21 Outlook for the Future Although there are no investment bank or institutional broker startups on the scene, the traditional ways of making margins have thinned, as electronic trading has increased and front office services have become commoditized. Differentiating between providers has become more challenging for buy-siders, who face pressure to improve services and stave off negative impacts of the rise of passive investment and zero-fee products. Future growth requires a re-evaluation of current market practices. A change in the way firms navigate cloud and next- gen technology adoption will be necessary. Firms may be at varying stages of the cloud journey, but lessons can be learned at each stage. Communication and transparency remain key: By communicating the progress being made, teams working on next-gen tech projects gain more business buy-in for their innovation efforts, making the goal of changing the firm’s DNA to become more innovative ultimately possible. Making sure the team retains C-suite interest and support is predicated on continued and transparent communication and dialogue, even if change arises along the way. Measuring and monitoring progress in a formalized manner is important: Proper evaluation of what went right and what went wrong in various programs of work is necessary to prevent firms from duplicating errors. Monitored findings need to be fed back into a formalized review, where the business and technology teams learn from failures and successes together. Teams may not wish to share their experiences outside the firm’s walls, but if the industry wants to keep pace with technology change, then the shared fail-fast mindset, done securely and without exposing existing assets to undue risk, needs to be adopted eventually.