SOA holds real promise of addressing the needs of technology managers and business managers, especially if there is a common web services grammar, says John Gordon.

Without the buy-in of top management, SOA implementation is likely to fail. And management must understand it is not just a technology issue. Heather McKenzie reports.

As multi-channel delivery becomes an essential part of global banking, the ability to take a unified view is essential – which is where SOA comes in. Rehka Menon explains.

SOA cannot address every IT problem and is not necessarily the way forward for all banks but there are some powerful motivations for banks to adopt it, not least of which is the ability to develop a seamless experience for customers. Wendy Atkins reports.

Service-oriented architecture frees your organisation’s systems from their former technology constraints. As Frank Sanchez explains, this openness can only be good for your bottom line.

The service-oriented approach to information technology has been developed for specific business needs and is likely to endure. Banks that redevelop their architecture soon will reap the benefits later.

TowerGroup estimates that in 2006 the global banking industry will spend nearly $183bn on technology, both internally and externally. Looking at the geographic split, we note two major points.

Corporate treasurers’ group TWIST is putting pressure on banks to create a single payments standard and to stop trying to manage identities. The case is strong and SWIFT is already listening.By Chris Skinner.

As a conference in India on business process outsourcing heard recently, the relationship between company and service provider has evolved, to the benefit of both sides. Kala Rao explains.

Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein’s new head of alternative market models tells Dan Barnes that his strategy for the digital markets group is designed to enable it to choose change with foresight.