As the economy tilts treasury priorities toward risk management, technology choices are starting to reflect that. When EADS, the 49.1-billion-euro ($63.7 billion) European aerospace and defense giant, decided on a new treasury system, it selected Calypso, opting for the kind of risk management muscle usually associated with banks.

 "Volume-wise, we're like a small bank," says Andreas Drabert, head of treasury controlling at EADS and sponsor of the selection and implementation project. "A corporate system couldn't quite give us all the capacity and features we need. We have a strong order book and subsequently big currency exposure, mainly to USD and, to a smaller extent, towards GBP."

Risk management is becoming a focal point for treasuries across industries and company sizes. Treasury technology for cash and liquidity management is mature and unlikely to take quantum leaps forward, but the tools for risk management are "still in their infancy," notes Joe Siu, director of financial risk management for Chatham Financial in Kennett Square, Pa. "The crisis spurred a lot of innovation around risk management. That will be the exciting growth area for the next decade."