The era of computational abundance – and its risks

The advent of the internet of things and the explosion of computational power it portends will transform banking information systems. David Rowe warns, though, that many institutions will be constrained by a reluctance to surrender decades-old assumptions

Having first programmed on an IBM 1401 computer in college, I can honestly claim to have been a user of computing resources for almost 50 years. Needless to say, over that time I have seen changes that were unimaginable in prospect and are still dramatic in retrospect. Nevertheless, throughout my career I have always felt I could rely on one iron-clad proposition, namely, ‘Computers are never fast enough'. It seemed clear to me that the human imagination would always run well ahead of the