A Strategy for Optimizing the Information Processing Complex

This chapter considers how a financial institution can develop a strategy for managing the evolution of its production function, emphasizing the desired relationship between data accumulation, data processing capabilities, and physical information assets, that aligns with some pre‐determined strategic goals. It reemphasizes the importance of human capital and communication as pre‐requisites to the adoption and deployment of leading edge technological systems and capabilities. It then considers methods for firms to evaluate their current capabilities and assets, focusing on pitfall identification and avoidance as opposed to proscriptive design recommendations. For overall data processing systems, some design considerations are identified as objectives and yardsticks for assessing current state. The Chapter then considers targeted improvement strategies highlighting that certain functions, including model governance and strategic data acquisition can act as bellweather indicators of improvement or deterioration, and that the extent to which data processing excellence becomes an input into higher level strategic decisions like M&A is a good measure of positive cultural change.