Enterprise Architecture: No Glamour, but Mission-Critical 5 September 2002

	In their ongoing efforts to gain and retain market share, financial services providers (FSPs) have poured billions of dollars and billions of hours into high-profile IT projects. These "glamorous" initiatives have promised new channels, new customers and new revenue streams — and, all too often, they have failed to deliver the anticipated return on investment. The result is that many FSPs are now refocusing their attention, and their resources, on a decidedly unglamorous aspect of their operations: the development of sound enterprise architecture. Enterprise architecture provides the strong foundation that FSPs need to efficiently address and support present and future business demands. The enterprisewide application of sound architectural principles ensures that an FSP can deliver the functionality its customers are demanding today, and still be prepared to simply and inexpensively deploy new products and services tomorrow.   Read more		Annemarie Earley Editor in Chief Financial Services

			Enterprise Architecture: The Enabler of Success 5 September 2002 Mary Knox  A flexible, interoperable enterprise architecture is essential for financial services providers faced with responding to present needs while laying the groundwork for meeting future demands.

	Adopting a Flexible Approach to Enterprise Architecture 26 August 2002 Mary Knox  Enterprise architecture can stifle creativity or it can foster innovation and growth. Keys to promoting flexibility — and thus enablement of innovation — are recommended.		Beyond Functionality: Architecture Success Factors 27 August 2002 Mary Knox  To achieve enterprise flexibility and interoperability, a financial services provider's enterprise architecture must embrace seven principles beyond the original initiative.
	SOA: A 'Must Have' for Core Banking 4 September 2002 Annemarie Earley  Don Free  Service-oriented architecture in core processing systems enables banks to implement new applications quickly and cost-effectively. This "code once, use many times" approach is becoming a key requirement for midtier banks.		FSP Wireless Architectures: Plan Now for Future Flexibility 3 September 2002 Bradford Adrian  A flexible Adaptive Application Architecture is critical for financial services providers that need to deliver mobile services — whether business-to-consumer, business-to-employee or business-to-business — now or in the future.
	Enterprise Architecture: Success in Mexico 22 August 2002 Maria Kun  Nacional Financiera, a major Mexican public-sector development bank, followed a rigorous strategic IT planning process that rapidly delivered significant results — for the IS organization and business operations.		Pharmaceuticals Re-engineering Leverages Identrus 3 September 2002 Avivah Litan  A multinational pharmaceutical firm is leveraging Identrus identity and payment standards as it streamlines its contracting, payment and related processes. The project should increase drug trial efficiency and foster innovation.