Social networking websites have proved to be the journalist’s stock barometer this year in terms of measuring industry or consumer appetite for anything from the taste of Marmite to political opinion. The creation of a Facebook group in opposition to a certain political decision, or for that matter, celebrity happening, is taken as a straw poll of public sentiment. Not surprising then, that the creation of a chief data officer (CDO) group on business networking site LinkedIn in March this year can be read as proof that CDOs are not only increasing in number, they are also working together to convince the industry of the importance of data.

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Alternative investments are proving popular in light of the lack of confidence in some sectors of the financial markets and art has become a rather sought after investment opportunity (see the astronomical prices being paid for Warhol’s work recently for proof). So last week’s A-Team Group event in East Gallery on Brick Lane was more than just a social gathering, it gave attendees the opportunity to scrutinise an up and coming artist’s work (with good company, cocktails and sushi thrown in for free).

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This year’s FIMA demonstrated one clear thing: not everyone agrees on the right way to approach data standardisation across the market.

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The mood in the industry this month seems to be one of serious assertiveness. Not only did market participants give a piece of their minds to data vendors at the bi-annual World Financial Information Conference (WFIC) in Athens, early in October, but the EDM Council also saw an uprising of sorts against the proposals surrounding the establishment of a National Institute of Finance (NIF) in the US market.

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