November 2012: I Love the Smell of Irony in the Morning
One of the things we gain as we get older is our appreciation of irony and the ability to laugh at ourselves. Irony, especially when it pertains to ourselves when we’re young, tends either to go unrecognized or we find it distinctly unfunny, mostly because, as callow youths, we take ourselves far too seriously. But that changes in tandem with our thinning hair and expanding waistlines, which is why I can now appreciate the irony of last month’s editor’s letter.
In it, I wrote about the considerable challenges facing CIOs when it comes to replacing legacy systems/applications within their organizations. “There’s nothing ironic about that,” I hear you say. And you’re right—those challenges can be some of the most vexing for all CIOs, regardless of their levels of experience, technical know-how, the quality of the technology team surrounding them, and the health of the company coffers.
The irony of last month’s letter is that like CIOs, Waters’ world is undergoing similar changes, and anyone who knows me just a little bit will know how much I dislike change … unless, of course, it is I effecting that change. Call me cantankerous, inflexible, a control freak, or even a Luddite, and you won’t get much of an argument from me—I just plain don’t like change. But for more than a decade now, the writing has been on the wall for the publishing industry in the sense anyone with a bit of nous has known intuitively that readers’ information consumption habits were set to change. As it transpired, that change took a lot longer than many had anticipated, but I can now declare with absolute certainty that we are way past that tipping point, and our readers now expect far more than pretty pictures and words on a page, published monthly.
The change that has come about in the publishing industry can be used as a proxy for the capital markets in terms of the way organizations consume their technology. Long gone are the days where firms were forced down the proprietary route due to the lack of suitable alternatives on offer from the handful of fledgling third-party providers. Proprietary technology development was supplanted as the default provision model by in-house deployments a decade ago, which, in turn has been eclipsed by the application service provider (ASP)/cloud model for large numbers of buy-side and sell-side firms looking to simultaneously shrink their fixed operating costs while reducing their time to market. And, like in the publishing industry, this new dispensation is still gathering steam, which means that technology consumers and providers alike are set for more change. And, if like me, those CIOs aren’t overly smitten at the prospect of all this transformation, at least it’ll keep them on their toes.
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 Emerging Technologies
This Week: IPC extends Google Cloud partnership, BlackRock/AIA, DTCC and more
A summary of the latest financial technology news.
Waters Wavelength Podcast: Deutsche Bank’s Boon-Hiong Chan
Boon-Hiong Chan from Deutsche Bank joins the podcast to talk about blockchain interoperability.
SocGen pushes data, analytics use cases for SG Markets
The bank is letting a handful of clients experiment with its proprietary data and models to inform their research.
Ace high or busted flush? Digital Asset’s mixed fortunes mirror DLT adversity
The vendor hoped to remodel post-trade using blockchain technology—and it still might—but its bumpy progress raises questions over the future of DLT in finance.
AI could cut time for money laundering checks by 99%
Leading crypto exchange rolling out large language model for enhanced due diligence checks.
Standard Chartered keeps faith with quantum experimentation
The bank is aiming to future-proof itself with the ability to adopt new technology at an early stage.
Waters Wrap: CME, Google and the pursuit of ultra-low-latency trading
CME Group and Google have announced Aurora, Illinois, as the location for the exchange’s new co-location facility. Anthony explains why this is more than just the next phase of the two companies’ originally announced project.
This Week: Genesis/Interop.io; S&P Global; Finos/OS-Climate and more
A summary of the latest financial technology news.