Greetings all...

So after nearly 5 years of focusing on the finance sector and really enjoying every minute of it...the time has come to expand my horizons and take the next step in delivering great products for Microsoft.  So as of very soon (date TBD) I will be moving to a Program Management role in a new product being developed in the Office division.  I am super excited to say the least.  I can't really talk about what it is, only that I know it will add tremendous value to all sizes and shapes of customers.

So what of Financial Services?  Well, not really sure to be honest.  I leave behind a history of some great initiatives that I was able to lead and that still survive, like the Insurance Value Chain.  The IVC which was invented by Kevin Kelly and me, still lives and will be taken to the next level by the capable hands of Kevin and his new colleague Dan Woodman.  Dan and another team member Stevan Vidich are the new technical brain trust for Financial Services for Microsoft and so please watch their space for developments.  Their abilities coupled with the business savvy of Kevin continue to dwarf every other Finance focused team at Microsoft.  I know they'll do great work.  As for the Architecture Team, I'm sure they'll find my replacement, but given the ever shifting goals and deliverables, I can't really tell you what they will focus on, what standards they will support or what the charter will be.  With so many resources across the company focused on the Financial space, I hope that the value to noise ratio increases measurably.

If you have an questions, please feel free to mail me via this blog, which I'm assuming will live since I can't figure out how to delete it.  :-)

Best of luck to everyone out there....

- Josh