Sopra Steria Extends Cloud Software Contract with FCA

Software integrator Sopra Steria has signed a new contract with the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), extending the work the company’s teams have been providing for the Authority for over a decade. The deal will see it provide maintenance services across all the FCA’s major systems, following the company’s development and launch of the FCA’s Market Data Processor (MDP) in January. The MDP was built to satisfy the requirements of MiFID. The cloud platform has already securely handled over 6 billion transactions as of October 1, 2018, according to the company. The maintenance contract foresees Sopra Steria managing the solution for three years, during which, it will enable new technical capabilities. According to Sopra Steria, The MDP marks the first time a regulator has used a cloud-based application to manage widespread regulatory filings. The platform went live on 3rd January 2018, the date when MiFID II regulations came in to effect. The news comes amid a shift in the company’s strategic direction, as it pivots away from the banking vertical and towards the public sector in the UK. In the latter, a joint venture with the NHS drove revenue growth of 3.5%. In the same quarter, revenues generated by Sopra Banking Software slid 20.2%.