Solutions
A single connection to Colt PrizmNet gives a global asset management firm access to the global capital markets ecosystem
This global asset management firm has established a trading presence at the LD4 data centre in Slough, and wanted to connect to a variety of executing brokers, content providers and dark pools also co-located at LD4. It knew, however, that implementing resilient cross-connects to each one, with all the equipment and ports involved, would be a heavy management burden.
What’s more, the firm trades with other brokers and venues whose infrastructure is located elsewhere in London and in other European cities. Connecting to those external locations using leased lines would take time to set up, and would add considerably to the management overhead.
In addition, the firm knew it would be difficult — and at best expensive — to deploy a system to monitor the latency, utilisation and performance of all those different connections.
Connectivity made simple
Connectivity made simpleTo solve these connectivity challenges, the asset management firm turned to Colt and its financial extranet, Colt PrizmNet. Developed exclusively for the financial sector, Colt PrizmNet isa private network delivered over wholly owned Colt infrastructure. Spanning Europe, Asia and North America, Colt PrizmNet meets the financial sector’s demands for robustness, security and deterministic low latency.
Following successful infrastructure testing, the customer’s infrastructure was connected to the Colt PrizmNet point of presence at LD4 via a single pair of resilient cross-connects. Via the self-service portal, PrizmNet Online, the customer obtained quotes for connecting to a number of key trading partners who were already Colt PrizmNet members. A further group of market participants were onboarded onto the extranet at the customer’s request.
At the same time, they were added to the PrizmNet Online provider directory, making their platforms and services available to the wider PrizmNet community.
Everything you need, all in one place
The self-service portal, PrizmNet Online, is a popular feature of the Colt PrizmNet proposition. It gives customers like this asset management firm access to a directory of providers — including trading venues, market data sources, and providers of software, reporting and other services. So it’s quick and easy to get a quote, order services, and connect with providers to take advantage of new market opportunities or liquidity sources — it can all happen in as little as five working days. In addition, the portal provides comprehensive monitoring and reporting, enabling each customer to see information about all of its PrizmNet connections in one place, with near-real-time detail about performance and bandwidth utilisation.
It’s a level of insight the asset management firm simply wouldn’t have if it used leased lines from multiple suppliers to connect to its trading partners. The portal also provides customers with news and updates, and access to technical support and ticketing services — putting them in full control of their PrizmNet services all in one place.
Dedicated to the capital markets community
With its resilient connection to Colt PrizmNet, the global asset management firm has successfully established LD4 as its main data centre, and is in the process of consolidating connectivity to around 20 trading partners via the extranet. In addition, the firm connects to the majority of raw European market data feeds available via Colt PrizmNet.
Using PrizmNet Online, the firm can swiftly add to its community of trading partners at lower cost and with none of the complexities or delays associated with multiple cross-connects or leased lines. The portal also gives the customer an overview of the status and performance of all of its connections at any time, with the ability to drill down for more detailed reporting as required. And because Colt manages the financial extranet end to end, delivering it over Colt infrastructure, it’s able to provide a highly secure, high-performance service the global capital markets ecosystem can rely on.
