Baxtre has to support the functional process in the entire organization.

The management of (and the information required for) the processes in Treasury is necessarily multi-leveled. It involves bottom-up as well as top-down processes with sometimes many layers in between. The required information consists of actual position information (liquidity, currency, interest etc) with specifications that may widely vary per participant. All kinds of external data, provided by banks and data vendors, are used. This is difficult to realize in existing corporate systems and databases.

To secure the quality of data and the efficiency of data-exchange in this process, all participants, wherever located, need to be able to access one well segmented corporate-wide system. These requirements tend to challenge the technical infrastructure.

 

Depending on the system version Baxtre allows distributed access to each or all entities in a corporation by one or more concurrent users. The different system versions are :

1. Corporate / single user (one user with access to all entities)
2. Corporate / multi user (concurrent users, all with access to all entities)
3. Global / multi user (idem, but access to be specified per user / per entity)

The choice for a particular version of Baxtre and the technical infrastructure required are very much interrelated. The above mentioned system versions are all interchangeable, at any time and without any consequence for any data. Similarly, all Baxtre modules and system supplements can be added or eliminated, regardless of the system version in use. This allows Baxtre to be adjusted, not only initially, but at all times to any (change in) functional requirements without any system consequences.

This version can be installed on any single PC or laptop, but also on a server in any network. Technically, a stand-alone set-up is a perfectly feasible option, especially in terms of performance. However, organizing daily back-ups might be a problem. In this situation, we recommend installation on a network server, provided the LAN or WAN meets the requirements. A network set-up also facilitates some distributed use, although concurrent use remains impossible.

In a multi user environment, multiple concurrent (licensed) users need to access Baxtre over the network from their computer. Typically, the users of a Corporate version are part of one entity (headquarters). Most probably all are already connected to a LAN or WAN. In determining the adequacy of an (existing) LAN / WAN infrastructure, the main technical element to be considered is the fact that Baxtre, in this set-up, runs on the client and generates file I/O over the network in accessing the database on the server. Being an input / output intensive application this generates a lot of network communication. Consequently, performance in this setup is highly influenced by the total number of concurrent users in the network and network bandwidth, making Baxtre's performance very dependent on network performance.
If performance in a LAN / WAN set-up is unsatisfactory, we recommend a thin client solution as described hereafter.

This version allows Baxtre to be employed worldwide. Each user can be authorized to access a specific, predetermined segment of Baxtre (entity or group of entities) with functional specifications according to its needs. Thus, each subsidiary, country holding or regional centre can access and use Baxtre for its own purposes, while at the same time Corporate Treasury uses Baxtre for corporate and consolidation purposes. To share one application worldwide is extremely efficient, but it will generate a lot of concurrent network usage.
A choice for a Global Baxtre usually also implies that all entities have to participate to achieve accurate consolidated positions. This also applies to new acquisitions that need to participate as of the day after closing of the deal. Many WANs are not capable of meeting these requirements.
For these kinds of situations and in cases mentioned above we recommend the use of thin client and virtual network solutions.
Thin client performance is much better than the traditional networking technique of remote file access, because in a thin client configuration Baxtre runs on the server where data access is local. Server processing eliminates the need to perform file operations over the network. This reduces network traffic and improves response time. The thin client model does perform screen I/O over the network, but this is much less than the file I/O that it replaces. The following options for thin client installations could be considered :

a) If no client server environment exists and if (apart from Baxtre) there are no other applications that require such an environment, a specific Baxtre thin client solution (Acuthin) is available. This solution is cheap and effective, but it is limited to Baxtre and it cannot provide for secure access through internet, as some other thin client solutions can.
b) If requirements surpass the capabilities of Acuthin, we recommend the use of a CitrixTM based solution. Baxtre can be easily installed on a new, or added to an existing, Citrix server, due to the absence of any link to other systems or applications. Thin clients connect to the server through the WAN or a Citrix Access Gateway. This Access Gateway is an important feature. It is not only capable of supplementing an existing network to reach those (newly acquired) operating companies that are not (yet) connected to the corporate network, but it also allows Baxtre to be implemented as a fully serviced "Internet application". The only difference with external SAAS solutions is that the company acts as its own provider.

 

To summarize the different solutions the following scheme can be drawn up:

	Standalone	LAN/WAN	TC/Virtual network
Corporate/single user	not recommended	yes	yes
Corporate/multiuser	no	possible	yes
Global/multiuser	no	not recommended	yes

Database and program files are fully separated.

The design of the Baxtre database is based on a flat file structure, without any link to other systems or applications, resulting in a fast and stable system. It is not a database system like Oracle or Microsoft SQL server, so there is no database server installation nor any need for a database administrator. While there are no intrinsic limits to the Baxtre database, it is good to know that a typical treasury would not easily add a database volume of much more than 200 MB a year.

Installing Baxtre is a simple procedure, based on the Windows installer. As Baxtre is not intrusive in the Windows environment, it does not make any changes to the Windows registry nor adds or overwrites DLLs in the Windows system directories, it does not influence its environment and consequently does not produce the usual disturbances that have become so common with "new" applications.

Baxtre is configured with a single INI-configuration file. To use Baxtre, clients only have to point to this configuration file or use a copy of this file, slightly modified if desired. This makes Baxtre flexible and easily relocatable. The result is that neither installation nor operation or maintenance of Baxtre requires any significant IT support capacity. The little support that is required can even be reduced through using our application maintenance service.

The Baxtre database needs to be backed-up daily.

Baxtre also has an integrated back-up facility, allowing to copy database ánd system files. The purpose of this function is to "freeze" the system at predetermined dates, to allow a recall of all positions of that date, disregarding later software-updates and / or information, unknown at the time.

In both cases it is required that no users are active in Baxtre, as the database files may not be in use during back-up. It is recommended to schedule a network back-up in a maintenance window.