Dan Skiles, president of Shareholders Service Group in San Diego.
Back in March 2010, I was asked to write this monthly column sharing my technology observations and views, and giving advisors some helpful ideas and advice. It's been a thoroughly enjoyable experience, so it's a bittersweet task now to deliver my last column.
As we all know, it's important to balance priorities and that's what I'm trying to accomplish with everything on my "to do" list. However, here are some final thoughts.
My first column was about "cloud computing," in which I said that advisors should evaluate and consider cloud-based systems for their firms. Funny to think about this today, when there are now only a handful of "locally" installed applications still around. However, back then, it was an important decision for advisors because installed applications dominated their technology stack.
Is there something similar to this today? Perhaps it is machine learning, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (IOT), or 3D printing. The message for advisors is this: Continue to pay attention and watch for opportunities to leverage new technology.
Furthermore, as was the case with cloud computing in the early years, you might take your cue from how you use "consumer" focused solutions.
Cybersecurity certainly got a lot of attention in my columns during the past 10 years. This was necessary, but also disappointing, especially because it is still such a big challenge for our profession.
Unfortunately, cybersecurity has gone from being a nuisance and distraction with a computer virus a number of years ago to being a significant risk of financial loss and/or data corruption in today's world.
The "fraudsters" also have become a lot smarter and more patient, waiting for the perfect time to execute their attacks. The days of being able to count on catching a fraud attack by noticing obvious misspellings or grammatical errors in an email are past.
