Is It Time For Data Management To Get Its Game On?
Last week's Asia-Pacific Financial Information Conference (APFIC) in Hong Kong opened the eyes of many delegates to what—depending on your point of view—is either an important game-changing innovation or a new buzzword that will torment those who think they will never see the back of big data and cloud technology.
Ears pricked up and eyebrows were raised at the end of the first day of the conference when, during a panel about opportunities in the year to come, Marc Anthonisen, Hong Kong-based regional market leader, product and content, at S&P Capital IQ, said the pricing and data vendor is planning to make its products "fun," "enjoyable" and "intuitive" by using a technique he called "gamification." Make data management fun—ideas don't come much more radical than that!
In case anybody hadn't been paying attention on the first day, or their memories of Anthonisen's comments had been clouded by the dinner and drinks that followed that evening, Louis Eccleston, president, S&P Capital IQ, took up the theme again in his keynote address the following morning, when he told delegates that gamification could be used to make "technology more engaging by taking advantage of human's predisposition to engage in gaming." And the term quickly became the buzzword of the conference, with other delegates measuring their own company's product plans against the new sexy-sounding term.
Gamification means applying the design, technology and conventions of computer games to non-gaming contexts. It is widely used in the marketing industry to engage the public's attention and derive valuable data about them. The best known example of this is Foursquare, an app that rewards users when they visit real-world venues, such as restaurants and shops, and record the fact by "checking in" online.
Gamification is also being used to facilitate innovation and encourage people to perform mundane but important tasks. In an example that is particularly pertinent for data management, technology provider Microtask created an e-program for the National Library of Finland that uses gamification to motivate members of the public to correct spelling and other mistakes that were created when documents from the library's archive were digitized. In one game in the program, the player is shown two different words and asked to determine as quickly as possible if they are the same.
Is it possible to make data management tasks as engaging as Call of Duty, Medal of Honor or Grand Theft Auto?
S&P's use of gamification is still at the design and prototype stages. However, Eccleston said the company will use the technique as part of its plans to replace the tabs and navigation bars he believes currently clutter user interfaces. "The typical graphical user interface is obsolete," he declared.
As with big data and the cloud, sceptics will no doubt question whether gamification is really such a new idea. (This writer, for example, learned to type by using a game that involved propelling an avatar across a computer screen and scoring points by hitting the correct letters on the keyboard) However, gamification clearly takes the concept of making work fun to new levels by using the internet and collective endeavor.
Observers say gamification is motivated by vendors' desire to make their wares more ‘sticky.' Mention of stickiness will no doubt make mangers at financial firms anxious, as they recall efforts to replace technology that staff have grown attached to and believe they are dependent on.
But an equally powerful image in the minds of those considering the merits of gamification should be that of their teenage sons (and daughters) who have become so engrossed in their computer games that they struggle to pull them away from their consoles.
Is it possible to make data management tasks as engaging as Call of Duty, Medal of Honor or Grand Theft Auto? As S&P gets busy developing prototypes and hundreds of APFIC delegates report back to their colleagues, it looks like 2013 is the year when we will start to find out. Let the games begin!
Only users who have a paid subscription or are part of a corporate subscription are able to print or copy content.
To access these options, along with all other subscription benefits, please contact info@waterstechnology.com or view our subscription options here: http://subscriptions.waterstechnology.com/subscribe
You are currently unable to print this content. Please contact info@waterstechnology.com to find out more.
You are currently unable to copy this content. Please contact info@waterstechnology.com to find out more.
Copyright Infopro Digital Limited. All rights reserved.
You may share this content using our article tools. Printing this content is for the sole use of the Authorised User (named subscriber), as outlined in our terms and conditions - https://www.infopro-insight.com/terms-conditions/insight-subscriptions/
If you would like to purchase additional rights please email info@waterstechnology.com
Copyright Infopro Digital Limited. All rights reserved.
You may share this content using our article tools. Copying this content is for the sole use of the Authorised User (named subscriber), as outlined in our terms and conditions - https://www.infopro-insight.com/terms-conditions/insight-subscriptions/
If you would like to purchase additional rights please email info@waterstechnology.com
More on Data Management
Hub to lay off 20% of staff, sources say
Hub’s CEO says this is simply a case of a startup trying to stay nimble and efficient; others say it points to deeper issues.
TS Imagine integrates LTX’s pre-trade analytics tool
Users of the fixed-income EMS will now have access to LTX’s Liquidity Cloud tool, which provides a pre-trade score for the likelihood of trading success.
After contentious Opra upgrades, vendors brace for a faster future
Upgrades to the datafeed widely used to gauge the current market price for options contracts went into effect in February after three separate delays, which market participants say were caused by persistent bandwidth issues at some important recipients.
The IMD Wrap: No more turf wars, or why CDOs should heed the Voice of the CTO
Max reviews how our recent Voice of the CTO series has implications for those beyond a firm’s technology function, and how communication and collaboration between tech, data, and leadership will deliver better results.
Dark horse: Deutsche Börse building dark pool
New functionality allowing exchange members to execute sweep trades comes hot on the heels of European rival Euronext launching its own dark pool.
Man Group’s proprietary data platform is a timesaver for quants
The investment firm’s head of data delves into its alt data strategy and use of AI tools to boost quant efficiency.
Waters Wrap: The tough climb for startups
Anthony speaks with two seasoned technologists to better understand why startups have such a tough time getting banks and asset managers to sign on the dotted line.
As crypto ETFs become reality, benchmark providers take center stage
The SEC’s approval of the first spot bitcoin ETFs will expose a growing number of traditional market participants to the maturing world of crypto data, a moment that some—such as CF Benchmarks, BlackRock’s benchmark provider—have been eagerly awaiting.
Most read
- Women in Technology & Data Awards 2024: All the winners and why they won
- Witad Awards 2024: Above and beyond award (vendor)—Susan Bennett, Tradeweb
- Fighting FAIRR: Inside the bill aiming to keep AI and algos honest