2014: More Compliance Mandates, Or A Return To Innovation?

Following a less-than-spectacular 2013, financial services organizations are looking to 2014 with hope — hope for better business prospects, a more stable marketplace and the chance to spend more time on projects other than technology focused on regulatory compliance.

Capital markets organizations are coming out of a few years of budget slashing, coupled with regulatory demands that severely limited the ability to focus on anything other than compliance. Following a few years of looking only at internal systems, companies need to begin focusing on technology that can drive business change and respond to customer demands.

[SEFs will change the way certain market participants trade and interact in 2014. To learn more, read: SEFs Arrive: A New Market Structure Is Born.]

However, that's easier said than done. Budgets won't increase all that much in 2014, and the compliance demands aren't going away.

Luckily, some much-hyped technologies, such as cloud and big data, are reaching maturity points that are starting to be acceptable for firms. Although cloud security remains a concern, there are a number of offerings that are starting to satisfy CIOs. And big data pilots are beginning to show results, which may help IT leaders fund more big data projects in the near future. Likewise, some industry-mandated initiatives, such as SEFs, are finally in play, hopefully allowing firms to focus on newer technologies for competitive advantage.

WS&T's editors have highlighted some of the topics that will help shape the 2014 capital markets IT landscape. Enjoy. Greg MacSweeney is editorial director of InformationWeek Financial Services, whose brands include Wall Street & Technology, Bank Systems & Technology, Advanced Trading, and Insurance & Technology. View Full Bio