Episode 188: OpenFin's Mazy Dar Talks Interoperability

This week, Mazy Dar, CEO and co-founder at OpenFin joins Wei-Shen on the podcast. First, they talk about how the developing coronavirus (Covid-19) situation impacts the workforce, and how OpenFin is communicating with clients. Then, they discuss financial institutions’ adoption of the Financial Desktop Connectivity (FDC3) standards, and what’s holding them back. 1:00 – Wei-Shen and Tony talk about industry-scale project delays, such as ASX’s CHESS replacement (https://www.waterstechnology.com/technology/7511931/asx-reconsiders-chess-replacement-timeline-as-coronavirus-bites), and also the delay of deadlines for the CAT (https://www.waterstechnology.com/regulation/7506926/industry-given-cat-relief-due-to-coronavirus), due to the coronavirus (Covid-19). 7:00 – Mazy joins the podcast and talks about the working from home and schooling from home situation, and how OpenFin continues to communicate with clients throughout the disruption caused by Covid-19. 13:00 – Then, he discusses how cloud is becoming more topical as financial institutions start to realize how an on-premise approach can be problematic. 19:00 – Has OpenFin experienced any push backs in projects? Are clients focusing on other things? 25:00 – As interoperability (https://www.waterstechnology.com/trading-tools/4753016/for-the-app-interoperability-movement-2020-will-be-a-big-year)continues to seep into capital markets, how will OMS and EMS platforms of the future look like? 26:30 – Mazy elaborates on the state of adoption of the Financial Desktop Connectivity (FDC3) standards, and why some firms are holding back. 37:30 – Where are the opportunities for interoperability in the middle and back-office? 41:00 – What are some new innovations OpenFin is working on, following its last funding round? 46:00 – Mazy wraps up with the two things he’d like to see happen for interoperability this year.