Bailout or No, IT Change Is Coming to Finance

(The note then goes on to talk about GotVMail's virtual communication services.)

It's a tough proposition to talk about "opportunity" a day after a lot of people saw their retirement savings wiped out or businesses pushed to the brink. But the inescapable upshot, for the IT industry, is that the massive consolidation in finance is going to have lasting repercussions. Big banks that have standardized on Lotus Notes, for example, are merging with bigger banks that have standardized on Microsoft Exchange, and vice versa. On a case by case basis, one platform will win and one will lose.

The same could be said for security platforms, desktops, databases, messaging and more. Just because a bank collapses doesn't mean its data goes away, and it doesn't mean fiduciary responsibilities (like compliance) go away. They just get transferred, streamlined and/or migrated.

Once Washington, D.C. puts out the final world on whether there's going to be a bailout, a rescue or nothing, the banking world will get on with its massive and historic consolidation. Count on that being followed by significant - - perhaps even sweeping - - changes in the IT market share landscape.