Right Message, Not So Right Forum

I attended SIFMA in June, courtesy of Sybase who provided a demo station for Platform Computing within their booth. Platform showcased the integration of Platform Symphony and Sybase RAP - The Trading Edition. Faced with the need for intraday and/or more rigorous analytics, banks of all sizes have expressed interest in technology that can accelerate calculations. The combination of Sybase RAP's Complex Event Processing (CEP) and Platform Symphony grid software can speed up complex analytics up to 20x or more. In the second day of SIFMA, our firms jointly presented our development in a seminar at the Hilton. In spite of the superb location of Sybase's booth and the highly marketed seminar, attendance was light overall. Of the attendees who dropped by, all expressed strong interest in the joint offering. They also noted the subdued nature of SIFMA compared with shows of past years. In contrast, the STAC quarterly meeting was very well attended by banks, funds, and vendors of all sizes. So what are my conclusions? I believe Platform and Sybase have the right solution for meeting the analytical challenges faced by banks and funds. Rather than large general trade shows like SIFMA, vendors need to focus on regional and specialized events like the STAC meeting and/or social media sites for getting their messages out. Otherwise, a lot of good work gets unheard.