Date 13 February 2012 |
Author: Willem Jan Ruiter | Blog Categories: Work at ING
It’s been a while since I posted my last blog. Last time I talked about pride; pride in ING Investment Management and pride in the people who work there. However, a clearer explanation is needed, since developments over the past few weeks have given us further food for thought, not all of which has been palatable.
The most important event of course was ING Group’s announcement on 12 January 2012 of its decision to explore other strategic options for Insurance/ Investment Management in Asia due to turbulence in the financial markets. Some may find this disappointing but in my view, this is the point at which the strong can be separated out from the weak. In a “goldilocks” economy, business development could hardly have been easier, but now, faced with troubled times, we can show what we really stand for and demonstrate our added value.
Date 30 May 2011 |
Author: Willem Jan Ruiter | Blog Categories: Work at ING
It’s with some pride that I can report the completion of my first ever blog. I was asked by my colleagues at HR if I’d keep a blog of my comings-and-goings over the past few weeks. As it happens, I’ve been up to some quite interesting things, so this blog provides an account of my experiences.
As Knowledge Manager in the Investment Content Management department, it’s part of my responsibilities to disseminate our investment view to internal and external clients. Last week, together with colleagues from cross-regional business development and the value boutique, I made a tour of our offices in Romania and Poland. It was a fascinating trip! First stop on the programme was Bucharest. Our Romanian colleagues there had organised a meeting for their distribution partners, including Citi and Millennium Bank. We had the honour of telling them about the asset management industry, ING IM as a company and what our products and services might offer them.
Date 12 May 2011 |
Author: Richard Valk | Blog Categories: Infrastructure
When you start with SOA you get some funding to buy the software, install it and develop your first services. The next services you develop will however be funded by projects. The requirements for that new service will be dictated by the project as it will be the first consumer of that service. To develop that service into a more reusable service will require more deisng and development time and therefore more funding. It’s a discussion you will always have with services that are project funded. Which is not always a bad thing, it keeps you honest.
Date 11 May 2011 |
Author: Tod McKenna | Blog Categories: Data Warehouse
Have you ever considered the Data Warehouse as a chaotic system? The work of the Data Warehouse team is never complete: new requirements trickle in every day, and user feedback gets more and more sophisticated as time passes. Chaos Theory can help explain this, and in the end, offer us some insight into how we can better plan Data Warehouse development, deployment, and maintenance.
The Data Warehouse is a process which forms the center of an information supply supply chain, with several inputs and several outputs. Each input and each output is subject to change based on factors such as vendor upgrades, new interfaces, expanded interfaces, and perhaps most importantly end-user (client) evolution. All of these changes happen continuously. As people use the Data Warehouse, they become more inquisitive. They want their output and analysis rolled up or down in different ways. Predicting (i.e. planning) for Data Warehouse change can be as difficult as predicting (and therefore planning for) the weather. This environment of ever-changing needs fits neatly into the confines of Chaos Theory. But what is chaos in this context? What is Chaos Theory exactly?
Date 12 April 2011 |
Author: Richard Valk | Blog Categories: Ted Talk
This is one of those TED talks I regularly watch to get inspired. Simon Sinek goes looking for why some fail where others succeed.
The answer is: Why? The difference in people failing or succeeding is in the answer to the question: why do they do it..
If I look around myself in the workplace this has become one of the questions I’m asking myself. Why is this person here, what drives him. Is it just work for him or is he inspired to create or improve something. Is he moved by personal gain or he is out to create something beautiful.
If you’ve watched the video and seen the golden circle with the why, how and what. Most people will tell you what they do and how they do it. A few will tell you why, keep your eye on them.
If I interview people for a job this is always one of the questions I ask. Why? What drives someone to join a company and do the things they will have to do.
The Data Warehouse is a process which forms the center of an information supply supply chain, with several inputs and several outputs. Each input and each output is subject to change based on factors such as vendor upgrades, new interfaces, expanded interfaces, and perhaps most importantly end-user (client) evolution. All of these changes happen continuously. As people use the Data Warehouse, they become more inquisitive. They want their output and analysis rolled up or down in different ways. Predicting (i.e. planning) for Data Warehouse change can be as difficult as predicting (and therefore planning for) the weather. This environment of ever-changing needs fits neatly into the confines of Chaos Theory. But what is chaos in this context? What is Chaos Theory exactly?
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