The Hidden Cost of Generic Expertise: Are Business Analysts the Best Fit for Your Aladdin Projects?
Chris Wray, Co-Founder
THE MULTI-LAYER CHALLENGE
and co-ordination overhead
Organisations that make substantial investments in Aladdin implementations do so to transform operations, seamlessly integrate cross-functional capabilities, and build agile ecosystems tailored to their unique requirements. The technology has grown from a core fixed-income investment management platform into a sophisticated multi-asset ecosystem incorporating cloud services, APIs and extended data capabilities. It offers organisations a radical shift in operations, providing them with centralised access to clean, relevant data within a modern, evolving architecture. However, successful implementations and projects increasingly depend on effective collaboration across domain boundaries.
Across a broad range of industries, research consistently indicates that optimal project outcomes are achieved by teams that effectively balance specialised domain expertise with comprehensive business analysis capabilities. This aligns closely with our own experience of more than a decade working on Aladdin projects across multiple organisations, where success consistently depends on the ability to integrate and navigate both technical and business domains.
Within the technical domain, modern Aladdin implementations span several distinct layers:
- Core platform functionality (including data exchange and application workflows)
- Cloud infrastructure and integrations
- API frameworks and data flows
- Extended data capabilities and analytics
Project teams often face two common scenarios. The first is relying too heavily on siloed technical experts who lack business context. The second is depending primarily on generalist analysts without deep domain knowledge. Both approaches create co-ordination overhead as teams grapple to bridge knowledge gaps - whether these gaps are known or hidden. Every handoff introduces risks: delays, misunderstandings, and potential loss of critical information.
Traditional business analysts (BAs), while skilled within specific layers (e.g., a technology BA), face increasing complexity as platform layers multiply. Each additional layer represents another technical boundary to navigate, impacting their productivity and project outcomes.
In contrast, Aladdin Subject Matter Experts (Aladdin SMEs) thrive in this multi-layered environment. Their "Pi-shaped" skill profile - combining deep platform expertise with robust business domain knowledge - means each layer becomes a powerful tool in their arsenal. Where others encounter boundaries, SMEs see opportunities to create integrated solutions, turning technical complexity into a productivity multiplier.
ALADDIN SME:
Bringing depth and insight to a complex challenge
An Aladdin SME is defined by specific, measurable criteria that set them apart from general business analysts. True Aladdin SMEs must possess:
- At least five years of hands-on Aladdin experience in post-implementation environments
- Direct experience of business roles beyond that of business analyst
- Technical capabilities relevant to customisation and integration
- Proven expertise across the full Aladdin technical stack
This combination of deep platform experience, business domain knowledge, and technical fluency allows Aladdin SMEs to identify potential challenges early, anticipate integration complexities, and navigate technical hurdles before they impact timelines or budgets. They are essential to ensuring platform projects deliver precisely what organisations expect.
Aladdin SMEs operate fluently across the entire technical stack. Their expertise and ability to skilfully manage multiple layers simultaneously is the difference between a project that delivers some of Aladdin's true functionality versus one that reimagines your investment operations and maximises the platform's full potential.
For example, correctly delivering a customised risk report within Aladdin can involve:
- Capturing and translating business requirements accurately
- Understanding core Aladdin analytics over several applications
- Navigating cloud-based data
- Managing API integrations
- Handling extended data sets
- Ensuring cross-platform consistency
The SME allows your business to experience the full sophistication of the Aladdin platform because they can:
- Design holistic solutions that leverage capabilities across all layers
- Anticipate integration challenges before they become problems
- Create efficient workflows that maximise platform capabilities
- Deliver solutions that are robust to business complexity
The line between exceptional and average Aladdin implementations isn't just drawn by technical knowledge. It's about a deep understanding of the modern investment platform ecosystem and how the different pieces fit together to deliver sustainable business value.
Your team is six months into a sophisticated platform implementation, staffed primarily with experienced BAs. Despite their competence, you're encountering escalating difficulties with complex asset onboarding, data integration, and challenging configuration decisions. Consequently, timelines are slipping, costs are increasing, and stakeholder concern is rising.
pThe issue is that BAs are under pressure to deliver across metrics that aren't within their traditional remit which then impacts their productivity and output. The above graph shows how BA productivity declines as platform sophistication increases. Conversely, productivity for trained platform SMEs continues to rise alongside the growing sophistication of the platform. This divergence underscores the necessity of aligning skilled SMEs with advanced platform capabilities to achieve sustained productivity and success.
pMIND THE GAP:
The long-term benefits of optimisation and expertise
A successful Aladdin project extends far beyond system deployment. It's about future-proofing an agile and resilient platform that drives competitive advantage through efficient workflows and comprehensive data integration. When a platform forms the backbone of your operations, even small inefficiencies create compounding frictions across your investment processes.
While traditional BA approaches excel at linear requirement gathering and documentation, modern Aladdin implementations demand a multifaceted approach.
They require expertise across:
- Data governance and integration
- Stakeholder communication and collaboration
- Testing and validation frameworks
- Audit-compliant documentation
- Current and future state mapping
Aladdin SMEs bring unique value through their ability to architect holistic solutions.
Their dual platform and business knowledge enables them to:
- Ask targeted questions that uncover underlying business needs
- Identify optimal tools and applications for specific requirements
- Provide critical context that shapes better solutions
- Bridge technical and business perspectives effectively
There is immense value in the generalised expertise of the BA. However, when it comes to the holistic solutioning of bespoke workflows or complex reporting, or connecting data and workflows across multiple layers, this requires the expertise of an Aladdin SME.
This depth of expertise transforms the implementation process from a series of technical decisions into a strategic advantage that delivers lasting business value while meeting budget constraints and stakeholder expectations.
When implementing a new reporting workflow, an Aladdin SME doesn't just document requirements, they investigate the broader context. They examine default platform metrics, understand historical decisions, evaluate portfolio characteristics, and ensure proper reconciliation processes. This comprehensive approach leads to solutions that are both technically sound and business aligned.
pTHE BA OR THE SME:
Choosing the route to success
Organisations embarking on Aladdin projects face a critical decision: continue with the traditional BA approach and accept increasingly diminished returns, or invest in the specialised expertise that modern Aladdin implementations demand. The question isn't about whether specialised Aladdin expertise is needed - it's about the costs of proceeding without it.
At Lamp, we deliver measurable returns on investment through our Aladdin expertise. Our deep technical knowledge minimises integration complexities, prevents architectural misalignments, and optimises system configurations - contributing to a platform that maximises both purpose and performance.
As investment technology continues its rapid evolution, perhaps the most important question isn't about technical specifications or implementation timelines, but about expertise itself: in a world where platforms like Aladdin increasingly blur the boundaries between technology and investment operations, can organisations afford to maintain the traditional separation between business knowledge and technical implementation?
The future belongs to those who recognise that true platform mastery isn't just a technical achievement—it's a strategic capability that transforms how investment operations function at their core.