<p>I was last in Dubai 13 years ago, presenting at the GITEX IT show on Internet Security. Working with a local partner which specialised in Lotus Notes implementations and was comprised mostly of (local) Indians, I developed a taste for masala dosa and an affection for the small emirate. Then the skyline was troubled only by the World Trade Centre and the recently-finished Burj Al Arab. I heard stories of the tennis court on the helicopter pad at the top of the hotel and the complexities of putting foundations on sand and oil-bearing rock.</p><p>Fast forward 13 years: much has changed. As I flew in over the north of Iraq, past cities with the now-familiar names of Kirkuk and Mosul and over the Gulf, I noticed the gas plumes from oil drilling operations and then then glowing sprawl of Dubai itself. On the taxi to my hotel (itself not there 13 years ago) the skyline now resembled that of Seoul as skyscrapers had sprung up along the main routes, now dwarfed by the Burj Khalifa. But Dubai is still as warm and inviting as always, at least to a Westerner like myself.</p><p>Before I arrived I read an Economist article on Dubai's development and its long-term strategy to diversify away from fossil fuel into banking, leisure and trade. Dubai has made a decision not to rest but to achieve all it can and to move on from its legacy. As a financial centre, Dubai has established itself as a safe haven not only in the Middle East, but globally. Forecasts are that Dubai will be the 7th most popular tourist destination and the free trade port continues to grow in both reputation and throughput. Dubai's strategic view made me think about two Sibos-related topics: standards and technology.</p><p>Firstly, in many so-called developed nations globally we have less well-developed banking systems and little appetite to change. The risk of change is too great to replace these old computer systems so we must make-do and mend, maintain what we have and develop wrappers to interface the old with the new, which then quickly become our legacy. I remember well the story of the bank CIO who was younger than many parts of the core banking systems he was tasked to keep running. In the UK this discussion has more recently been focussed around how banks can collectively move their computing platforms into the 21st century and, if necessary, who can force them to.</p><p><a href="http://www.finextra.com/Community/FullBlog.aspx?blogid=8157">Keep reading...</a></p>