Yearly Archives: 2011
The Myth of Unlimited Resources
Last time we looked at the failure mode and effect analysis technique from the six-sigma community and slightly adjusted it to be data-centric so that it can be used to anticipate the different types of data errors that could occur and adjust application design to accommodate the prevention of data errors in the first place. This approach really is proactive since you are proactively considering the many different types of errors that could be introduce and then shoring up the process in anticipation of their occurrence. (more…)
How IT can Kill Great Brands with Modernization, and How to Prevent It
Recently, one Sunday afternoon, my wife told me her purchased airline reservation for Monday had disappeared. A few days ago it was there, then suddenly it was gone. Apparently she was not alone. Complaints were coming in online. Support was overwhelmed. In fact, Twitter seemed to be the only way to get a quick response, so people were sending their messages and details that way!
Now, this is a great brand that I’m talking about, what I would call the chic brand in the airline industry. They had just experienced a brand-killing event. No one wants to fly an airline where reservations disappear. But the next part stunned me. When my wife finally talked to a manager at the airline, it turned out they expected this would happen! They had just migrated to a new reservation system and another airline that had done this same migration had experienced issues for a few weeks. So the airline not only expected to have similar issues, they scheduled fewer planes to fly in the upcoming weeks! (more…)
Reflecting On Data Quality In 2011
With just a few days remaining in what has been an eventful year, I thought I’d take some time to reflect on the world of data quality as I’ve observed it over the past twelve months. While the idea of data quality improvement in general didn’t change much, the way that companies are viewing and approaching it most certainly have. Here are three areas that seemed to come up quite frequently:
Data governance awareness grew
In thinking about all the customer interactions that I was involved in throughout the year, it’s hard to come up with one where the topic of data governance didn’t surface. Whereas before, the topic of data governance only seemed to come up for companies with more mature data management organizations, now it seems everyone is looking to build a governance framework in conjunction with their data quality efforts. Furthermore, while previously the conversation was largely driven by IT, now it’s both IT and business stakeholders that are looking for answers to how data governance can help them drive better business outcomes. In increasingly competitive market conditions, we can only expect this trend to continue. Whether it’s focused on increasing revenue, driving out cost or managing risk and compliance, data quality with data governance is where companies of all sizes are turning to create and sustain a differentiated edge. Trends like big data will only make this need more acute. (more…)
Counterparty Data and the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) System
In the second of two videos, Peter Ku, Director of Financial Services Solutions Marketing, Informatica, talks about the latest trends regarding counterparty data and how the legal entity identifier (LEI) system will impact banks across the globe.
Specifically, he answers the following questions:
- What are the latest trends regarding counterparty information and how will the legal entity identifier system impact banks across the globe?
- How does Informatica help solve the challenges regarding counterparty information and help banks prepare for the new legal entity identifier system?
Also watch Peter’s first video (http://youtu.be/KvyDPzOTnUY) to learn about counterparty data and its challenges.
Anticipating Failure
One of our clients has adopted the use of six-sigma techniques, and pointed me to a template for a “failure mode and effects analysis” spreadsheet. A quick web search provided a number of different versions of the same idea (search for “FMEA,” is it faster 
). This template is a guide to the analyst to look at a process and identify the types of problems that could occur and what the impacts or effects of those failures are. At each step of the process, one must explore: (more…)
The Reality of Real-Time: When Fast Enough Can Make You Real Money
One person’s “real-time” is another person’s “fast enough”. (Or is it vice versa?) I’ve been in the Complex Event
Processing (CEP) space for almost five years, and nothing gets this industry more spun up than heated discussions about “feeds and speeds” - the fastest products, the lowest latencies, the greatest event volumes, the most events per second and so on. (more…)
So You’ve Got the Paycheck, Good Benefits and a Seat on the Equity Train. So What?
If you’re an outstanding software professional, everyone knows what’s in the package these days: you’re going to get a competitive salary, great benefits and challenging work assignments. You can pat yourself on the back and say out loud: “Look Mom, I made it!”.
Really? (more…)
Craziest 2012 CEP Predictions – Watson, Kardashian, the BCS and More
Remember the last time you were home in the evening, there was little in your kitchen to eat but you didn’t want to go out? Then you had an idea – that you could concoct a delicious meal made from a variety of completely unrelated and forgotten frozen and semi-fresh food coupled with rarely used spices and other odd ingredients. That’s a lot like predicting the future. If you stay safe and conservative, you’re going to get close to what you expect. But, if you get all crazy (think stir fry Top Ramen and turkey jerky), your prediction will sound cool, but has a low probability of working out (unless you are on Top Chef). (more…)
Counterparty Data and Its Challenges
In the first of two videos, Peter Ku, Director of Financial Services Solutions Marketing, Informatica, talks about counterparty data and its challenges.
Specifically, he answers the following questions:
- What is counterparty data and why is it important?
- What are some of the challenges that the global banking industry is facing with their counterparty information?
Remove the Restrictor Plate with High Performance Load Balancing
Similar to the way that a carburetor restrictor plate prevents NASCAR race cars from going as fast as possible by restricting maximum airflow, inefficient messaging middleware prevents IT organizations from processing vital business data as fast as possible.
Loading ...