3 ms·
As with all these changes, it's mostly about coordination and legacy systems. Just as Y2K was a challenge and just as the 2038 date will be a challenge, it's a
by eej71 6y ago
As with all these changes, it's mostly about coordination and legacy systems.
Just as Y2K was a challenge and just as the 2038 date will be a challenge, it's all about pushing changes through legacy systems. ascii->unicode, ip4->ip6, python 2->3. We all know the drill. We've all lived through these things.
It's rarely a technical problem. It's about coordination across firms, domains, people, and systems that may not be known ... until they break.
- throwawayboise 6y agoYes. I used to work at an investment bank. When the market moved from T+5 to T+3 it was a major project for all internal systems to be adjusted. It wasn't just a matter of changing a SETTLEMENT_DAYS macro in a header file. And even afterwards, it wasn't that, because there were different systems written in different eras and in different languages. Multiply this by however many thousands of firms, all with their bespoke back-office systems. and it takes time.
- adamredwoods 6y agoWhat language was this written in? Did it stay in the same language? If it's say, FORTRAN, I wonder if there's value in learning it soon.
- IsoldesKnight 6y agoBack office system in the financial sector? You're probably looking at COBOL, although I know Caché gets used as well.
- incongruity 6y agoCoordination problems can become technical problems - or be caused by technical decisions. Moving a system/network of actors from one system to a new, incompatible system? You need to coordinate the switch so it all happens at once. Can’t coordinate? Then you need a compatibility layer between the two systems.