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Welcome to the Microsoft Financial Services Newsletter for Developers. At Microsoft, we’re committed to serving the needs of developers and architects in the financial services industry. This newsletter will give you links to the latest resources, tools and technologies to help build fast, scalable, secure enterprise level solutions in Financial Services.
Letter from the Editor
Hello,
Welcome to the winter edition of the Microsoft Financial Services Newsletter for Developers. In my last letter from the editor, I mentioned how tumultuous the financial services markets have been since the summer of 2007. This trend continues, and all signs point toward continued volatility and difficult credit conditions for the near future. As illustrious Wall Street firms continue to announce losses (some for the first time in their history), and banks both large and small are forced to write off losses in the subprime mortgage market, economist Joseph Schumpeter’s 1942 characterization of capitalism as the process of “creative destruction” has seldom rung more true. Indeed, the ability of a few firms to avoid the current crisis, even to prosper in the face of it, serves as a reminder that leadership and innovation enable the “fittest” to survive even in the most difficult of times. At Microsoft, we believe that technology is a key driver of innovation, particularly within financial services firms.
Professional conferences are an excellent way to stay on top of innovations in both technology and the line-of-business. The Microsoft Financial Services Developer Conference is an ideal forum in which to learn about important technical innovations and how they specifically apply to the financial services industry. The theme of this year’s conference is High-Performance Computing, and we have an excellent lineup of speakers who will introduce you to the Microsoft vision for HPC, among other topics. The conference will be held March 12 - 13, in New York City. I encourage you to attend -- not only to hear about the latest developments from Microsoft, but also to share experiences with your peers from the financial services industry.
In addition to HPC, the conference will acquaint you with the Microsoft vision for Software+Services (“S+S” in Microsoft speak). Today’s computing landscape includes four distinct worlds: desktop PC, enterprise server computing, Web and online services, and, finally, devices, including mobile and TV-connected devices. These four worlds historically have been separate, each with its own customer needs and served by different vendors. Microsoft is unique in that we have expertise in each of these four worlds. This is especially important for financial services firms, which have many different types of user communities, many of which require anywhere/anytime access across a variety of devices. Rather than trying to mandate a “one-size-fits-all” approach to software, S+S recognizes the full spectrum of deployment possibilities, ranging from pure SaaS (software as a service), through traditional client software -- and everything in between. In particular, we believe that a “sweet spot” exists where the power and usability of client applications mesh neatly with the benefits of cloud-based services to create applications that are easy to update and simple to use.
Areas such as HPC and S+S represent the frontier of innovation and provide financial developers and architects with an opportunity to partner with the business to create compelling solutions for customers as well as employees. I hope you enjoy this month’s newsletter, and I hope to see you at the Financial Services Developer Conference in New York in March.
Regards,
Brian Jackson
Technology Strategist for Banking
Worldwide Financial Services
Microsoft Corporation
What’s New
There is an exciting new group up on Facebook you might be interested in: Developers for Developers (Devs4Devs). Developers for Developers is a place filled with tips, tricks, and battle stories from your fellow coders. Some of the best stuff you can pick up in your career doesn't come from a book or a presentation -- it comes from your fellow developers and their experiences. A quick hallway conversation, 15 minutes at someone's desk after a "Hey come check this out!" -- these are the things that can make a difference. This new Facebook group is a great way for you and people from your community to network with others as well as with Microsoft folks.
The first in a series of videos has already been posted: SharePoint Development -- Making Sense of It All.
The video covers:
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SharePoint Products and Technologies Overview
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The different types of SharePoint development
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Changing SharePoint with SharePoint itself
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SharePoint designer
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How to set up a SharePoint Development environment
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Coding in the VPC
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Web part creation and deployment
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Adding NextWeb content to Web parts -- a working Silverlight Web part
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Some blend coding and debugging.
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Events
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Join us at the two-day Sixth Annual Microsoft Financial Services Developer Conference in New York City, March 12 - 13. The conference is an excellent opportunity for developers to gain insight into the latest and upcoming Microsoft technologies and solutions as they relate to the financial services industry. This year’s focus is on High-Performance Computing (HPC). Attendees will be hearing from presenters, including Microsoft product managers, key partners, and industry peers, across a wide spectrum of organizations. In addition, we will be hosting the Second Annual Windows in Financial Services Developer Innovator Awards, where we recognize industry-leading solutions that capitalize on the Microsoft development platform. In addition, 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 in a live panel with our 2008 Women Leaders of Wall Street (“Willows”).
REGISTRATION
Register today by clicking here.
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Wednesday, February 13, Noon Eastern Time
Join us at this free one-hour Webcast, moderated by Insurance & Technology’s Editorial Director Kathy Burger, where you will hear how parallel computational clusters are helping life insurance companies meet the increasing pressures to achieve more computing speed and capacity. You will also hear how high-performance computing is becoming a mission-critical capability in the IT strategy of every life insurance company. Learn about the cost and maintenance benefits of a Windows-based HPC platform that can enable the distributed computing power necessary to run these demanding computational models.
Register today.
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Resources
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Demonstrating many of the UX principles highlighted in recent issues, this reader is a locally installed application that enables you to take every issue of the Journal into a searchable, immersive, and easy-to-read experience. The application synchronizes with our content management services so that you will automatically have access to the latest Journal issues without needing to download PDF files or checking online.
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This article describes how application portfolio management (APM) compliments an enterprise architect’s multi-faceted role. APM provides key information into the IT enterprise architect (EA) management process. It answers questions such as “Can yesterday's applications meet tomorrow's needs?”
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An enterprise architect’s role is multifaceted and extremely dynamic. Not only must EAs keep track of IT concerns, but also those of the business. Through the work performed on strategic initiative, EAs strive to make alignment between IT and the business more transparent.
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