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CTOs / Heads of technology / Architects

CTOs, architects, and heads of technology in financial firms have a tough job today. One the one hand, they are expected to provide technology leadership that will position their firms well for the future. But they're asked to do this in an environment that is buffeted by consolidation, cut-backs, and constant change. Taking the wrong technology path has bigger consequences than ever before.

At the interface of business and IT, these individuals are expected to deal with a broad range of situations and understand a broad range of technologies. But they and their overburdened teams don't have as much time as they'd like to filter through the deluge of emerging innovations.

STAC can help in several ways:

  • Research. STAC Reports provide insights into the performance and other behavior of the most important new technologies. The result of hands-on testing, these reports provide objective evidence of a given technology stack's capabilities. By supplying 80% of the information your team needs while requiring 0% of the effort of in-house testing, STAC Reports provide pointers to the products and product combinations that are most worthy of in-house qualification. STAC Reports based on user-driven STAC Benchmark specifications measure the things that matter to the business and express them in terms that a business person can understand. Some reports are made public, while others are held in the confidential STAC Vault for premium STAC subscribers (along with detailed configuration info). 
  • Tools. Your team can have access to the same STAC Test Harness software and product-specific integration components (STAC Packs) that are used to create STAC Reports. This means your team can run the same tests in house, whether that is to baseline existing systems or test new products. STAC Test Harnesses automate mundane testing chores and yield reports in the same format as official STAC Reports (as well as supplying hypercubes of results data that don't make it into the reports). STAC also provides additional tools that enable great freedom to customize tests.
  • Meetings. Architects and engineers from both user firms and vendor firms gather in STAC working groups and special interest groups to develop benchmark standards, discuss new technologies, and establish research agendas. Participating in these groups enables you to influence the research that STAC delivers and to interact with your peers. Meetings are usually by teleconference but are sometimes in person. Large, in-person gatherings called STAC Summits are an opportunity to discuss important engineering challenges and the latest solutions for them. STAC Summits go into more depth than typical industry conferences. STAC Summits are an excellent way to keep tabs on the most important innovations in the industry.

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