What Step Forward does

Step Forward is a boutique technology consulting and advisory firm founded in 2019 by Zsolt Szalacsi and headquartered in London, with a registered entity in Dublin (Step Forward Technology Partners Limited). The firm specializes in capital markets technology consulting for financial institutions, with concentrated expertise in implementing, upgrading, and integrating vendor platforms such as Finastra Fusion Kondor, Fusion Risk, Calypso, Refinitiv ET and FXT, and Intellect Design Arena's treasury and risk products. Its service portfolio spans transformation consulting, risk and regulatory advisory, system integration, treasury consulting, software engineering, system implementation, and SWIFT Customer Security Program compliance. The underlying technology stack is built around the major capital markets vendor suites and Microsoft Azure and SQL Server, with a proprietary "Integrated Digital Enterprise Technology" methodology for connecting applications via FIX and FPML standards.

The firm operates on a professional services revenue model, billing clients through hourly rates or fixed project fees, and does not publicly disclose pricing. Go-to-market is sales-led and partner-driven, with direct engagement at C-suite and senior management levels at banks, fintechs, private equity firms, and corporate treasuries, supplemented by a partner referral network with Finastra, Refinitiv, Intellect Design Arena, QRC, and Microsoft. Despite a stated firmographic headcount of 1-10, the firm functions as a distributed expert network with partners and senior consultants based in London, Dublin, New York, Singapore, Athens, Budapest, Warsaw, and Phuket, drawn almost entirely from prior careers at Finastra, Thomson Reuters, Misys, Calypso, PwC, KPMG, Deloitte, and other major financial technology and consulting firms. Customer engagements to date include universal banks in Hungary, large Greek banks, a pan-European supranational, and a large multinational bank with operations across the UK, Germany, and Poland.

Name

Step Forward

Legal name

Step Forward Partners Limited

Website

https://stepforward.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Step Forward is a London-headquartered boutique technology consultancy founded in 2019 that advises and implements capital markets systems (Finastra Fusion Kondor, Fusion Risk, Calypso, Refinitiv, Intellect) for banks, fintechs, private equity firms, and corporate treasuries worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Capital Markets Technology Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Computer Systems Design Services (541512)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Turnaround, Restructuring & Crisis Management Consulting (BPAHACAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Risk, Controls & Governance (GRC) Platforms (FSAFAOAG), Third-Party Risk, Vendor Due Diligence & Supply Chain Compliance (BPAEAPAG)

Keywords

• Capital markets consulting
• Treasury advisory services
• Regulatory compliance consulting
• System integration services
• Banking software implementation

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Technology Consulting Services: Professional consulting fees for advisory services covering business transformation, technology strategy, risk management, and regulatory compliance. Revenue generated through hourly rates or fixed project fees.
2. System Implementation Services: Implementation and upgrade services for banking software including Fusion Kondor, Fusion Risk, Calypso, and other capital markets platforms. Typically project-based with defined scope and deliverables.
3. Software Engineering Services: Custom software development, integration, and development team augmentation services. Projects supervised by partners with development work delivered remotely.
4. SWIFT Security Compliance Services: Security assessments, compliance validation, and remediation services for SWIFT Customer Security Program requirements. Includes gap assessments and completion letters.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Step Forward is a boutique technology and advisory consultancy that delivers expert consulting, advisory, and implementation services to financial institutions in the capital markets space. They provide services across transformation, risk and regulatory, treasury, system integration, software engineering, and system implementation for vendor platforms including Finastra Fusion Kondor, Fusion Risk, Calypso, Refinitiv, and Intellect products.

Product overview

Step Forward is a boutique technology consulting and advisory consultancy, not a software product company. They provide professional services including transformation consulting, risk and regulatory advisory, treasury services, software engineering, system implementation, and system integration. Their core offering is augmenting financial institutions' teams with expert consultants and delivering end-to-end projects. They specialize in supporting vendor software platforms including Finastra Fusion Kondor, Fusion Risk, Refinitiv, and Intellect Design Arena products rather than selling their own proprietary software products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Transformation Consulting Advisory services covering business transformation, technology strategy, and growth and risk transformations for banks and financial institutions, delivered by experienced former vendor and consulting leaders.
• Risk and Regulatory Advisory Advisory services for risk management, financial and operational risk, and regulatory compliance including LIBOR transition, MiFID II, IFRS9, and SWIFT CSP compliance.
• System Integration Services System integration services using the proprietary Integrated Digital Enterprise Technology methodology and industry standards such as FIX and FPML protocols to connect capital markets applications like Fusion Kondor with Refinitiv market data feeds.
• Treasury Advisory Services Advisory services for corporate treasury departments covering cash management, hedging strategies, active treasury management, and treasury system assessment and upgrade planning.
• Software Engineering Services Custom software development, integration, and development team augmentation services supervised by partners with development work delivered remotely.
• System Implementation Services Implementation and upgrade services for banking software including Finastra Fusion Kondor, Fusion Risk, Calypso, and other capital markets platforms, typically delivered as project-based engagements with defined scope and deliverables.
• SWIFT Security Compliance Services Security assessments, compliance validation, gap assessments, and remediation services for SWIFT Customer Security Program requirements, including completion letters.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully delivered complex Kondor upgrade for large European commercial bank with multi-country operations (UK, Germany, Poland), completed end of 2020
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and strategic.

• FinastracoreTechnology or IntegrationLong-standing relationship with Finastra since inception. All partners and directors have direct or indirect experience with Finastra's product set including Fusion Kondor and Fusion Risk. Step Forward has run a number of joint projects since 2020, and all Kondor and Fusion Risk consultants are FCA or FCI certified.
• RefinitivcoreTechnology or IntegrationWorking together on integrating Refinitiv ET and FXT with capital markets applications including Fusion Kondor. Uses Step Forward's Integrated Digital Enterprise Technology utilizing industry standards such as FIX and FPML.
• Intellect Design ArenacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSales and implementation partners for Intellect's iRTM (Treasury and Capital Markets solution) and Intellect Wealth Cube (digital front solution). Also partners for CBX FX, CALM, ALM, LIBOR, Liquidity Risk and Reporting products.
• QRC Assurance and SolutionsstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership announced May 2021. Combining Step Forward's Financial & Operational Risk expertise with QRC's Cybersecurity expertise to offer comprehensive Risk Services to the market, including SWIFT CSP compliance and security testing.
• FinmechanicscoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership to help achieve smooth transition from IBORs to RFRs (Risk-Free Rates) with light impact on IT and minimum change management effort. Joint offering covers LIBOR transition advisory and implementation services.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Capco: Global management and technology consultancy dedicated to financial services, including capital markets, risk, and regulatory transformation. Direct peer given overlapping client segment (large banks), similar transformation/implementation offerings, and boutique-feel engagement model within a larger firm.
• Luxoft (DXC Technology): IT services provider with a strong capital markets technology practice delivering platform implementation, integration, and consulting for tier-1 banks. Comparable on Murex, Calypso, Kondor, and risk platform engagements that overlap Step Forward's core delivery capability.
• Synechron: Digital transformation consultancy focused on financial services with deep capital markets technology expertise. Direct peer because it delivers Finastra, Murex, Calypso, and risk platform implementations for global banks—overlapping service lines and customer base with Step Forward.
• Expleo: Engineering and technology consulting firm with a financial services vertical delivering capital markets platform implementation and testing services. Direct peer on the system implementation, software engineering, and QA/testing side of Step Forward's Kondor testing offering.
• Wavestone: Consulting firm with a strong financial services practice covering risk, regulatory compliance, and core banking transformation. Comparable to Step Forward on the advisory and regulatory side, particularly around LIBOR, Basel, and operational resilience mandates for European banks.
• Delta Capita: London-based boutique consultancy specializing in capital markets, financial services operations, and regulatory transformation. Closest direct comparable: similar boutique size, similar client base (banks and capital markets firms), and overlapping regulatory and post-trade services.

Broad incumbents

• Deloitte: Big 4 firm with a deep financial services consulting practice spanning risk, regulatory, and technology transformation. Step Forward partners' Big 4 alumni background (PwC, KPMG, Deloitte) makes it a credible alternative for clients seeking more boutique delivery.
• EPAM Systems: Large IT and digital services firm with a significant financial services vertical covering capital markets, payments, and risk. Broad incumbent that competes on full-stack delivery and digital engineering, while Step Forward operates as a more specialized boutique.
• Accenture: Global professional services firm with a large financial services practice covering capital markets technology, risk, and regulatory transformation. Competes for large bank transformation mandates that Step Forward typically participates in as a specialist sub-contractor.

Regional players

• Version 1: UK and Ireland-based IT services and consulting firm with a financial services practice. Comparable as a regional implementation partner (one of Step Forward's EMEA partners previously led Version 1's financial services business), though broader in scope and not capital-markets-niche.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/stepforward_io
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/step-fwd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Step Forward