ElseWare
ElseWare provides the MSTAR software suite and consulting services for operational risk measurement at global banks and insurers, using its proprietary XOI methodology approved by UK, US, and EU regulators for capital modeling.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1990
- HeadquartersLevallois-perret, France
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What ElseWare does
ElseWare is a French-headquartered software and consulting firm specializing in operational risk measurement for financial institutions, founded in 1993 by Patrick Naim and Laurent Condamin. The company's core product is the MSTAR suite, anchored by its proprietary XOI (Exposure, Occurrence, Impact) methodology introduced in 2005, which decomposes operational risk into three quantifiable dimensions and applies Bayesian networks and Monte Carlo simulation to produce full loss distributions. MSTAR Desktop ($15k-$100k/year) is a standalone modeling application with Python/R/Matlab export, while MSTAR Platform (Risk.net award winner 2020) provides 40+ pre-built scenarios, a dynamic dashboard, and an on-premise enterprise tier starting at $100k/year. A complementary MSTAR mobile app and consulting services ($6k-$18k per scenario) extend the offering.
ElseWare serves a concentrated enterprise customer base of global banks (Barclays, JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, Société Générale, Credit Suisse, Standard Chartered, Nomura, Bank of Montreal, Truist), insurers (Aviva, Crédit Mutuel, ACM, United Health Group), and industry associations (ORX, American Bankers Association). Its XOI methodology has received regulatory approval in the UK (FCA), US (Federal Reserve), and EU, making it one of a limited set of approaches accepted for operational risk capital modeling under Basel frameworks. Distribution is primarily direct enterprise sales complemented by strategic partnerships with ORX (2023), the American Bankers Association (2022), and Sicsic Advisory (2024, focused on PRA SS5/25 climate requirements for insurers).
The company operates from Paris, New York, and London with a small team of 11-50 employees. ElseWare was acquired in December 2024 by Direct Debit System as part of an East-to-West technology transfer, with the Elseware brand, founding team, and product portfolio continuing to operate independently. The firm has not raised disclosed external funding, suggesting a bootstrapped specialist operating model rather than a venture-backed scale-up.
ElseWare firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ElseWare
- Legal name
- Elseware
- Website
- https://www.elseware.fr/
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1990
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- ElseWare provides the MSTAR software suite and consulting services for operational risk measurement at global banks and insurers, using its proprietary XOI methodology approved by UK, US, and EU regulators for capital modeling.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
ElseWare industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Operational Risk Management Software
- NAICS
- Management Consulting Services (54161), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415), Software Publishers (5132), Environmental Consulting Services (54162)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Risk, Compliance & Internal Controls Consulting (BPAHACAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Insurance Underwriting, Pricing & Accumulation Tools (P&C, Specialty, Parametric) (EUABALAF)
Keywords
Where ElseWare is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Levallois-perret
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
ElseWare business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Software Licensing (MSTAR Desktop & Platform): Annual subscription-based licensing for MSTAR Desktop (standalone risk modeling application) and MSTAR Platform (cloud-based scenario library and dashboard). Tiered pricing from individual to enterprise levels with unlimited user options for large deployments.
- Professional Services - Consulting: Expert operational risk consulting services including scenario quantification (template-based, $6k per scenario) and bespoke scenario design ($12-18k per scenario). Services cover regulatory requirements (CCAR, ICAAP), insurance optimization, and control framework evaluation.
- Research & Publications: Revenue generated through sale of risk management books and publications including 'Operational Risk Modeling in Financial Services: The XOI Method' (Wiley, 2019) and collaborative research papers.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | MSTAR Desktop Single - $15,000/year for one user license |
| Subscription | Annual | MSTAR Desktop Team - $45,000/year for five user licenses |
| Subscription | Annual | MSTAR Desktop Enterprise - $80,000-$100,000/year for unlimited user licenses |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | MSTAR Platform Free Access - Free |
| Subscription | Annual | MSTAR Platform Consultation - $35,000/year |
| Subscription | Annual | MSTAR Platform Enterprise (On-premise) - From $100,000/year |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Scenario Quantification - $6,000 per scenario |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Scenario Design - $12,000-$18,000 per scenario |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
ElseWare product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ElseWare develops and licenses the MSTAR software suite — MSTAR Desktop, MSTAR Platform, and the MSTAR mobile app — built on its proprietary XOI (Exposure, Occurrence, Impact) methodology for designing, simulating, and quantifying operational risk scenarios. The firm also delivers expert consulting services covering scenario design, regulatory capital submissions (CCAR, ICAAP), risk appetite framework design, and climate stress testing for banks and insurers. Revenue is generated from annual software subscriptions, tiered enterprise licensing, freemium community access, and per-scenario consulting engagements.
Product overview
ElseWare offers a unified product portfolio centered on the MSTAR suite for operational risk measurement. The core offerings include MSTAR Desktop (standalone desktop application for scenario design and Monte Carlo simulation), MSTAR Platform (cloud-based scenario library and dashboard with 40+ pre-built scenarios), and MSTAR App (iOS/Android mobile app for news and scenario access). The products share the proprietary XOI (Exposure, Occurrence, Impact) methodology as their analytical foundation, enabling financial institutions to design, simulate, and quantify operational risk scenarios for regulatory compliance. Consulting services complement the software offerings with expert guidance on regulatory validation and scenario design.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- MSTAR Desktop: Core tool for designing and quantifying risk scenarios with built-in Python, R and Matlab export
- MSTAR Platform
- MSTAR App
Products and services
- MSTAR Desktop Standalone risk-modelling application that allows risk professionals and teams to design, model and quantify operational risk scenarios using the XOI methodology, with built-in export to Python, R and Matlab and Java API access for enterprise integration. Available in Single ($15k/year), Team ($45k/year), and Enterprise ($80-100k/year unlimited users) tiers.
- MSTAR Platform Award-winning cloud-based platform (Risk.net 2020) providing 40+ curated operational risk scenarios updated quarterly, a dynamic dashboard, a real-world news feed and benchmark comparisons. Available in Free (community), Consultation ($35k/year), and Enterprise on-premise (from $100k/year) tiers for financial institutions.
- MSTAR App Mobile application available on iOS and Android that delivers an operational risk news feed and a scenario library covering Conduct, ESG, Cyber, Fraud, Error, Disruption, and Legal risk types — extending the MSTAR content to practitioners on the move.
- Operational Risk Consulting Services Expert consulting services covering operational risk requirements including regulatory submissions (CCAR, ICAAP, Capital), operational risk insurance coverage optimization, and operational risk controls evaluation. Services range from scenario quantification ($6,000 per template scenario) to bespoke scenario design ($12,000–$18,000 per scenario) and full multi-year regulatory validation engagements.
Quantifiable outcome
- Conduct risk VaR expected to increase by 80% under climate stress conditions by 2050
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use ElseWare
Customer profileNamed customers18 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
ElseWare technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability2 records
Feature6 records
ElseWare partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- Sicsic AdvisorycoreJoint solution to respond to PRA SS5/25 requirements for climate scenario analysis for insurers. Combines Sicsic Advisory's expertise in quantitative modeling, risk management and governance with Elseware's XOI methodology.
- ORX AssociationcoreMSTAR became an ORX Association iDP (Innovation Data Platform) partner, enabling interoperability of services on the ORX iDP Platform. This integration allows MSTAR's structured scenario capabilities to work with ORX's operational risk data benchmarking services.
- American Bankers Association (ABA)flagshipJoint online training program (Financial Risk: Structured Scenario Analysis Series) and annual Climate Risk Benchmarking Survey for US financial institutions. ABA SSA Portal hosts structured scenarios and data developed collaboratively.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
ElseWare competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Moody's Analytics: Moody's Analytics offers regulatory risk, credit, and climate analytics to financial institutions globally. Comparable in serving G-SIBs for Basel-style regulatory modeling, though broader than ElseWare's operational-risk-specific niche.
- Oracle GRC / Risk Management: Oracle offers GRC, financial controls, and risk analytics used by large banks. As a broad incumbent in enterprise risk technology, Oracle competes with ElseWare at the operational risk platform layer within financial services.
- MSCI (RiskMetrics / Climate Risk): MSCI provides market and climate risk analytics plus regulatory frameworks used by large banks and asset managers. As a broad incumbent across portfolio risk, ESG, and operational risk, MSCI is a partial competitor to ElseWare's regulatory and climate scenario analytics.
- ServiceNow (GRC / Integrated Risk): ServiceNow's GRC/IRM module provides risk and compliance workflows to large enterprises including financial institutions. Comparable as a broader risk platform player, though ServiceNow positions risk management as one capability within a much wider enterprise software suite.
Emerging players
- LogicGate Risk Cloud: LogicGate provides a configurable GRC/risk platform with workflow and scenario capabilities used by mid-market and emerging enterprise risk teams. Comparable in serving risk professionals with structured scenario workflows, though typically smaller deployments than MSTAR at G-SIBs.
Direct peers
- Riskonnect: Riskonnect provides integrated risk management software including operational risk, GRC, and risk analytics for mid-to-large financial and insurance firms. Comparable to ElseWare as a specialist risk platform vendor competing for similar budget lines.
- SAS Institute (SAS OpRisk): SAS is a direct peer providing enterprise operational risk analytics software to global banks and insurers. Both ElseWare and SAS compete for the same G-SIB risk modeling budget, with SAS offering broader analytics vs. ElseWare's specialist scenario focus.
- Regnology (formerly RSA Archer / BWISE): Regnology (RSA Archer heritage) provides integrated risk management and operational risk software widely used at large banks. Comparable enterprise GRC/OpRisk stack provider directly competing with MSTAR in financial services.
- Diligent (Galvanize/ACL): Diligent's Galvanize/ACL platform provides GRC and operational risk software to financial institutions and serves large enterprises directly comparable to ElseWare's MSTAR customer base. Both compete for risk and compliance technology spend at G-SIBs.
- IBM OpenPages: IBM OpenPages is a GRC/operational risk platform sold to global banks and insurers that competes head-to-head with MSTAR for the same risk and regulatory reporting workflows. Comparable in targeting the operational risk technology stack at large financial institutions.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
ElseWare financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ElseWare leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
ElseWare funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ElseWare M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about ElseWare
What does ElseWare do?
ElseWare develops and licenses the MSTAR software suite — MSTAR Desktop, MSTAR Platform, and the MSTAR mobile app — built on its proprietary XOI (Exposure, Occurrence, Impact) methodology for designing, simulating, and quantifying operational risk scenarios. The firm also delivers expert consulting services covering scenario design, regulatory capital submissions (CCAR, ICAAP), risk appetite framework design, and climate stress testing for banks and insurers. Revenue is generated from annual software subscriptions, tiered enterprise licensing, freemium community access, and per-scenario consulting engagements.
Is ElseWare a public or private company?
ElseWare is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was ElseWare founded?
ElseWare was founded in 1990. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is ElseWare based?
ElseWare is headquartered in Levallois-perret, France, in the Europe region.
How does ElseWare make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Software Licensing (MSTAR Desktop & Platform) is the primary driver. The others are professional Services - Consulting and research & Publications.
Who are ElseWare's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Moody's Analytics, Oracle GRC / Risk Management, MSCI (RiskMetrics / Climate Risk) and ServiceNow (GRC / Integrated Risk). LogicGate Risk Cloud is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Riskonnect, SAS Institute (SAS OpRisk), Regnology (formerly RSA Archer / BWISE), Diligent (Galvanize/ACL) and IBM OpenPages.
Does ElseWare have an API?
No public API is recorded for ElseWare.
What industry is ElseWare in?
ElseWare's product category is Operational Risk Management Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHACAJ, Risk, Compliance & Internal Controls Consulting, with a secondary code of EUABALAF, Insurance Underwriting, Pricing & Accumulation Tools (P&C, Specialty, Parametric). Its NAICS code is 54161 and its SIC code is 8742.