- Industry Chat #3 - "Distributed Caching" (Lab49 & ScaleOut Software) - LIVE!!
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Join myself and Joe Rubino for our really fascinating discussion with Marc Jacobs from Lab49 and Bill Bain from ScaleOut Software where we discuss "Distributed Caching for Server Farms"...what it is and why you should care.
The total length is just around 17 minutes and it covers what Lab49 and ScaleOut Software do as companies, how they work together with each other and with Microsoft, what distributed caching for server farms is and a few examples of where distributed caching takes place today (hint: EVERYWHERE).
As always, we are eager to hear your questions, feedback, comments, whatever. The link to the podcast is here:
I will be writing back soon about an upcoming Architect Roundtable event happening in May.
Stay Tuned, Stay Informed, Stay Connected.
Joe
- ANNOUNCING...Retail Financial Services Silverlight Demo!!
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In my last post, I mentioned that we recently completed our 6th Annual Financial Services Developer Conference in NYC. While the conference theme was HPC and Software plus Services (S+S), we did have another announcement that we made, the availability of the Retail Financial Services Silverlight Demo. What is that you ask? Keep reading!!
The Silverlight 2 Retail Financial Services Demonstrator provides essential resources to help customers and ISV's to create their own demo or proof of concept based on the Silverlight 2 platform. Included in the kit are:
- Functional Silverlight 2 Website (Woodgrove Financial)
- Installation, customization and demo script that provides step by step instructions for installing the demo, customizing the data shown in the demo as well has how to step through the site with talking points.
- Source Code – that is right, you also get to see and use the source code to see what is going on under the covers and use as a foundation for your own POC!
Why use Silverlight 2 and the Demonstrator?
- Immersive, cross-platform/cross-browser user experience
- Insightful visualizations, improved end user experience that can be personalized and branded
- Great performance, reuse of .NET code on the web (cross platform!!)
- Great examples of using visualizations to help sell and service financial products including cause and effect, multiple scenarios, unified communications, etc…
Jaime Rodriguez wrote a great blog about it here..he describes other places where you can see the demo via video, download the bits and/or the script.
If you're interested in downloading the entire application, along with installation and walk through script, then go to http://www.financialdevelopers.com. There, you'll find everything you need!
We're very much looking forward to any feedback you may have on this, and we're anxiously awaiting that first email from a customer saying they've used it to build a proof of concept!!
More to come...
Stay tuned, stay informed, stay connected.
Joe
- Whew...another one down...BUT..
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Wow, what an amazing week last week. If you've been reading my blog in the past, you'll know that most of our team's time has been spent on getting ready for the 6th Annual Financial Services Developer Conference, that was held March 12, 13th at the Marriott Marquis in NYC. WHAT AN EVENT!! I really feel it was our best yet. We had over 1000 register and over 500 attend (for anyone out there who has done big conferences, 40-50% drop-off is expected. The theme was HPC and we had all sorts of folks attend to present, to showcase partner expertise and to just network.
Kyril Faenov, General Manager - HPC for Microsoft, took part in the opening keynote, and the invitation only Architect Breakfast prior to the keynote. He shared Microsoft's vision on HPC and we received a TON of great feedback. I need to thank Kyril and his entire team for really going the extra mile to make this event a success.
But the fun didn't stop there, we had Mike Walker - Architect/Technical Evangelist, in from Redmond, who did a phenomenal piece on the OBA (Office Business Applications) Component Library. Our customers who attended loved it...and you will too. I've provided a link to Mike's blog via his name above, so please go ahead and check it out. He's got some really great stuff to say. And my colleague Joe Rubino and I will be conducting one of our 'Industry Chats' with him soon, so stay tuned.
Speaking of Industry Chats, Joe and I had the opportunity to sit down with Marc Jacobs of Lab49, and Bill Bain from ScaleOut Software for a chat on distributed caching for server farms. Now, if you're like me and thinking...HUH?...then this is the right session for you. Marc and Bill did a great job of not only explaining what they and their firms do, but also why it's important and how large scale enterprises can benefit. A really great session that's in post-production now, so look back here for the link when it's ready.
We also had some great customer presenters including Wachovia, Unum, and Merrill Lynch to name a few. It's nice to hear from us folks at Microsoft, but sooo much better when our partners and CUSTOMERS are able to get on stage and talk about their solutions including challenges and successes.
FINALLY, I wanted to announce the availability of our Retail Financial Services Silverlight Demo. This was a collaboration between a few of us folks in Microsoft, and our great partner Infusion Development Corporation. The purpose of the demo was to showcase not only the Silverlight technology, as phenomenal as that is, but also to put that technology into the context of real-world financial services applications. We took it a step further making the source code available externally to our customers. That means you can look at it, download it, tweak it, and create your own proof of concept!! HOW GREAT IS THAT??? The bits, along with a script on how to install and how to work your way through the application can be found on http://www.financialdevelopers.com.
I know I'm missing a TON of stuff (and yes, this all happened in 2 days!), so I will definitely write more as it comes to me. Also, in the spirit of 'cross team collaboration', I will be posting details about our Health and Life Sciences Developer and Solutions Conference coming up April 22 and 23rd in Atlantic City.
So, stay tuned, stay informed, and stay connected!
Joe
- 6th Annual Financial Services Developer Conference - DON'T MISS IT
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This is ONE event you don't want to miss....it's free, it's valuable and there's a ton of opportunities to meet and speak with Microsoft folks, our partners and other customers!
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| | | | March 12-13, 2008 | | Marriott Marquis Hotel New York, NY
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| | As always, conference attendance is FREE. Breakfast and lunch for both days is provided as well as a welcome reception on the first night of the event. You are responsible for all other travel and hotel expenses. | |
6th Annual Microsoft Financial Services Developer Conference
Please join us as we celebrate the sixth year of the Financial Services Developer Conference! This year promises to be one you will not want to miss!! Come listen to presenters across a wide spectrum of organizations – including Microsoft Product Managers, key partners and your industry peers. In addition, we will be hosting the 2nd Annual Windows in Financial Services Developer Innovator Awards as we recognize industry leading solutions leveraging the Microsoft development platform. In honor of National Women’s History Month in March, we will be celebrating the accomplishments of female leaders and pioneers in Financial Services and Technology via a live panel with our 2008 Women Leaders of Wall Street (“Willows”). The 2008 Microsoft Financial Services Developer Conference will focus on providing developers and architects in Financial Services a clear roadmap of the Microsoft development platform with a focus on High Performance Computing (HPC). In celebration of the conference’s 6th year, we are building on the momentum of years past. We will be highlighting trends and best practices in the HPC space, including: · A strong roadmap that will empower customers and partners to leverage Microsoft’s current and next wave of technologies to ensure that they are operating with optimal efficiency and performance.
Other key topic areas include: 1. The Software + Services space (S+S) 2. Technologies such as Office Business Applications (OBA), Excel Services
3. Microsoft Office Sharepoint Server (MOSS) These are just some of the technologies that will be covered at this two-day event - register now as space is limited! As a reminder, the event is free and includes a welcome reception at the Marriott Marquis on the first night sponsored by our Platinum and Gold partners! REGISTRATION
Register today by clicking here. ACCOMMODATIONS
For your convenience, a block of rooms has been reserved at the Marriott Marquis at a rate of $329. You are responsible for your own reservations which can be made by calling (212) 398-1900 or 1-800-843-4898 by Tuesday, February 12, 2008 to receive the discounted rate. Be sure to reference the Microsoft Financial Services Developer Conference. After this date rooms will be available at the going rate. | | | |
| Register Today |
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| ©2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Privacy Statement. | | If you prefer not to receive future promotional e-mails of this type from Microsoft, please unsubscribe online. We will promptly update your preferences; however, you may still receive previously initiated promotional communications from Microsoft. This e-mail is intended for distribution within the United States. Please contact your local Microsoft® Subsidiary for similar offerings outside the U.S. (Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052). | | | | |
- Upcoming Events...
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In my last post, I posted a link to our upcoming Financial Services Industry Council and Architect Roundtable. Thank you to all of you that have registered. It should be a great event and I really think you'll get a lot out of it. To that end, I'm going to be posting more events over the next couple of weeks. We're in an interesting time of the year this year as we have events almost EVERY WEEK between now and mid-March.
So this next event is a bit of shameless self-promotion. Next week, on February 11th, I'll be speaking at the SOA on Wall St. Conference at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City. My session is entitled 'Technology Insight - Microsoft Silverlight – A Compelling User Experience for the Web' and I'm really looking forward to presenting it. Silverlight is a phenomenal technology and I really feel holds ALOT of promise for creating truly compelling, immersive, next generation user experiences on the web. I'll be doing a high-level overview of what Silverlight is and specific examples of how it can be used. We showed a '360 Degree Retail Banking' demo that was fairly futuristic in its approach, but really shows how Silverlight can be used in the Financial Services arena. If you are in attendance at the event, please feel free to look me up and say hello. I'll be presenting on Monday, 2/11 at 4:00 p.m.
My next post will include a write up of our Financial Services Developer Conference and Mix. STAY TUNED....
- 2008 - What's Next?? Many, Many Things...
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OK, so in previous posts, I promised to be better about keeping my blog up-to-date, and I actually kept that promise for a while. But, like many New Year's resolutions (thankfully this wasn't one last year), I neglected to be consistent for a long time. However, the good news this calendar year is that we have a ton, and I mean a TON of events coming up in the next several weeks and months that will keep me busy posting.
The first item of note, is that Joe Rubino and I are getting ready to record our 3rd Financial Services Industry Cast. You know 'em, you love 'em...and they can be found linked off of our blogs. Stay tuned for future posts on guests and topics.
The next item I want to mention is my next Financial Services Industry Conference. I'm combining this one with another group this time around and we'll be presenting SQL2008 and Visual Studio 2008. This is very timely because our big launch is coming up at the end of February! Please see the invite and registration information below...
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You're Invited...
Microsoft invites you to register for a combined group session of:
Architect Roundtable & Financial Services Industry Council
February 20, 2008
Please join us for session III of our ARCHITECT ROUNDTABLE series:
SQL Server 2008 Release Vision: Your Data - Any Place, Any Time
The discussion will also include details and demos from the following release themes:
Enterprise Data Platform
· Dynamic Development
· Beyond Relational
· Pervasive Insight
Visual Studio 2008 – What, Where and How?
With release of Visual Studio 2008 and the .NET Framework 3.5 several new technologies and updates were introduced into the Microsoft platform. This session will give an overview of what has been updated for Windows Communications Foundation (WCF), Workflow Foundation (WF), Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Visual Studio Tools for Office (VSTO) and ASP.NET Ajax Development. We will also look at some of the new technologies such as LINQ, Multi-Targetting, new GUI Designer (Silverlight and WPF) as well as enhancements to the Visual Studio Team System (VSTS/TFS).
Light breakfast refreshments will be served.
This session will be held on the 5th floor in our new Microsoft Technology Center – and will include a tour of our state of the art facility!
RSVP: This special event will fill quickly and space is limited, so be sure to register as soon as possible to reserve your seat.
Location
Microsoft Office
1290 Ave of the Americas New York, NY 10104
Phone: (212) 245-2100
February 20, 2008
8:30 AM to 12:30 AM
Click here to register or call 877.673.8368 with event code 1032363901.
Participants will include Enterprise, Software and Infrastructure Architects.
Please feel free to invite other architects from your team.
We look forward to your participation!
- Industry Chat #2 is Live!
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First, a BIG thank you to David Isbitski and Daniel Chait (Lab 49) for presenting at last week's Financial Services Industry Council. The speakers were excellent, the topics were interesting, and we gave away a bunch of cool prizes (then had drinks and food to boot!). What could be better?
I also wanted to mention that Joe Rubino and I just finished our 2nd Financial Services Industry Chat cast. In this episode, we interviewed Dan Chait (Lab 49) on who Lab49 is, what they do, and more importantly, what trends and interesting things are they seeing in the FS industry. Dan provided a lot of insight, not only on data visualization and user experience on the trading floor, but also the data volume and type of trading that is more and more ubiquitous today. Especially when it comes to things like data mining, algorithmic trading, and the like. REALLY interesting stuff here...
We probably could have gone on for a few more hours, but we decided to cut it at about 40 minutes. We will definitely have Dan back for follow-up discussions and maybe even a mini-series of sorts for chats...breaking something like algorithmic trading down into smaller steps like the types of servers needed, architecture, etc.. and do a trade lifecycle sort of series. We'll have to work that out.
As always, I'm VERY interested in any feedback that you have so please feel free to drop us any comments either here on our blogs or to fsdpe@microsoft.com.
Thanks and happy listening!
Joe
- Industry Chats and Industry Councils...
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'Welcome one, welcome all'...
I guess that's my new intro to everything! Like Frasier Crane "Go ahead, I'm listening".
2 items of note that I wanted to mention:
- Joe Rubino and I are conducting a series of 'Financial Services Industry Chats' podcasts that you (hopefully) may find of interest and value. We are targeting recording these once a month or so; they are intended to be conversational podcasts discussing technology, financial services, etc.. Primarily, we will be talking with other Microsoft folks who focus on Financial Services (and sometimes not), as well as customers, partners and almost anyone who doesn't mind being on the air and recorded! We took a crack at an 'introduction' cast, wherein we talk about the format, frequency, who we are, what our team does, etc. The link is below:
I'd be REALLY interested in ANY feedback that you may have. Please note, the file is 22mb, and runs about 24 minutes so be prepared.
You can contact me directly or post a comment here. Your choice! :) OH, and don't forget to listen to the BLOOPERS at the end of the recording!
- I'm hosting a quarterly 'Financial Services Industry Council' that will focus on (again) technology and how it relates to Financial Services. I blogged about this on my last post along with the invitation. I hope SOME of you registered based on that post, but I doubt it. :) I know, it takes a while to get off the ground. The first one for this year will be held tomorrow in our NYC office and should prove to be a great event.
On a separate note, while I may not be quite as verbose as Dan Kasun, I'm still hoping some of you find value in these 'quick hits'...is there a term that describes what you do between a 'full blog' and a 'microblog'? hmm...
- Financial Services Industry Council - 10/16 - New York City
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Financial Services Industry Council
Financial Services Industry Council, launched last fall, is the premier program for Decision Makers, Architects and Developers with an industry focus brought to you by the Microsoft. The Industry Council provides a constant flow of industry related information with a focus on the Financial Services industry, as well as, networking opportunities.
Our speakers include product managers from Redmond, industry gurus within Microsoft, as well as leading partners and customers discussing best of class Microsoft solutions for the Financial Services industry.
Please see below for more details on topics and registration information. Register soon, as these sessions fill up! Feel free to share this invitation with others.
Agenda: User Experience in the Enterprise
User Experience has become more and more important in Financial Services, especially in customer facing applications. However, LOB applications are often overlooked. This session will delve into why UX is important in the enterprise, and how customers can leverage Microsoft technologies to deliver compelling and rich experiences for employees and customers alike.
Speaker Bios
Daniel Chait, is a Managing Director at Lab 49. As a founder and Managing Director at Lab49, Daniel Chait has directed engagements with many of Lab49's premier clients, specializing in low-latency and distributed systems within capital markets. Daniel also oversees Lab49's strategic partner, recruitment, and staff development programs, and has often spoken and presented at industry events including Financial Markets World, the Microsoft.NET Developer's Group and the Wharton Entrepreneurship Conference. Previously Daniel directed the Professional Services organization at Simile Software, where he successfully led web-services integration projects for the media industry, and co-founded Business Velocity, Inc., servicing Fortune 500 firms including Bank of America, Chase Manhattan, Citibank, Lehman Brothers, AXA/Equitable, and Prudential Securities.
David Isbitski, is a Developer Evangelist with Microsoft Corporation. Ever since creating his first “Choose Your Own Adventure” video game using Commodore BASIC, Dave has been fascinated by the potential of computers and the worlds they can bring to us. Debuting in the Enterprise space with Visual Basic 5, he has over 12 years IT experience and has worked for numerous Fortune 100/500 companies. These include industries such as retail and life sciences on projects ranging from smart Devices, web services, and RFID to the creation of websites within the retail industry. He enjoys talking about technology and has taught full day courses on various Microsoft topics as well as being a presenter at both MSDN Events and Microsoft DevDays. His current passion is on showing companies how important good user experience is within the Enterprise as well as how easy it is to get to. In his spare time, Dave enjoys gaming online with fellow Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) users.
REGISTER!
Location:
Microsoft Office – New York, NY
1290 Avenue of the Americas, 6 Fl, New York, New York
Date & Time:
October 16, 2007
3:30–6:00 PM
Registration:
Register
Event ID: 1032351533
(registration URL: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032351533&culture=en-US)
Stay tuned for more Financial Services Industry Councils in the upcoming months.
- ReMIX
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ReMIX is going to be HUGE. If you would like to attend, please see the details below. And, for reading my blog, you will get $100 off of registration (please make sure you use the CODE RM07INTB when registering)!! Please drop me a note if you do register after you've read this. Would love to hear from you!
![clip_image001[1]](http://blogs.msdn.com/blogfiles/jcleaver/WindowsLiveWriter/ReMIX_A345/clip_image001%5B1%5D_thumb_1.jpg)
ReMIX07 Boston – Monday-Tuesday, October 8-9th, 2007
Brought to you by Microsoft®
Whoever said that what happens in Vegas has to stay in Vegas?
Due to the SOLD OUT status of MIX07 in May, Microsoft is serving up ‘ReMIX’ with a twist right here on the East Coast! ReMIX07 Boston will feature a keynote from Brad Abrams, who is the Group Product Manager for the .Net Framework Product Group, as well as multi-track sessions for designers and developers covering Silverlight, ASP.NET AJAX, Virtual Earth, .Net 3.0/3.5, Expression and Visual Studio. Innovate the Web.
Get a jump start on registration as this event promises to sell out too! To register, click here. I invite you to attend at $100 off (retail: $299); when registering use RSVP Code: RM07INTB
What to expect at ReMIX07 Boston …
If you’re in the web business, learn about:
- Building a better user experience to unlock new revenue opportunities
- Forging tighter, stickier customer connections
- Building innovative media experiences into your site
If you’re a web developer, build:
- Silverlight applications quickly and easily
- Sites and applications that consume Windows Live services
- Rich, interactive sites made for the next web
If you’re a web designer, learn about:
- Using Silverlight to design gorgeous and highly functional user interfaces
- How a real-world application is built and the best practices associated with it
- The suite of Expression tools that revolutionize the way designers work with developers
If you attend, regardless of your job role, check out:
- XBox Gaming Area where you can test your skills at Halo 3 and Guitar Hero among others
- Express Yourself Design Contest where key design agencies compete to solve a real-world design problem
- Stay tuned: We may feature some cool products and demos around XNA, Popfly, Robotics Studio and Surface
It’s Happening Here
Monday-Tuesday, October 8-9, 2007
October 8:
Registration & Breakfast from 7:00-9:00 a.m.
Keynote & Breakouts from 9:00 a.m.-5:45 p.m.
Welcome Reception from 6:00-9:00 p.m.
October 9:
Registration & Breakfast from 8:00-9:00 a.m.
Keynote & Breakouts from 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Hyatt Regency Cambridge
575 Memorial Drive,
Cambridge, MA 02139
For directions click here.
- Upcoming Event...not to be missed!
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Hello again!! Now that I've gotten a chance to catch my breath after so much traveling this summer, I wanted to take a moment to tell you about an upcoming event that I'm hosting. The 1st meeting of the Financial Services Industry Council that I hold quarterly (or try to anyway is targeted to be in Mid-October in the NYC Microsoft office. We will definitely be talking about UX (User Experience) in the Enterprise and I think you'll be surprised at the exciting things that you are able to accomplish with Microsoft technologies!!
More information for these and other events can be found at http://www.msdn.com/events
- 2008 Financial Services Developer Conference (ALREADY??)
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Yep, the dates for the 2008 Financial Services Developer Conference have been released. March 12, 13 at the Marriott Marquis in New York City. Many of my colleagues and cohorts have posted this as well, but we need to make sure everyone we know writes a blog about it.
More information will be forthcoming as we draw closer to next spring, so in the meantime, you can check back here, as well as go to our Financial Developers website. There is a TON of great information out there on a variety of topics and gets updated frequently.
Stay tuned...more to come!!
- New (FY) Year...New Focus
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I have just returned from our global meeting in Orlando (MGX - Microsoft Global Exchange), where we have the opportunity to not only hear about, honor and celebrate all of our accomplishments as a company from the last fiscal year, but also to hear about our focus and goals for the upcoming year. All of the most senior executives of the company (including Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer) come and talk about their thoughts and feelings on the company, its direction as well as the software industry as a whole. A really great opportunity to hear about everything right from the top guys!
From my team's perspective, we are going to focus on our 'Next Web' technologies such as Silverlight and ASP.NET AJAX, OBA (Office Business Applications), and raising the ever important Developer Satisfaction rating! We also will be helping to pull together information for our upcoming launches this year...another BIG year from a Product Launch perspective!!
I plan on blogging about all of the above items as will other members of our team during the year. We're looking forward to reaching out to a broad audience (both industry and non-industry specific) via new podcast programs that we'll be setting up (look for something from myself and Joe Rubino on this), our ever popular Financial Services Developer Conference, Industry and Architect Councils, etc..
I am heading out to Seattle and Redmond tomorrow (Tuesday) for more meetings and fun...no rest for the weary (well, not beyond one day)...so I'll be writing about that next week (hopefully). I'm also waiting for some pictures to be developed from Orlando and I will be posting some of those on here as well (the appropriate ones of course!). :)
Have a great week...
JC
- Time for my semi-annual post!
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We at Microsoft have just finished our Fiscal 2007 year at the end of June, and needless to say, the months leading up to that completion were a bit busy.
In my last post, I wrote about the Financial Services Developer Conference that was about to take place in April at the Grand Hyatt in NYC. The conference was a HUGE success with over 400 attendees and a number of customer and partner speakers (keynotes, breakouts, etc..). I spoke a few times myself and even in spite of that...things still went well. :)
In May I had the opportunity to deliver the Keynote speech at the Linedata User Group Conference in Palm Beach, FL. There were approximately 200 people in attendance and the topic was how user experience is changing the face of business applications. I covered WPF, Vista, Office 2007 and Silverlight, but additionally laid out the case of WHY user experience (UX) is SO important in software development (hmmm, perhaps I'll write a post on that)...
June brought a Financial Services conference by Forrester that focused on UX in Financial Services (right up my alley!).
The next few months will be crazy with travel; Orlando in July for a global Microsoft meeting, Seattle right after that, then back to Florida in August for an offsite meeting. The venues are great, my company of peers are always fun and you can't beat the locations! :)
I will definitely be writing MUCH more this summer. Allan Da Costa Pinto (blog here) actually threw down the gauntlet and challenged me to write about Silverlight in Financial Services with some specifics...that was months ago, but Allan - I accept your challenge!!
As I unbury myself from email that accumulated while on vacation last week, I will plan on writing several blogs over the next few weeks. I hope you all will keep me honest and hold me to it (the FEW of you that actually read my blog!).
Have a great summer everyone and looking forward to a fantastic FY '08!
jc
- Finanacial Services Developer's Conference
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Hello again,
I haven't written since December as things have gotten very busy with Executive Briefing's, etc..
I did want to mention our upcoming Financial Services Developer's Conference in New York City on April 25th and 26th at the Grand Hyatt. For anyone who is new to the conference, Microsoft Financial Services Developer Conference provides developers and architects in financial services a clear roadmap of the Microsoft development platform with specific attention paid to the capital markets, retail banking and insurance sectors. You will learn best practices for using the best of breed technology to bring you from where you are today to where you want to be tomorrow.
Registration is free and the form can be found here: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032318224&Culture=en-US
Hope to see you there!
Joe
