I had to look back at our last posting at the end of October to realise that we have not updated our readers since a highly enjoyable and educational trip to Japan and the joy of family celebrations in California over the Christmas break. It is sad to acknowledge that we have also seen yet another conflict break out in Gaza and we can only hope that talk of an imminent ceasefire will prove to be an opportunity for humanitarian aid to ease the suffering of the civilian population. Wars always end with a negotiated settlement, there is never a real winner, just a side that loses less. How did we get to this place in our relationships? A failure to treat each other as equals?

I recently learned that two of my Arthur Andersen contemporaries had passed without my being immediately aware. You think you are keeping in touch and then realise it is some years since you spoke and there was no Xmas card this year. While sad, it brought lots of good time memories back to the forefront.

Professionally we are seeing a lot of activity around good customer experience and the use of AI in customer facing applications. I was certainly impressed by the achievements of the eGain team in their work with financial services clients. Another hot spot is DORA, the EU directive on organisational resilience amongst financial services regulated entities. The Bank of England has written to all the supervised banks to ask that they review and update their plans.

This week, I attend a recent well subscribed FS Tech event “RegTech” . The event was supported by commercial sponsors but there were also many independent professionals delivering an excellent overview of the regulatory issues from the FCA and the Payments System regulator. The presentations covered cybercrime which is growing at an alarming rate, and the integration of generative AI and large language models to handle compliance oversight on electronic communications. Patrick Smith of Pure Storage highlighted the need to both put in place but equally importantly to test recovery plans.

FS Tech have a historic partnership with BCS Financial Service special interest group and I will be attending their Awards event at the Marriott Hotel, Grosvenor square next month to present one of the awards to the successful institution.

Since we worked together at European Banking Company I have been pleased to call Steve Cox a friend and a colleague. He was one of the people I invited to join me as a director of PMi Consult in our early formative years. He is now a senior project manager at Tesco, but on a personal level I know him as a brilliant musician. He was recently on stage at the Tesco “Technology get Together”   -Tech’s got Talent event with a version of McArthur Park by Jimmy Webb that may bring back some memories.

Value your friendships and relationships. Its often the source of the next business opportunity and in many ways your network defines you. Trusted, reliable, talented, knowledgeable – all adjectives that would make a good consultant for PMi Consult.