Two Lessons to Learn from IT Failures

by | IT Financial

Innovation requires failure. IT leaders recognize this and budget accordingly. Effective IT leaders provide the time and resources required for R&D. They expect that their innovators will experiment and fail in the pursuit of a successful product. Employees are empowered, given room to experiment, and are not punished for failure. However, certain failures are not budgeted for and are preventable. For example, a wrong decision concerning the choice of supplier or a breach of data security can have substantial fiscal consequences. A recent article by Rich Hein for IT News, offers lessons from IT mistakes that companies may find useful. Create a safe-to-fail environment that avoids the “blame game.” Instead, adopt a team approach to problem analysis and problem solving. A supportive structure will encourage employees to take risks rather than be reluctant to experiment for fear of failure. Companies that adopt such a strategy encourage teamwork and employees will help others to ensure success. The team accepts the responsibility for failure but also accepts the achievements. A company’s reaction to a failure is everything. React badly, and additional errors will compound the situation. A better approach is to analyze what went wrong, have processes in place to do so, and develop strategies to avoid the same mistake in the future. The world is constantly changing, and processes must be constantly adapted. A culture where leaders accept and own-up to their mistakes will encourage the same in their employees. If a mistake is less threatening, the environment can be healthier and more transparent. Additionally, early acknowledgement of mistakes can ensure early resolution to problems. Ensure that project analysis is...

Study Says: IT Leaders Lack Confidence. Do You Fit the Mold?

by | IT Financial

Despite awareness of the risks that accompany inadequate investment in security tools such as backup and recovery, a study undertaken for EMC shows that 45 percent of IT managers consider their company’s ability to defend against possible IT disruptions inadequate. Moreover, 61 percent of respondents felt that way because they had experienced some IT calamity, such as loss of data, during the past year. The recent economic recession and the need for cost cutting could account for some negligence on the part of senior management. Excessive workload or inadequate resources were cited by 35 percent of respondents as contributing factors, and 33 percent cited poor planning, and insufficient knowledge and skills. Some IT managers claimed that the existing available technologies were insufficient from a trust perspective. However, the study implies that a communication gap is a bigger problem. The study by EMC reveals that IT managers and workers realize the need to provide security, but senior management are less enthusiastic; a communication gaps exists. Seventy percent of IT professionals recognize IT to be a driver of secure infrastructure, whereas only 50 percent of decision makers not involved in IT responded that they thought so. In contrast, senior management in China invest heavily in security measures to ensure complete trust both by employees and consumers. These companies consider that the success of cloud computing, the ethical use of Big Data, and social networking trends all depend on providing trust to the user that their information is safe and usable. A failure by US companies to do the same could affect competitiveness in the global technology market. IT managers and employees...

How Will Technology Change Banking in 2014 ?

by | IT Financial

Retail banks are currently trying to do it all. Technology innovation is rife, but retail banks are unsure of which business model to follow; should they focus on services for the mobile customer, or improve branch services by expanding core branches and closing smaller, less frequented locations? Treasury professionals are demanding analytic technology for big data, superior mobile architecture, and cloud technology. Advancements in banking technology are fuelling heightened competitiveness. Banking Strategies highlighted an informal survey of 127 treasury professionals. The survey showed that 50 percent of respondents would consider switching banks for better technology. The survey also found that more than 80 percent of  respondents still rely on Microsoft Excel to do in-house analytics and that there is considerable demand for predictive analytic technology. For the retail banking sector: Touchscreen technology is a substantial area of investment, as is video conferencing and high-tech ATMs. Smart ATMS may be used to reduce staffing costs and to improve customer experience. Innovative software will increase cross-selling to customers. Bank online interfaces and ATM screens may soon have the ability to market products that appeal to a specific consumer profile. For example, pre-approved home improvement loans to homeowners. Retirement packages to mid-career professionals. The introduction of fees for online banking channels are imminent. The recent debacle concerning Bank of America’s attempt to charge fees for online services is an example of one market player going it alone. However, it will not be long before other leading banks succeed in providing convenience for a fee. Online banking services and technology will expand. According to William Wiedman, Senior Vice President of Applied Predictive Technologies,...

Case Study: IT Financial

by | Case Studies, IT Financial

A&A Search IT Financial has fostered many successful relationships with a number of companies in the financial industry. One case in particular, our team worked with a large global financial institute that is based in downtown Boston for a large scale internal project. The client needed a group of contractors for multiple year engagements to work with the internal reporting and documentation systems on both the technical side as well as the IT functional side to integrate the system in the best manner. We had to source and place developers to program in front-end technologies such as JavaScript and AJAX. Additionally we placed back-end developers to write code for the large amount of data that was being transformed. One of the more challenging positions involved a nationwide search that our team successfully handled. A&A Search IT Financial met all of the client’s requested deliverables well before the stated deadline, and under the expected...