Claudius Sutter, chief operating officer, UBS Investment Bank, Switzerland
We have been very happy with this year's Sibos, as we have with previous years'. Our people have been busy with pre-scheduled meetings and people dropping into the stand, and there's been about a 50/50 mix of these. There have been a lot of meetings with people we already know, because Sibos is the most convenient way to get people together at the same time and place.
We're having a lot more discussions about transaction services than about strategic issues, and are focusing on front-to-back service provision related to operational issues.
The facilities here in Atlanta are great. The tightened security efforts make it very safe, but this has posed a few difficulties with immigration issues and setting up the stand. But it's very well organised and all the people here are extremely friendly, which is nice to see.
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Kevin MacEntee-Creighton, principal consultant, Concise
This is the first year we've had our own stand, having participated on partners' stands in previous years, and the experience has been great. The traffic past the stand has been pretty consistent and we've had lots of productive conversations. My main comment on the exhibition floor this year is that it's much better to have everything on one level. It keeps the flow of people fairly even and is just easier for everyone. I've also noticed that there are a lot more delegates from Europe this year than last.
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Miki Iizawa, associate, payment strategies and solutions department, UFJ Bank
This is my first Sibos and I think it is great to be able to come here and meet with other banks and learn what is happening in the industry. Even though we have quite a simple stand, it's very convenient to be able to schedule meetings on the exhibition floor and also talk with people who come past and want to find out more about what UFJ Bank is doing.
Japanese banks have only really been heavily involved in Sibos for the past two to three years, but it is a great opportunity to be able to present ourselves and gather the information we need to be able to participate in wider industry initiatives. UFJ is particularly interested in the real-time nostro initiatives and coming to Sibos is the best way to push forward our involvement.
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Alastair McGill, marketing director, SmartStream
We've had a great show so far. We arrived with a lot of demo sessions already booked, and particularly on Tuesday our people were busy with back-to-back demos pretty much all day. For us it's a good opportunity to talk not only with prospects, but with those we're already engaged in the sales cycle with. Some clients that are rolling out our solution globally, for example, can bring their international colleagues along and show them the system they are going to be using.
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Charles H.S. Mallis, managing director, FI Insurance, Global Transaction Services, Citibank.
I've been involved with Sibos for over 15 years with various banks and I'm a firm believer in the single floor layout for the exhibition area, as it helps everyone achieve equal presentation. I've been particularly impressed with the content and intellectual capital of many of the stands this year.
It's a credit to Lenny that the number, and particularly the level, of participants has improved so much. It really has become a venue for the open exchange of strategic ideas as well as extensively covering the tactical day-to-day issues that organisations face.
Especially this year it has been great to see the focus on embracing the fund management community more, and I hope by the time Sibos comes to Boston, which is a major fund management centre, that we will see full participation from this sector.
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Ivan Martin, CEO, Banking & Securities, Misys
The traffic at this year's Sibos is a lot better than last year. Also, because of the improving position of financial IT budgets, we feel that the quality of enquiries and conversations are much more in-depth. More people are looking at projects. Backing up what the analysts are saying, we think that overall budgets are increasing by about 4-5%.
We're happy to invest in having a big presence at Sibos events, as it's a great opportunity to demonstrate our footprint in this market and the investment we've made in our products in the past few years. There's a positive vibe this year, and as financial institutions look at areas such as vendor rationalisation, we feel there are a lot of opportunities for us.
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Tony Kyberd, VP professional services, SunGard eProcess Intelligence
The quality of Sibos attendees this year has been very high, and we've seen a lot of interest. In terms of traffic we have been busier at the stand this year than last, although that was also a sucessful show for us. There's been a high volume of people dropping in to find out what we are offering, and it's nice to see a good split of European and North American delegates - I think the mix is about 50/50.
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