In anticipation of our conference that is 60 days away (!), here is the Winter 2008 Edition of the Microsoft Financial Services Newsletter. You can subscribe here. Got news for the next newsletter? Drop us a line!
Welcome to the winter edition of the Microsoft Financial Services Newsletter for Developers. In my last letter from the editor, I mentioned how tumultuous the financial services markets have been since the summer of 2007. This trend continues, and all signs point toward continued volatility and difficult credit conditions for the near future. As illustrious Wall Street firms continue to announce losses (some for the first time in their history), and banks both large and small are forced to write off losses in the subprime mortgage market, economist Joseph Schumpeter's 1942 characterization of capitalism as the process of "creative destruction" has seldom rung more true. Indeed, the ability of a few firms to avoid the current crisis, even to prosper in the face of it, serves as a reminder that leadership and innovation enable the "fittest" to survive even in the most difficult of times. At Microsoft, we believe that technology is a key driver of innovation, particularly within financial services firms.
Professional conferences are an excellent way to stay on top of innovations in both technology and the line-of-business. The Microsoft Financial Services Developer Conference is an ideal forum in which to learn about important technical innovations and how they specifically apply to the financial services industry. The theme of this year's conference is High-Performance Computing, and we have an excellent lineup of speakers who will introduce you to the Microsoft vision for HPC, among other topics. The conference will be held March 12 - 13, in New York City. I encourage you to attend -- not only to hear about the latest developments from Microsoft, but also to share experiences with your peers from the financial services industry.
In addition to HPC, the conference will acquaint you with the Microsoft vision for Software+Services ("S+S" in Microsoft speak). Today's computing landscape includes four distinct worlds: desktop PC, enterprise server computing, Web and online services, and, finally, devices, including mobile and TV-connected devices. These four worlds historically have been separate, each with its own customer needs and served by different vendors. Microsoft is unique in that we have expertise in each of these four worlds. This is especially important for financial services firms, which have many different types of user communities, many of which require anywhere/anytime access across a variety of devices. Rather than trying to mandate a "one-size-fits-all" approach to software, S+S recognizes the full spectrum of deployment possibilities, ranging from pure SaaS (software as a service), through traditional client software -- and everything in between. In particular, we believe that a "sweet spot" exists where the power and usability of client applications mesh neatly with the benefits of cloud-based services to create applications that are easy to update and simple to use.
Areas such as HPC and S+S represent the frontier of innovation and provide financial developers and architects with an opportunity to partner with the business to create compelling solutions for customers as well as employees. I hope you enjoy this month's newsletter, and I hope to see you at the Financial Services Developer Conference in New York in March. Regards, Brian Jackson Technology Strategist for Banking Worldwide Financial Services Microsoft Corporation