"The Data Warehouse Problem" Winston Churchill described democracy as the worst system except for all the others. Is a central data warehouse the solution to enterprise risk management, or does Churchill's comment ring true in this area as well? Risk management is impossible if the technology can't support it. Incompatible and downright recalcitrant systems prevent managers from collecting data from various desks and locations in one place. Here's how we've analyzed the problems facing enterprise-wide risk management over the years. "The Back-Office System" "Winning the Systems Integration Game" The Big Bang approach to systems integration doesn't work. A successful integration project should focus on business needs first, be attainable, proceed incrementally and yield real results within weeks. But how do you proceed? "Managing the Data Integration Nightmare" The Seven Deadly Data Sins of integration. XML to the Rescue XML is advertised as the white knight in the data-integration game. It will standardize languages and get different programs to communicate. But if you build it, will they come? Will swaps dealers and others use it? Is the telephone on its way to becoming an obsolete piece of OTC history? Making XML Work The protocol everyone is now saluting should obviate the need for middleware by making data compatible, but mapping to XML won't be a cakewalk. "Measuring Speed" If benchmarking is the answer, the question is How do I find the best risk management system for my company? Other things being equal, speed is the name of the game. But is speed the be-all and end-all? "Why In-House Systems Fail" It's the Vision Thing. Instead of translating a single vision into a systems architecture, many banks start with bullet points and design up, rather than down. "The Risk Managers" "What's Taking So Long?" Banks are focusing on getting risk management systems that can do the basics up and running as quickly as possible. But are projects being completed more quickly?