All Blog Posts Tagged 'Profit' (41)

A point we make regularly here at OBASHI is that in today’s digital world, it is important to understand how data flows through and between businesses.

We occasionally blog about “data flow disasters” - events that occur when a flow of data is interrupted or compromised, so that there is a negative business impact on those who use or interact with that flow of…

Legal Risks on the Radar, is an annual survey, published in the U.S. by Corporate Board Member and FTI Consulting.

The 2012 report researches attitudes to current legal issues among ‘two critical governance groups’: public company directors and corporate general counsel (GC).

Amongst other things, the survey finds that the growth of digital business, and connectivity, has caused many in these groups to recognise the increasing importance of understanding the…

One of the analogies I sometimes use to describe how understanding data flow is becoming ever more important in business, is that of the doctor understanding blood flow through the human body.

Medical professionals have a clear understanding of the vascular system, which carries blood, and how it interacts with other physiological systems, and the various parts of the body.

When a vascular disease occurs, most often, blood flow in the sufferer’s body is…

“Technology Risk Management Guidelines”, is a research paper published by The Monetary Authority of Singapore.

The objective of the guidelines is, “to promote the adoption of sound processes in managing technology risks and the implementation of security practices”, in regulated financial institutions.

Although the…

The Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) is a specialist armed police force, which looks after all of the UK's nuclear assets and resources, both nationally and internationally. 

Recently, I asked Paul Stone, Deputy CIO at CNC, why he, and his colleague Mark Verrier (CIO), had decided to become OBASHI accredited, and use the OBASHI Methodology, and software.

Paul’s reply is,

“OBASHI is a straightforward methodology with simple diagrams and…

In the LinkedIn ‘Data Governance and Data Quality’ group, Gary W. Griffin asks for opinions on this,

Data Governance could be enhanced by clearly specifying data value chains and explaining how the Information Supply Chain connects the data value chains.

The concept of governance is one which is long established within the Oil and…

Chateau Margaux 1983 is one of the many things I love about France.

My wife lived in France for a while so I’ve picked up her appreciation of the culture, food and language.

The French have a great way with language; they seem to find a way to say in a word that which takes a sentence in English. “Impasse” is one. I hate that word. I get a constant feeling of déjà vu (see what I mean) every time I hear it. It reminds me of a million meetings I was involved in…

One of the frustrations for any CIO or IT Manager in a new job, is trying to understand the IT systems and applications installed by their predecessors.

The analysis of the layers of systems deployed over time within a business can be thought of as an “archaeological dig”, through different technologies and integration techniques.

Over time, what typically happens in an organisation, is that managers in different departments use their budgets to put in place…

Yesterday, the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), a global finance industry watchdog, published a report on High Frequency Trading (HFT), and other high-tech trading practices.

The report is a response to the financial ‘flash crash’ of 2010 (and numerous subsequent ‘mini flash-crashes’) in which HFT clearly played some…

                ... a charred body, a bent watch, two rubber heels and a torn piece of clothing...

The remains of Chief Engineer David Rockwell were found on March 21^st 1905, the day after an industrial explosion and intense fire occurred at the Grover Shoe Factory, Brockton, Massachusetts.

The disaster, in which 58 people were killed and 150…

 "hindsight is great, but foresight is better............and less expensive."

Almost a year ago, that was my conclusion on how OBASHI could be used to create clarity in the business, and avert a ‘data flow disaster’ like the one at TUI Travel, which caused the company a £117 million loss. 

A data flow disaster is the term we use for an event where a flow of data is interrupted or compromised, so that there is a negative business impact on…

This week marks the first anniversary of OBASHI Think, so its a good excuse for a recap – and to highlight what we think are some of our key posts!

A quick birthday reminder - OBASHI is a “new standard” way of thinking about how a business works and is available as a methodology, a professional accreditation and software.

With OBASHI you see the business in only two views:  Business and IT…

Following on from my previous blog, Insuring flows of data in the cloud, it occurred to me that as businesses and supply chains become more inter-connected, insurers will soon demand more clarity about data quality issues.

Not only will they want to more accurately calculate the risk of dataflow stopping altogether, they will also want better understanding that the right…

I often daydream about the day a Hollywood executive approaches me to make a movie about the global phenomenon that OBASHI has become, and I always envisage a “Star Wars – esque” introduction:  "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...."

The reality though is slightly less romantic. OBASHI was born in the Scottish Oil & Gas Industry about 11 years ago (although my wife assures me it seems longer......much longer.)

My colleague Paul Wallis and I met at…

Last week I read a great article by Cynthia Rettig, 'Can Market Regulation Keep Pace with Technology?'  In it she expresses her concerns about the speed of technological change in the finance industry.  She quotes the CEO of Interactive Brokers, Thomas Peterffly, who says,

What we have today is a complete mess.  Over the last 10 years, technology…

Process industries, like Oil & Gas and nuclear, have for many years been using information technology to create clarity about how the business works, to optimise performance and to minimise risk.

In control rooms all around the world the flow of product is represented by the flow of data. This is possible because every component that supports the flow of product has a digital sensor attributed to it.  And the industry knows exactly how all the pieces are put together to…

Happy New Year to all OBASHI Thinkers!  This is our first blog of 2011 and we're starting as we mean to go on.

We are putting the finishing touches to our downloadable 'Lite' software, which automates the OBASHI Methodology, and we hope to make it available early February.  Consequently it's all hands to the pumps at the moment finishing Help files and recording user videos,…

The other day, without being too obvious, I was trying to discover what my wife wanted for Christmas.

I didn't have much success.  Whenever I introduced clothing or perfume or book titles into our conversation she got distracted.

"Do you think 'Diamonds are Forever' will be on TV again during the holidays?",…

The flow of traffic along Scotland's busiest motorway, the M8, ground to halt this week as exceptionally harsh winter conditions caught many drivers, and some transport authorities, unprepared. Peoples day-to-day lives have been severely disrupted and businesses have lost trade and money.



Yesterday I was stuck in a minor traffic jam which formed when cars were diverted from the M8 to nearby minor roads. As we…

The flow of water into my house was interrupted the other day. One of the water pipes decided it had had enough of what is the coldest start to the UK winter in decades. Luckily, the burst happened outside rather than inside the house, so there wasn't too much damage.



But it meant an unscheduled trip to a nearby supermarket, which I hadn't used before. After filling my basket with a few bits and pieces, I approached one of the self-checkout machines and began scanning…