The current economic, regulatory and commercial climate can lead to conflicting messages when trying to grasp the challenges and opportunities facing the retail banking technology industry throughout 2012.

Economic growth continues to elude many fragile economies throughout Europe and the West. This, alongside an international context of increased scrutiny and regulation as a result of failings exposed by the banking crisis, provides a difficult context for the world’s financial services industry. The UK is no exception. With dwindling growth figures and the looming regulatory upheaval of a retail banking ring fence, UK banks will certainly feel pressure upon their balance sheets in 2012. (more…)

Technorati Tags: 2012 retail banking, compliance, Financial Services, retail banking ring fence, technology

The much anticipated new version of the Cyber Security Strategy is finally out. But is it any good? Well, generally its reception has been good and, from an Intellect point of view, we support it.

In particular, Intellect was very pleased to see some recommendations from our November 2010 paper Improving Cyber Security Partnerships reflected in the strategy. For example, our recommendations about HMG sharing cyber threat information with the private sector,  the adoption of a widely recognisable kitemark, the rationalisation of UK standards applicable to cyber security products and solutions, and greater transparency of public funded research on cyber security have been incorporated into the HMG’s 2011 Cyber Security Strategy. It is also encouraging that our input into this strategy has also been incorporated into the document.

So what does it say?

First of all, the strategy recognises that the Internet is vital to the UK’s economy. Internet businesses comprise 6% of GDP and are slated to create 365,000 jobs over the next five years. Moreover, HMG’s ‘digital by default’ agenda and its move to migrate services to the cloud will mean that the UK will become more and more dependent on cyber space for our public services.

These growth figures are mimicked internationally. For example, e-commerce sees US$8 trillion change hands annually and current estimates suggest that for every 10% increase in broadband access, global GDP will rise, on average, by 1.3%.

As a result, ensuring that the UK is a safe place to do business is critical to the economic wellbeing of the UK.

The strategy also rightly makes the point that cyber security cannot be achieved by placing responsibility solely in the hands of HMG. However, the view from HMG is companies need to ensure their IPR is protected adequately and need to ensure cyber is recognised at a board level. It’s also been suggested by Government that company audit committees should routinely review this risk.

Some companies are already very good at protecting themselves from the cyber threat. Unsurprisingly, these tend to be the Defence Primes or Internet Technology Companies. This means, other companies – both in the UK and worldwide – need to take action to protect themselves and recognise cyber as a real risk to their business. Achieving cyber security does not require massive investment in new technology. It’s largely accepted that 80% of cyber risks can be addressed by applying good practice within companies, which would include keeping anti-malware applications up to date, ensuring operating system and third party application updates are installed quickly and educating staff correctly.

One of the most important recommendations in the new strategy is the call for greater co-operation between HMG and the private sector with regard to cyber security. Organisations such as GCHQ will now need to work in partnership with commercial organisations. This recommendation is being implemented through the development of a hub and node solution to share information and best practice between the public and private sectors. Intellect and its members fully support this activity. In fact, Intellect – along with ADS – has been working with 25 of its members for the last six months to develop a virtual node that will enable companies in the advanced technology industry to share cyber threat information with each other. We hope that, over time, this node will be integrated into HMG’s Hub initiative.

Intellect also praises the strategy’s recognition that cyber presents a host of opportunities to UK business. Therefore, UKTI will be committed to working with trade associations to ‘to turn the threat into opportunity and make strong cyber security a positive for all UK businesses’.

So how will this affect your business?

Intellect suspects that the impact of the Cyber Security Strategy will be that ‘cyber’ will become part of normal business risk assessment. There will be more pressure from clients (particularly public sector clients), shareholders, and auditors to demonstrate how your business is mitigating cyber threats.

These greater expectations will be complemented by the general public, commercial entities, and public sector customers having better knowledge and an easier time in mitigating the cyber threat. This is because ‘kite-marked’ products, cyber-specific standards, and best or good practice guides will be developed and widely distributed.

To support this Intellect will be issuing its good practice guide aimed at SMEs in early to mid 2012 and will continue to work in partnership with ADS to deliver the advanced technology industry node (Virtual Task Force) next year.

Technorati Tags: Cabinet Office, cyber, Cyber Hub, cyber security strategy, Cyber Strategy, GCHQ, Hub, Kitemark

Following Intellect’s successful 4G Mobile Broadband conference, I would like to thank our speakers and panellists for their enlightening and provoking presentations and insights during the panel discussions.

Our day was kicked off by John Higgins who introduced John Woodget of Intel, followed by H Nwana of Ofcom and Frank Mather of the European Commission.

John Woodget spoke about the service provider sector - particularly the need for the industry to regain leadership. Intel believes this can be facilitated by a number of measures including; swift release of spectrum, development of longer term strategies, regaining international influence and the promotion of UK industry. (more…)

Technorati Tags: 4G, Adam Pollard, Analysis Mason, Android, Andy Nuttal, Apple, Blue Nowhere, DCMS, Dr Matt Yardley, Ed Vaizey, EU, European Commission, Everything Everywhere, Google, H Nwana, ICT KTN, Intel, intellect, iPhone, John Woodget, Kip Meek, LTE, mobile broadband, mobile network operators, Ofcom, Peter Curnow-Ford, Philip Hargrave, Skype, Stephen Lerner, Three, Vodafone, Wimax

Take a look at any newspaper on any given day at the moment and the narrative focuses on economic matters, more specifically the uncertainty in Western European countries.  Markets are dominating the political landscape with profound effect as both Greece and Italy take drastic action and draft in sober-looking technocrats to steady the tiller.  Nevertheless, uncertainty remains and the prospect of the dreaded “double-dip”  looms large.  So how is this affecting the Outsourcing industry?

According to the outsourcing analysts HfS Research, over 40% of corporate IT leaders surveyed in their recent analysis said that a double-dip recession would lead to increased outsourcing.  (more…)

Technorati Tags: cloud computing, double-dip, new relationships, offshoring, Outsourcing, recession, technocrats, technology

With one day until Intellect’s 4G Mobile Broadband Conference in London, O2 have begun 4G trials in London.

These trials represent a significant ramping up of 4G development and signify O2′s serious intent to provide the first 4G service in the UK. Trials are usually performed in areas with low populations and medium radio traffic, allowing data to be captured easily without fear of interfernce. Trials within London represent a serious undertaking both technically and financially by O2. Their customers can expect data reception to devices at around 50 MBits per second or less for the duration of the trial – the current average being 1.5 MBits per second. (more…)

Technorati Tags: 2012 Spectrum release, 4G networks, 4G trials, 50 Mbps, commercial 4G services, Everything Everywhere 4G, Germany 4G network, Long term evolution, LTE, mobile broadband, O2 brings superfast 4G to London, Ofcom, research and development, Sweden 4G network, Telefonica O2, Vodafone 4G

This weekend sees the opening of a global gathering of ICT executives, government officials and policy makers, who are meeting to share ideas on how ICT can drive economic growth, create jobs, overcome social exclusion and improve quality of life. (more…)

A. Not a lot – a lack of transparency covered both up by which point it was too late to mitigate significant losses.

You can’t help but feel that the Independent Commission on Banking’s final report, published a couple of weeks ago, has somewhat missed a massive opportunity in the reform of the UK’s banks and has looked more at the symptoms of the financial crisis, rather than the cause. Now this is not a criticism. The report was a thorough piece of work undertaken with the best intentions but which suffered from an over reliance on those institutions that contributed to the financial crisis in the first place and significant (and indeed oscillating) political pressure on the eventual outcomes. However, it does present HM Treasury with a significant amount of work to do over the coming weeks to consider what is missing from the report, not just what is present.

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Monday, 12 September 2011 is going to be interesting. Very interesting. As the culmination of almost 14 months of deliberation, the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB, otherwise known as the Vickers Commission) will be publishing its final recommendations on the reform of the UK banking system. ‘Ring fence’ and ‘account switching’ will once again become phrases ‘du jour’ and we will see the beginning of the next phase of banking reform – legislative scrutiny. The Joint Committee on the Draft Financial Services Bill has already started its own three month project of scrutinising HM Treasury’s planned reforms of the UK financial services regulatory architecture, and we look forward to the House of Lord’s own debate on the ICB’s findings on 15 September 2011. The House of Commons, and the irrepressible Treasury Select Committee will surely not be far behind.

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The phone hacking inquiry notwithstanding, it is almost time for a notable demographic within Westminster Village, our MPs, to return to their constituencies to tend to more pressing local matters for the summer. Indeed both houses of parliament will call a temporary halt to their legislative duties until returning in earnest at the beginning of September, a good month before the usual return, post Conservative Party conference.

However, policy development waits for no man/democratically elected representative and the wheels of deliberation will continue to turn over the ‘sleepy’ month of August. In fact, August is a time when those with a view on policy can make hay, and Intellect intends to do so by continuing to work across a number of areas.

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It is expected that a ring-fence would facilitate the continuation of crucial economic and social functions that the retail arms of universal banks perform, in the event of a failure of the investment banking arm. From providing access to funds for individuals; facilitating personal and commercial transactions; and providing finance to business; banks play a crucial role in the UK’s economy. This was, after all, why the government felt compelled to step in and bail out RBS, HBOS and Northern Rock and it is widely accepted that the consequences for the UK economy had they not done so, would have been significantly worse than what has been seen to date.

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Technorati Tags: banking reform, banks, financial crisis, Independent Commission on Banking, ring fence, risk data