A Good Thing About the Current Bank Tech Industry-Entrepreneurs Are Back

Section 3 of Automation in Banking has always been reserved for something new and different. But it is always about banking and technology. For the 2009 Edition, I opened the door wide and invited all kinds of people to express themselves to my readers. You heard of "15 minutes of fame?" My people had 15 minutes to vent. And it was exciting for this old coot who thought he had seen and heard it all.The process isn't over yet, but as with other research projects, it's what I was not expecting that got my attention. The majority of first responders had one thing in common-they were entrepreneurs. Another piece of freshness was their solutions. For example, no one is developing a new DDA system. Their solutions seem to be addressing issues that are very timely, such as systematic guides to control sound lending practices, tech-based methods of knowing the customers' needs, a new kind of CRM, adding technology to the collections problem and waking up to the shifts in transaction processing. A small company that serves nine of the top 10 U.S. banks has now discovered that "the battleground for new growth is with small businesses." Even the bankers who responded sounded a bit entrepreneurial to me. Here are a couple of other characteristics the initial interviewees have in common, but it's only a guess. You never heard of these guys, and they're not TARPing.

Entrepreneurship is not a "little guy" thing. First-time entrant in AiB09, Oracle Financial Services Global Business Unit, presented its 15 minutes. Should I be surprised? If Larry Ellison stays at the helm for 100 years, Oracle will always be an entrepreneurial company.

And according to one entrepreneur, the venture capitalists are looking for better returns than treasuries provide. Investment may be alive again, this time pure and unpackaged. "I'll give you $50 million if you give me 80 percent of your company and two seats on the board."

With 15 minutes, and less than a page per interview, I can afford to go green. So I'm not done yet, and the more the better. AiB09 hits the pavement in June.