Firms increase risk spend

The recently passed financial reform bill requires US financial institutions and banks to do better reporting and transparency in their transactions to prevent another financial crisis, reports TMCnet.

Shanker Ramamurthy, GM for IBM's financial services sector, says: "Coming out of the largest financial crisis in modern day history, there has never been a more important time for firms to capitalise on technology investments to make sense of the data and gain a more sophisticated understanding of risks."

A survey conducted by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and IBM indicates almost 50% of companies expect 20% to 30% of their technology budget to be allocated to transformational initiatives such as risk, compliance and trading in 2010 and 2011.

A survey finds that state CIOs want upgraded IT governance and strengthened IT organisations to provide better services and new efficiencies while working with tighter budgets, states Government Technology.

Released by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers, TechAmerica and Grant Thornton, the report found CIOs are consolidating applications and data centres, rolling out shared services and embracing emerging technologies like cloud computing and social media, while expecting smaller IT budgets.

Many CIOs bear much of the responsibility for statewide IT governance but do not have an equal share of authority. The survey reveals three out of five CIOs say their states have a formal IT enterprise portfolio management process, but on average give these processes a C grade for effectiveness.

The Cloud Industry Forum (CIF) in the UK has completed the public consultation process on its draft code of practice, says SC Magazine.

The draft code aims to standardise and certify enterprises offering cloud computing services and was reviewed by over 200 organisations.

Andy Burton, CIF chairman and CEO of Fasthosts, says: “We firmly believe that the market needs a credible and certifiable code of practice that provides transparency of cloud services such that consumers can have clarity and confidence in their choice of provider.”