I was listening to a group of CIOs talking about legacy systems change the other day. One said that it doesn’t matter how old the systems are; it’s all about whether they are maintainable and fit-for purpose. I kind of agreed with that, although I cannot think of any silo-based, …

Talking about moving from proprietary to open, from controlled to marketplace and from internal to external focus, another key change is the very nature of technology itself.  It’s quite clear that a start-up today could launch with just a few thousand dollars, Amazon Web Services and a bright idea.  There …

Someone recently equated banks and their systems and structures, to the underground in London.  It’s a lot of pipes, wires, cables and tunnels that were built in the Victorian times and are still operating today.  You have engineers on the tracks every night and day, trying to keep the systems …

Well I couldn’t let this one go by without commenting on it.  A regular theme in the blog is get rid of old technology if it’s running core systems.  The reason is that systems designed before Mark Zuckerberg was born are surely not fit for purpose in this day and …

I’ve been advocating for some time that banks should refresh core systems.  A complete renewal of the back-end.  Everyone tells me I’m an idiot for saying so.  It’s impossible, stupid, naïve and impractical.  OK, I hear that.  I know it’s not going to be easy but, if a bank has …

I’m often asked what I mean by a digital core and how to convince management to buy into it. What I mean by a digital core is that the bank has made itself cleansed and ready to join the new generation of fintech.  It has renewed and refreshed its core …

After blogging yesterday with my regular beat to get rid of old legacy systems, I then had another thought.  Don’t get rid of them.  That is a possibility.  Maybe you don’t need to replace the core.  Maybe you just need to create a new platform that is digital and gradually …

After blogging yesterday with my regular beat to get rid of old legacy systems, I then had another thought.  Don’t get rid of them.  That is a possibility.  Maybe you don’t need to replace the core.  Maybe you just need to create a new platform that is digital and gradually …

I realised something about this new market of fintech the other day, where banks become financial systems integrators.  That realisation was that banks really should think about what they are doing, developing so much core capabilities internally.  Right now, coders are the new rock stars and banks develop pretty much …

I realised something about this new market of fintech the other day, where banks become financial systems integrators.  That realisation was that banks really should think about what they are doing, developing so much core capabilities internally.  Right now, coders are the new rock stars and banks develop pretty much …

There's a theme that keeps cropping up at most conferences I attend around the remodelling of banks. It came up again today in a discussion about data leverage at the Asian Banker Summit, and it occurred to me again recently, when I chaired the future focused day at IPS 2013. …

There's a theme that keeps cropping up at most conferences I attend around the remodelling of banks. It came up again today in a discussion about data leverage at the Asian Banker Summit, and it occurred to me again recently, when I chaired the future focused day at IPS 2013. …

I mentioned the other day that Middle Eastern banks were upgrading core systems in six months whilst, in the UK, the last major upgrade I’ve been aware of is that of the retail bank, Abbey.  Abbey are changing core systems to implement those consistent with their Spanish owners, Grupo Santander, …

Another amazing area of change in the Middle East is the speed with which the banks can change core systems.  Many of the banks here have changed their core systems to offer improved wealth management services combined with Shari’ah compliant products.  This became clear when one of the keynote presenters …

This week’s main blog discussions include … I just woke up to my cancelled culture Growing up, my brother used to try hard to persuade me to attend The Motor Show. He is a petrolhead and the show would be the highlight of his year. I went once. My lasting …