Steve Randich, CIO of FINRA

Published: Oct. 1, 2018, 9 a.m.

361: In this interview, Peter High speaks with Steve Randich, CIO of FINRA. Among the topics they discuss include: Steve’s role as the Chief Information Officer of FINRA, where he leads a 1,100-person organization. FINRA’s switch to open-source, which was designed to handle the massive amounts of data, as well as their increasing focus on machine learning. How FINRA partnered with organizations such as Amazon, Cloudera, and Hortonworks during its transition to the public cloud. FINRA’s ability to attract talent through displaying their innovative environment, attending conferences, hosting events, and winning awards. A look into the DC metro area’s highly skilled IT market, which holds one of the highest concentration of data centers and internet providers in the country. The advantages of transitioning to the public cloud, including leveraging Moore’s Law, improved cybersecurity, and the ability to pay for the service on-demand. The financial advantages FINRA realizes with cloud computing, including ability to increase data volumes while simultaneously reducing cloud costs. Steve’s belief that the CIO has not changed much, and that successful IT team looks for innovative solutions that the business could not otherwise find. Eye on the trends: Robotics and automation.