This week Microsoft announced its 4Afrika initiative. This is a new effort through which the company will actively engage in Africa’s economic development to improve its global competitiveness. By 2016, the 4Afrika Initiative plans to help place tens of millions of smart devices in the hands of...

Kon nichi wa Osaka. After a missed connection on the way from Chicago, I finally checked into the hotel at midnight, thankful my luggage also survived the trip. As a wet drizzle blankets Osaka on Sunday morning the Microsoft team is making our final preparations, and it gives me a chance for a blog post...

With only about six weeks to go before the doors of Sibos 2012 open in Osaka, Japan - I thought I'd take this opportunity to give a brief overview of Microsoft's presence there. As a SWIFT Key Partner we've been an exhibitor at Sibos for 9 years now, essentially since the BizTalk Accelerator for SWIFT...

Last week I had the privilege to attend and speak at the Temenos Community Forum in Barcelona. Over the years this has expanded from being a customer-only event to also include prospects, partners, press and analysts. The Temenos team always organizes a great conference; the locations are terrific, and...

More and more I hear our customers and partners around the world asking for a Microsoft view on how to best leverage technology to transform banking. Banks are faced with complex decisions to modernize core infrastructure, increase employee productivity and also provide innovation to customers. It is...

This last month I talked to a few analysts about the market direction of core banking modernization, and I was pleased to hear that these initiatives continue to advance. Of course, not all banks are willing to give up their legacy systems as part of the drive for technology modernization, especially...

Last month Citi, typically known as an IT innovator in the financial services world, announced it is to replace its aging legacy core banking system with another mainframe-based batch system. Because of the relatively large number of mainframe solutions specific to the US market, and a host of outsourced...

Core banking system replacement is arguably one of the most challenging technology projects in banking today. I often liken core operations to the engine room of a ship: it's an area that hums away in the background, needs regular care and maintenance, and historically has run that way for some time...