I'd like to pass along these announcements (regarding case studies, events, and tools), courtesy of Mike Wons, another member of our team.

Financial Services Firm Supports Growth Through Microsoft Infrastructure Optimization

• HSBC acquired a large local bank in Mexico with more than 1,400 branch locations and wanted to take control of its decentralized IT environment. Manual deployment of software applications and security updates could take months, and the company lacked tools to monitor its IT resources effectively. To improve system management, HSBC Mexico implemented a centralized solution based on the Windows Server 2003 operating system and the Active Directory service, Systems Management Server 2003, and Operations Manager 2005. Now the company can automatically install updates, get new financial service software to market quickly, and cut IT travel costs. It can also monitor systems in real time and plan for change and business growth. HSBC Mexico estimates that effective management of IT resources will help it support up to 30 percent growth with its existing infrastructure.  Full case study and one page PPT slide on the effort is posted at:  http://members.microsoft.com/CustomerEvidence/Search/EvidenceDetails.aspx?EvidenceID=14540&LanguageID=1

Unwrapped for Financial Services III - September 6-12, 2006

• Now in its third year, the Unwrapped for Financial Services webcast series is back! Sessions will be both technical and strategic in nature, covering the newest Microsoft solutions for Capital Markets, Retail Banks, Corporate and Investment Banking and Insurance firms. All the sessions will be presented live. Join us for this new webcast series starting September 6, 2006, where we will highlight common concerns, case studies and best practices within financial services. View available sessions and registration information at the following location: http://www.financialdevelopers.com/registration.aspx 

Regulatory Compliance Planning Guide

• The Regulatory Compliance Planning Guide is intended to help IT professionals and others understand steps that can be taken to help address regulatory mandates. The Planning Guide: Shows IT professionals how they can use an IT controls framework to help address IT compliance requirements; Includes a mapping of several significant regulations and standards, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to a sample control framework and Directs customers to Microsoft resources that can help them address their compliance requirements.  The 71 page Regulatory Compliance Planning Guide is available for download at the following location: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/topics/complianceandpolicies/compliance/rcguide/default.mspx?mfr=true

MSDN Architecture Center Channel Launched for Financial Services

• New MSDN Solution Architecture Center has been launched to provide customers and partners with guidance around architecture challenges in Financial Services.  This portion of MSDN is targeted toward the architects focused on solutions and compliments the Financial Developers site (www.financialdevelopers.com) to provide several great resources to help support our Industry story in Financial Services.  The site is accessible at: http://msdn.microsoft.com/architecture/industry/finservs/