blog

Web 2.0: The Changing Tide

by Johanna

It was mid-2005 when kasina started writing about Web 2.0 innovations, including blogs and wikis, and we pretty much haven't stopped since then. When discussing the potential of Web 2.0 technologies, clients often respond with interest as well as skepticism. Compliance issues and the fear of launching Web 2.0 instruments that are untested in our industry have meant that asset managers remain behind the times.

However, at the kasina Fall e-Business Roundtable in New York, on November 13-14th, many attendees were surprised to see that firms are not only considering Web 2.0 innovations; many have already begun using them and are seeing success. For example, firms reported the following:

• A planned 2008 implementation of a widget focused on delivering IRA-related content
• A weekly podcast featuring timely commentary that is delivered to 12,000 subscribers
• Ajax-enabled fund search functions were a featured part of an advisor site redesign
• 500 advisors subscribed to one firm's RSS feed options

The conversations we had at the roundtable have proved our point: Web 2.0 is here to stay, and the firms reaping the benefits are those that are working to overcome compliance hurdles and educating internal constituencies about the advantages of these technologies. In our upcoming research, kasina will keep pushing to show firms how Web 2.0 can become an everyday reality in our industry.