“We presented alongside some incredible mashup tools providers and are honored to have been selected ‘Judge’s Choice’ in this category. To date, much of the buzz around the “mashup” space has focused on web-based applications. We’re happy to see an avid interest in tools such as ours, which allows for the development of rich BI applications that support web-based functions but can also operate behind the firewall, allowing for business users to receive the best of both worlds,” said Byron Binkley, CEO and founder of Proto Software.
Proto showcased their remarkable technology by providing sample use cases for their powerful tool which included managing incoming web leads with salesforce.com and some commercial web services. Their demonstration also contained a short building session highlighting Proto’s unique visual building environment which consists of easy to use drag and drop components.
“Proto was developed with the business user in mind. We wanted to create a toolkit that would allow any tech-savvy individual to create the custom business tools they need in order to solve everyday problems. Using our visual builder, individuals can develop custom applications that are not only flexible but offer a depth not generally found with GUI based building tools,” said Proto’s Vice President of Marketing, Jeb Boniakowski.
Currently, Proto offers three products: Proto Financial, Proto Individual and Proto Viewer. As Proto’s user base continues to grow, the company will focus on supporting their users and expanding their network of partners. Current partnerships focus on the development of flexible front-ends for powerful back-end technologies and include Kapow Technologies, NumeriX and StrikeIron.
"There's been a lot of talk in the technology press over the last several months about mashups, but by combining Kapow Technologies' data-gathering capabilities with Proto's rapid front-end development tools, we've created a hybrid mashup solution that adds real business value for traders, portfolio managers, analysts, and other financial services professionals," said Byron Binkley, Proto CEO. "For too long, financial services professionals have relied on the data that they can buy 'off-the-shelf' to make decisions, while the amount of relevant data available from Internet-based social media sources has exploded. Much of the time, this data offers a different and valuable perspective from what you would find in a packaged-data vendor's solution."
Kapow Technologies and Proto can be used together to quickly create applications that range from blog commentary aggregators for equity, credit and bond traders to tools to help explore sales channel saturation for research analysts. As a proof of concept, the two companies are currently demonstrating a solution that uses a variety of real estate data gathered from social websites to better value collateral underlying mortgage-backed securities. Representatives from Kapow will be demonstrating the mortgage research solution, in addition to a range of other tools created specifically for the financial services sector, at AjaxWorld in New York on Monday, March 19th through March 21st.
"With the recent turmoil in the mortgage industry, collateral quality is of great concern, and yet, analysts cannot rely on Bloomberg's CLP screen and other data subscriptions to make a timely assessment," said John Yapaola, COO of Kapow. "But now, Proto and Kapow Technologies offer a way to quickly create a mashup that combines any Internet site with other in-house applications and data subscriptions to give researchers the best of all worlds. Our partnership with Proto is a great opportunity to deliver on Enterprise 2.0's promise to the finance industry in a way that has bottom-line impact."
Kapow Technologies and Proto are currently discussing pilot implementations with several large financial services customers in and around the New York City area.
“It’s our goal to give users ‘in the trenches’ the ability to solve problems with software as they come up. No off-the-shelf solution can possibly cover the complexities financial services professionals are facing in today’s fast-moving markets, and custom software development takes too long to be useful. The ability to combine multiple data sources and create interactive, reusable tools not only gives Proto users a competitive edge but also significantly reduces the risk of errors commonly found with manual processes and spreadsheets. The increased productivity and profitability that result truly speak for themselves,” said Jeb Boniakowski, Co-Founder and Vice President of Marketing for Proto.
Respected for its ability to generate deep and powerful applications, some of Proto’s most notable features relate directly to its graphical building environment. Applications can be created by simply dragging and dropping modules onto a ‘virtual canvas’, so programming knowledge is not necessary. Modules, ranging from charts and graphs to Bloomberg and Excel data, can be easily linked together using input and output connectors.
“We wanted to create something that could be used by anyone regardless of their technical background or skill set, but didn’t sacrifice the power of programming. On the trading floor, I was constantly frustrated by trying to build scalable tools in spreadsheets. Not only would they break over time but they also lacked the depth and flexibility to bring tables of data together with analysis and decision support in a single screen. I realized that there had to be a better way to handle the business data and processes thrown at today’s analysts; so I teamed up with some developers to create Proto. This latest release captures my vision of creating a tool with the ability to easily solve a variety of business problems common to frustrated knowledge workers. I’m especially excited about the integration of VBA, Bloomberg, and web services in Proto Financial 1.5 and look forward to the developments ahead,” said Proto’s CEO, Byron Binkley.
Proto anticipates its latest release will be very well received among current users and new users eager to find effective solutions to their problems. In order to ensure that they receive the best possible support, Proto has developed a number of online resources including various in-depth tutorials, a forum, a blog and a support network to help answer any questions that may arise. In addition, Proto staff members and current users have developed an application gallery from which any Proto user can download ready-made applications or components for use ‘as is’ or as part of their own custom tool.
Proto Financial 1.5 is available at www.protosw.com. Downloads and free 30-day trials are also available. Licensing fees and agreements may apply for commercial use.
“We are very excited about the release of Proto Individual. There are a number of great tools out there that let users build custom apps on the web but we had not seen a tool that could effectively build deep applications that integrate data on the user’s desktop, including analytics and applications, with web services. Proto addresses this issue and allows users to build richer custom business applications. We hope that the introduction of this product will help fill this void and we’re eager to see the dynamic applications that are built as a result,” said Proto’s Co-Founder and Vice-President of Marketing, Jeb Boniakowski.
Proto hopes that users will find Proto Individual incredibly useful in their day-to-day lives. In order to ensure that they receive the best possible support, they have developed a number of online resources including various in-depth tutorials, a forum, a blog and a support network to help answer any questions that may arise. In addition, Proto staff members and current users have developed an application gallery from which any Proto user can download ready-made components for use ‘as is’ or as part of their own custom application.
“Our goal was to create something truly intuitive and flexible; something that requires a little bit of time but produces maximum output. Equally important to us was the creation of a tool that could cope with the reality that problems occur and variables change all the time. In my former life on a trading floor, I was constantly frustrated by having to use applications that would break whenever one component changed or needed to be updated. Proto Individual was built with this specific concern in mind, so while all the components are interlinked, they can easily be removed or modified to create intelligent, reusable applications. I am incredibly pleased with our latest release and look forward to the new developments ahead,” said Proto’s CEO, Byron Binkley.
Proto Individual represents a successful milestone for Proto, a young company looking to create innovative and useful technologies that can be used across all industries. The company anticipates that its latest release will be very well received among current users and new users eager to find meaningful solutions to their problems. Available for free, Proto hopes individuals we begin to familiarize themselves with the endless capabilities and substantial benefits that Proto has to offer.
The latest Proto release incorporates a wide range of new features that will make our clients more efficient and productive:
Proto Software, Inc. has been developing application software in New York City since 2003. Founded by a former Goldman Sachs derivatives trader, Proto provides the financial industry with a more powerful set of tools to analyze data, gain situational awareness and solve the problems that come up "in the trenches."
Clients can contact support about upgrading. Prospects should email sales@protosw.com to set up a demo.
]]>Now our clients who don’t need the ability to build their own custom modules can simply plug and play existing modules into the Proto Viewer Edition for easy access and immediate productivity. Over 50 modules have been posted to the Gallery on our website (http://www.protosw.com/). The number of modules in the Gallery grows weekly as the Proto community grows. Anybody can see descriptions of their functionality and screenshots that make them easy to find and download with a click. Link to prime brokers and data sources to generate flexible dashboards quickly that would take days—even weeks—to program on a custom basis.
Users of our flagship product, Proto Financial, will notice myriad feature enhancements, performance improvements, and better interoperability. Builders in Proto will notice a host of new features added like auto-growing ranges for more flexible data importation, broader functionality bundled into existing primitives, and easier downloading by “wrapping up” documents like Excel files into existing modules.
Clients can download the new release at the releases section of the website. Prospects should email sales@protosw.com to set up a demo, or sign up on the website for a live demonstration via a web seminar.
]]>"Proto Financial solves real problems for serious players in the financial community, and Proto is committed to delivering success. Too many analysts and traders are missing trades and mired in data because they are stuck using spreadsheets. Proto's technology offers the best solution to a pervasive problem--with no programming required," said Schmutz. Prior to joining Proto, Schmutz was Director of Marketing Alternative Investments at Investors Bank and Trust, Vice President of Strategic Sales and Product Development at Albridge Solutions, and number one Sales Executive globally for Advent Software in both 2001 and 2002.
Proto Software, Inc. is a software company based in New York City. The company was founded in 2003 by Byron Binkley after he left an analyst position trading derivatives at Goldman Sachs. Like most analysts, he lived in Excel and grew to appreciate what a powerful program it is. But he soon realized that Wall Street, more than any other market, is ready for "the next spreadsheet." Two years, hundreds of erased whiteboards, and a team of 13 engineers later, Proto's core technology represents a new benchmark for what is possible. First there were calculators, then spreadsheets. Now there is Proto.
Jeb Boniakowski:
jeb@protosw.com
info@protosw.com
Proto Software
140 W. 30th St.
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(212) 244-1960