The Wrong End of the Stick

People often talk about the idea of self-fulfilling prophecies being extant in capital markets. To an extent, it's true. News reports fuel trading decisions, or at least form a significant part of them, so if headlines everywhere scream that the markets will go down, surprise surprise, indices tend to fall. The same can't exactly be said about technology, though.

Take cloud computing and mobility technology, for instance. They are talked about ad nauseam in the press, present publication included, at conferences and in board rooms, but while there is a critical mass slowly building behind them, it's not reached a boiling point where they're both inevitable yet.

I had a long conversation with JPMorgan Worldwide Securities Services earlier this week about mobility, and exactly this area. While I won't go into detail about the specifics, they said it took them a long time to really figure out how mobility fit into their own strategies and goals as a business. Eventually, it was the nuance that clicked into place ─ for them, mobility wasn't about everything, anywhere, anytime, it was really about how figuring out how their clients want to consume information in a manner that was convenient for them.

Tech with Benefits
I find this a lot when talking about other technologies, like Big Data, or cloud, or STP, or any other catchy neologism that's out there this year. With these kinds of developments it can be easy to become overwhelmed by the idea itself, without appreciating the subtleties that can really create a value add for any organization. You might not want to shift all of your IT infrastructure onto a hosted, shared framework with contention for resources, for example, but you might find that the flexibility offered through cloudbursting for the testing of a new algorithm or pilot program may be useful. With Big Data, you might not need to process the vast quantities of information that someone like JPMorgan does, but you may find the thinking behind it helps to stratify and streamline your own data management processes. Nuances and hidden benefits.

It's a sign of maturity when the technicalities of a process, be that technological or philosophical, become just as important in consideration as the overall message. But it's not just about understanding the process, it's about figuring out the best way to apply it to your own infrastructure, and your own culture within a business. Many people that I speak to routinely are beginning to work along those lines, and it can only lead to more sophistication with how we consume and use technology, and innovate in the future.

With these kinds of developments it can be easy to become overwhelmed by the idea itself, without appreciating the subtleties that can really create a value add for any organization.

On the subject of Big Data, I'd be remiss in not mentioning our Big Data Online Summit on 26 June. We have an exciting line-up, and you don't even need to leave your desk to attend. Just sign up, and log in, with a cup of coffee. See how technology is helping our lives, if not our waistlines?

Finally, for those of you attending Sifma in New York next week, I'll be on the ground along with the US-based Waters journalists. Please feel free to say hello, or if you'd like to catch up, send an e-mail to james.rundle@incisivemedia.com.