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Fifth Annual Cass-Capco Risk Management Conference
April 19, 2012: Cass Business School, London, UK

The fifth annual conference of the Cass-Capco Institute on Risk brought together practitioners and academics to discuss how risk can be managed to lessen its impact on business and economic growth... Read More

Banking in the “Glocal” World
March 1, 2012: Zurich, Switzerland

Swiss Finance Institute and Capco Institute were pleased to present the Inaugural Annual conference of the SFI-Capco Institute Paper Series on Banking in Zurich, Switzerland. The conference brought together leading financial experts and scholars to discuss... Read More

IT Complexity: Model, Measure and Master

Part 1: A new metric to evaluate the impact of change

This Capco Thoughts white paper describes a groundbreaking initiative underway by Germany-based Commerzbank and Capco to develop a model for measuring IT complexity in the financial services industry. Individual financial institutions can gain value from this new model through immediate application to their existing environment, while reaping long-term benefits through contribution to an industry database of results.

What if complexity was a discreet, measurable metric rather than a discretionary, ambiguous term? Could a complexity metric reshape the decisions and activities of a CIO?

Information technology executives of leading financial institutions understand the need to acknowledge, embrace and harness complexity. They understand that the many layers and connected dependencies of today’s IT environments require objective, quantifiable measurement of their origins and effects.

But today CIOs still tie their decisions almost exclusively to their personal experience and straightforward financial analyses such as project costs and estimations. Some may also apply scenario analysis to technology decisions for risk management purposes.

How might IT decision-making change if a quantitative metric for complexity was available to complement experience and the typical financial metrics?

Commerzbank and Capco have worked out a practical solution, by creating an IT Complexity model and management decision tool. To read the second paper in the series, download our Part 2: IT Complexity Metrics – How Do You Measure Up? thought paper.