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Deepening Open source engagement in 2019
Does 2018 already feel like a distant memory? Surely it's been more than a month since you were gathered around a table with friends and families, catching some sun, cruising some slopes or just enjoying time to yourself. At FINOS we did enjoy some time off but have been back to work reflecting on the successes and challenges of 2018 and figuring out how to help the financial services industry move the needle of open source engagement in 2019. It's hard to believe we started this exciting journey only 9 months ago....but we have some evidence, so check out our oldie but goodie, FINOS launch keynote!
Read Q4 2018 highlights below, which include the launch of three new programs and a fantastic OSSF.
2019 is shaping up to be an exciting year and we hope you will get involved. With 11 active Programs (working groups and projects focused on a specific area) and new Members and participants joining every month there is plenty to discover and deliver. Look for more announcements soon about our programs and events and get in touch if you have questions or can't find what you are looking for.
OPEN SOURCE is crossing the chasm in fintech
Read a great recap from FINOS Executive Director, Gabriele Columbro, on what our community has accomplished since our launch just 9 months ago, and the open source outlook for the finance industry in 2019.
White Paper: Business Value of Open Source for Financial Services Firms
In December, in collaboration with of our friends, Leslie Hawthorn of Red Hat and Andrew Aitken of Wipro, FINOS released the White Paper: Business Value of Open Source for Financial Services Firms.
From the introduction:
"The financial technology industry is moving into a new era of engagement with open source technologies and communities. Having used open source components for decades to build their products and run their data centers, financial services and fintech firms are increasingly realizing that active participation in open source development is necessary to fully realize their goals to spur innovation, reduce development costs, and attract top talent. This paper outlines how."
Open Source Strategy Forum 2018 was a blast
Building off of the success of the inaugural Open Source Strategy Forum (OSSF) in New York in 2017, FINOS' flagship event moved to London for 2018.
#OSSF2018 had a fantastic turnout and excellent sessions, which served to both accelerate the open source readiness of our Members and wider Community and reinforce the global nature of our Community. We launched new FINOS programs, provided valuable networking, and our speakers delivered substantive talks and guidance on open source integration within financial services. There was also a good amount of Nespresso and Twinnings consumed in the process.
We received overwhelmingly positive feedback on the conference, and for the many of you who asked, we have shared videos and presentations from the majority of the talks and presentations.
Please be on the lookout for announcements on #OSSF2019 and if you are interested in hosting or speaking don't hesitate to let us know!
New FINOS Programs
In case you missed it, here are some concrete examples of the FINOS Community embracing open innovation. Between October and December, FINOS announced three new open source + fintech programs. Here's a little bit about each of them:
Data Technologies Program
In early November, we launched our Data Technologies Program, sponsored by our Platinum Members Morgan Stanley and Citi. The initial focus, to build an open ecosystem around KX/KDB is making great progress. New interest was also quickly identified around finding solutions to industry issues like the definition of common, clean Security Reference Data, so we formed a new working group to address just that. Get involved today!
Data Analytics Visualization Program
The day before OSSF, we launched our Data Analytics Visualization Program, initiated by our Platinum Member JPMorgan. The Program will be seeded with the contribution of the production battle-tested Perspective data visualization framework. We are actively seeking contributions from other financial firms and vendors with the worthy objective of consolidating a fragmented ecosystem with a plethora of existing frameworks that lack competitive differentiation on their own. Get involved today!
Decentralized Ecosystem Growth Program
The very next day, and Day 1 of OSSF, we launched our Decentralized Ecosystem Growth Program, proposed by our Gold Member IHSMarkit in partnership with Clovyr. The purpose of the program is to facilitate the enterprise adoption of decentralized technologies with a specific focus on the financial services industry. We are particularly excited about this program, where open-source-by-definition technologies like blockchain can naturally reside. This has great potential to be a technology (and generational) bridge between the very diverse constituents of the decentralized ecosystem. Get involved today!
FINOS in the News
The past few months have been action packed at FINOS. Here's a sampling of some articles and podcasts about the foundation, and our members:
‘This is not a big boys club’: FINOS seeks to open up open source
Read this thoughtful article that delves deeply into the problems financial services face when it comes to adopting open source. With input from industry experts Jim Adams from JP Morgan, Amber Baldet from Clovyr and Gabriele Columbro from FINOS, a key takeaway is that it's valid for organizations to want to keep their "secret sauce" but there are large amounts of software that do not confer commercial advantage and offer great opportunities to collaborate in a trusted environment to deliver solutions to cross-industry challenges.... READ MORE
Amber Baldet, Rob Underwood, open source and blockchain in Fintech
Amber Baldet, Co-founder and CEO at Clovyr and Rob Underwood, SVP & Director of Program at Finos offer their perspective, and simplify the debate, on blockchain and open source in Fintech, from New York to London... READ MORE
Amber Baldet: Don’t Force Public Blockchains ‘Down Enterprises’ Throats
Clovyr’s Amber Baldet was at the FINOS Open Source Strategy Forum to announce a partnership with IHS Markit on the FINOS Decentralized Ecosystem Growth Program and here discusses the specific needs of enterprises and the potential of open, decentralized systems... LISTEN HERE
’What’s the future of open development platforms? Find out at an upcoming FINOS forum.
How Open Source 'Can Become The Default' In Financial Services Collaboration
The finance industry is going through a technological revolution — sometimes in fits and starts.
Amid the waves of change that have come with the advent of mobile, cloud and blockchain technology, a group of industry players have embraced open source technology as an accelerator of technological innovation.
Those players, including Wall Street’s largest banks, gathered at the Open Source Strategy Forum in London Nov. 14... READ MORE
Looking Forward
We're busy filling our events calendar with meet-ups, webinars, blogs, white papers, training sessions and more so check back regularly for additional detail. And if you'd like to partner with us on any of these activities please email marketing@finos.org.
