Getting Set for Conference Season

I'm in the UAE for Sibos 2013, that stalwart of industry events, which for many heralds the start of the phenomenon known as conference season. Coupled with Linedata Exchange London and our very own Buy-Side Technology North America, this marks the first salvo in an ongoing battle of panels, case studies, roundtables, keynotes, debates, bottled water, dubious hors d'oeuvre and too much apres-vino to be of human benefit.

The big shows are always good value of course, but the little ones have been coming up in quality as well, of late. And, for the most part, people have resisted the urge to creep further and further into summer (unlike British purveyors of Christmas-related products. I kid you not, I saw mince pies for sale in the Co-Op this weekend).

We will, of course, cover it with our usual dilligence here at Waters. But what can you expect from Sell-Side Technology over the course of the coming week? Having people on the ground, we'll be attempting to cover as much as we can, within our remit. Sibos has, of course, always attracted an element of the retail side of things, given Swift's prominence in the world of messaging and payments, and particularly now, given the various movements in that space. We'll be focusing on the institutional side as always, covering areas such as market infrastructures, regulation, Target2-Securities and more.

We'll be talking to industry thought leaders and executives over the next few days, the coverage of which you'll start to see appearing presently, while my colleagues in London and New York will still be keeping up to date with wider trends. If you're at Sibos 2013, please do come and say hello. And bring food, our schedule is looking terrifying (although, as one spokesperson from Interactive Data said to me the other day, it's not Sibos if you don't have time to eat or drink).

Anyone wishing to get in touch or set something up with Waters in Dubai is welcome to, just send me an e-mail, or give me a call on +447585 902 789.