shown the value of running a report like that and the value of inputting that data upfront, they’re more likely to see the benefits and more likely to be dedicated users.

During the training, it is important to follow these 3 steps:

1. Communicate with Users: Take the time to communicate the value of what you’re implementing and ask for feedback before, during, and after. Let users know why changes are being made and make sure they understand how they can provide input or help out. By letting your staff in on these details, they’ll feel more involved in a system that is designed for them – which will translate into better compliance with new procedures and information entered into the system.

2. Culture Change: Take the time to inform your employees on how their work will change and make sure they understand the benefits of these changes. Make it clear that compliance with new procedures is not just for their benefit but also for the companies as a whole.

3. Manage Expectations: Allow yourself some flexibility in implementing a new system so that you can incorporate feedback from your users and allow them time to adjust to their new environment without expecting too much at once.

The central tenets of good customer support are for the people providing it to be skilled, helpful, and available. With Altvia, you get exactly that: comprehensive support for our suite of Private Equity products and access to a team that rivals the best technology consulting firms.

At Altvia, we assist you throughout your technology journey—from your initial inquiry about solutions for data management to a GP-LP engagement platform all the way through your implementation and beyond. 

We understand that even with the most intuitive of systems, attentive customer service from team members who thoroughly understand the product and are committed to seeing an issue quickly and fully resolved is essential to success.

“Our market is so relationship driven—we really get to know our business partners and understand their needs. With Altvia, it’s clear that they value having a relationship that comes along with the software.” Michael Painter, Managing Partner, Co-founder, Plexus Capital. 

The First Elements of Customer Support: Onboarding & Training

Altvia customer support takes you through the sales process into onboarding and then to the ongoing technical assistance your firm needs to succeed. 

As an Altvia customer, you receive comprehensive care for all your products, including implementation insights, training, solution adoption services, growth evaluations, ongoing technical support, and 24/7 access to our knowledge base.

As a result, you get up to speed rapidly and start seeing process and productivity improvements almost immediately. 

Ongoing Customer Support

Our team members solve problems, but that’s just the beginning. They also empathize with our customers, learn from them, and advocate for them. 

We approach every interaction as an opportunity for our team to engage with yours to enhance your experience and maximize the value of our solutions. 

We strive to leave you in a better place than before you reached out. That’s the Altvia customer support difference: We don’t just resolve issues—we use them as springboards to help you get ahead. 

Customer Support as the Key to Success

Our team works directly with your firm to build a roadmap for ongoing success. We understand the challenges you’re facing and are here to help you achieve your specific goals.

We can do that because we make it our mission to understand your business. Working exclusively within the private capital ecosystem, we realize that a multi-family office is different from a middle-market buyout fund. 

And we know how to customize your system to reflect those differences. This ensures you gain ongoing value from our solutions and get the most from your technology investment. 

The Altvia Help Center: Self-Directed Customer Support

We offer the Altvia Help Center as a place for you to find helpful information, tips, and tricks that enable you to get even more from our products.

Within the Help Center, you can access instructional videos, how-to articles, and trailheads for users that want to expand their knowledge of our products and services.

The value that exceptional customer support can provide to an organization can’t be overstated. We work tirelessly to ensure our services help empower our customers to achieve their business objectives and more.

It wasn’t long ago that the only passwords a person needed to remember were for their email and their bank account. But now it seems that every time you turn around, you’re on a site that requires you to create a login and either sign in with Google or Facebook or create a new password to remember.

We find that password managers can be a handy and secure way to keep track of passwords for email, data rooms, Cap IQ, Preqin, and any of the dozens of other online sites that require the creation of a password.

Based on our experience, below are a few thoughts on password management and tools to manage passwords.

1. Password Managers: To Use or Not To Use?

The thought of storing dozens of your most important passwords in one place might terrify some people. But the fact is, short of memorizing a different 8+ character random alphanumeric password for every system you access, password managers may be the most secure way to protect these precious character strings.

Using the same password in multiple places around the web obviously is a flawed strategy because you’re taking a huge risk every time you create a new online account.

If the password for that new account is compromised, the password for all of your accounts is compromised. And depending on how often each service requires you to change your password, you could find yourself constantly making modifications to ensure all your accounts stay in sync.

Password managers are also invaluable when you lose a device or have one stolen. All of your passwords may be on that device, but if they’re protected by a password manager that is properly configured, they aren’t likely to be lost along with the hardware.

2. Doesn’t My Browser Help Me Manage Passwords?

Yes, most modern browsers will store passwords for you as a convenience. Many people utilize this feature nearly every day. But it provides virtually nothing in terms of security.

And with many browsers offering password sync across devices, passwords stored in your browser may be even more vulnerable.

3. RoboForm vs. LastPass to Manage Passwords

Two of the more established names in the password management space are RoboForm and LastPass.

Both are solid options in terms of usability and security. And in terms of the features they offer, they’re very similar—down to the way they capitalize their names. If you’re new to the tools used to manage passwords, either of these two proven winners should suit you.

4. Manage Passwords With Dashlane—The New Kid On the Block

Dashlane seems to be the new favorite for password managers, based in part on the $22 million round of funding they raised.

Skeptics are saying that this largest-ever fundraising round for a password management tool might be an overreaction to the Heartbleed bug, but Dashlane’s product is a slick option for those seeking a cutting-edge password management tool.

5. Two Additional Approaches Used to Manage Passwords

There are two other password management techniques that are commonly used and you may be familiar with. The first is what’s called single sign-on (SSO). With this approach, one set of login credentials is used across multiple systems.

For example, if you have a Gmail account, another cloud-based solution that you want to access may give you the option to “Sign in with Google.” If you select that option, the system confirms that you’re correctly signed into the account you’ve linked to and lets you in without requiring an additional password.

The second password management technique is called two-factor authentication. You may also see it referred to by names like dual-factor authentication, two-step verification/authorization, etc.

Basically, this means a user is required to provide two pieces of information, rather than just one, to gain access to a system.

For example, you might have to enter your password and then answer a security question. Or, after entering your password, you may need to enter a code that is sent to you in a text message.

6. Manage Passwords for Your Altvia Products

At Altvia, we take security very seriously. Fortunately, Salesforce does, too. But if you lose your password, the system does allow you to reset it.

The reset process involves receiving an email. If you find that nothing is happening when you click Reset Password, there are steps you can take to ensure you get password reset emails from Salesforce.

Compared to measuring public market investments, private equity benchmarks for fund performance are an entirely different animal.

As a relatively new asset class with irregular cash flows, private equity funds require a different way of thinking than other asset classes.

Over the past decade, Limited Partners (LPs) have been using public market-equivalent (PME) benchmarks to measure fund performance. While PMEs are more complex to calculate, they do offer methodological benefits.

Still, many firms prefer to leverage their own measurement techniques, often based on comparing Internal Rate of Returns (IRRs) to stock indexes.

In any event, a good benchmark should be applicable, understandable, and reflective of the underlying portfolio. A critical part of managing risk, benchmarks help firms evaluate past investments, understand the overall picture, and ultimately, make informed decisions. In order to stay relevant—and stay ahead of your competitors—General Partners (GPs) must have the ability to report on fund performance with metrics that LPs can easily compare to industry benchmarks in order to choose the fund manager that’s best for them.

Crucial Components of Private Equity Benchmarks

Assessing private equity performance can be a complex task. While benchmarks should reflect the fundamental characteristics a firm believes will make a good investment, the types of benchmarks often vary from LP to LP. As a result, LPs can use their benchmark choices to differentiate their firm from competitors.

Of course, before deciding whether or not to invest, firms need to fully understand what they’re measuring against their chosen benchmarks. They need to know:

• Is the investment liquid or illiquid, private or other asset?
• What’s the performance over time?
• What’s the opportunity cost of investments?

Generally driven by mandates like non-U.S. funds under $1B versus broad global PE portfolio, private equity benchmarks can be broken down into four main types based on their function:

• Compare a fund or portfolio to the industry
• Compare a fund or portfolio to the public markets
• Compare the industry to the public markets
• Compare a fund or portfolio to the public markets and compare that to how well the private equity industry did relative to the public markets

Finally, when you establish a robust benchmark to evaluate the performance of an actively managed portfolio, consider to what extent multiple measurements will allow for a more holistic view. Are you capturing quantitative and qualitative measures over both short- and long-term periods? This is the kind of data that will help your firm have the big-picture view necessary to make informed investment decisions.

Technology Streamlines the Benchmark Process

Today’s data analytics solutions can help your firm eliminate unnecessary risk by ensuring your team is always working from a single source of truth. Not only can you increase the transparency and accuracy of the data you collect, your firm can also gain critical backend efficiencies when you choose a solution designed specifically for private equity.

Altvia Answers, for example, helps firms connect data from disparate sources and easily gather meaningful information they can use to create more powerful private equity benchmarks. With a central repository for all of your firm’s data—and analytics you can obtain without IT assistance—your firm can also quickly access the information investors request and need in order to make good decisions.

Adopting tools designed for private equity can help your firm provide a fully transparent experience that builds trust with stakeholders and investors, and that empowers you to stand out from the competition.

Global Private Equity Benchmark Considerations

Today, many private equity firms use U.S. benchmarks like the S&P 500., However, some firms are beginning to recommend switching to a more global or blended benchmark system. If this trend takes hold, expect a slow progression, as changing a benchmark is a complex process requiring the approval of a firm’s board.

For now, investors should take care to understand what’s being measured, how it’s being measured, and what is being used to benchmark returns.