Tervela Message Medium Blog | December 2008

New Year’s Eve.  I’m sitting in Starbucks reflecting on an interesting year and have decided to turn to some people we could use right now.  Though they are gone, their lessons live on.

Guy Lombardo.

Mr. “Auld Lang Syne” himself.   Gone since 1977, he was always upbeat about the future and helped us usher in each new year with smiles on our faces.  Perhaps it was the Champagne that made us happy, but it sure felt good, especially with Lombardo at the helm keeping us positive.





John Maynard Keynes.

The Boston Globe had an op-ed this morning entitled “Keyne’s Comeback” in an editorial section on overlooked issues of 2008.  Seems that every time we hit an economic bump, we go back to the fundamentals – or in this case Keynesian economics.  The core issue is the level of government intervention in a recession.  Much like oxygen: too little is bad; too much is bad.






Charles F. Kettering.

Yes, the great inventor of General Motors fame.  No person has ever brought such innovation to the automobile industry.  His biography should be required reading for everyone in Detroit (and some Keynes wouldn’t hurt either).






It’s fitting to end this year from a quote from Kettering:

No one would have crossed the ocean if he could have gotten off the ship in the storm.

True back then.  True today.  True in 2009.

Happy New Year!

=rob.ciampa

Talk about a buzz kill.  Wall Street layoffs.  AIG executive incentives. Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). Bernie "Alleged Ponzi" Madoff Investment Securities. Bear Stearns.  Lehman Brothers. Washington Mutual. Lions. Tigers. Bears. Oh my!

 

Time for a reality check, please: the markets ARE NOT shutting down.  In fact, there is a great deal of business happening and some folks are actually making money.  It is good to see that there are some level-headed people who don't have their heads buried in the sand and are looking objectively at markets, technology and opportunity.  Let's review some recent, notable analysis and coverage.

 

A recent piece by Leslie Kramer in Wall Street & Technology captured the essence in its title and subhead:

 

Demand for Low-Latency Infrastructure in Financial Markets Continues Despite Current Turmoil. There is a race underway in the financial markets, with technology vendors and service providers vying to offer the lowest possible latency in the delivery of market data and trade execution information.

 

Kramer comments on recent research by Rik Turner of Datamonitor.  Turner states "...the current volatility in the markets actually makes low-latency infrastructure even more critical"  The gist is this: current market volatility underscores the need the technology, especially for systems that remove performance impediments.  (It's now moving across more asset classes...)

 

Another great piece was from John Barr of the 451 Group in his report "2009 preview - Financial Services IT."  John states:

 

2008 was (hopefully) a once-in-a-lifetime event in financial markets. In 2009, we expect the markets to pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and start planning for the future. Consolidation, cuts and cost savings have made recent headlines – but business goes on, the value of being competitive has not gone away, the low-latency race is still being run, and the European Multilateral Trading Facilities (MTFs) must compete on both business model and technology if they are to survive to the end of 2009.

 

Poignant. Pithy. Think about it.  When we get through the current market challenges - and we will - the firms that will lead are the ones taking action NOW.

 

=rob.ciampa