May 2010
Calypso
Calypso Inc. offer a unique solution for investment banking: a product that rivals the coverage seen with applications such as Murex and Summit, but a far faster implementation time (recent reports boasted of a 100 day implementation time schedule).
Originally a Java-based back office system, Calypso has seen rapid growth since its founding in 1997.
Calypso now offers STP, which has become a market standard for competing trading platforms, and offers coverage of equities, equity derivatives, FX, MM FX derivatives credit derivatives and exotics, among others. Its range of usage has meant its growth has been rapid, and strong java developers are always needed. For the vendor technologies team, it is a key area for our own growth also.
To find out more about Calypso, click here
Fix Protocol
The Financial Information Exchange Protocol, or more commonly FIX, is a series of rules for the financial community, for electronic messaging of trade-related messages.
Having grown up through collaboration between various institutions, it provides a standard for secure and flexible transmission of financial information. It was officially designed for Equity products only, but Futures came to be catered for in versions 4.4 and 5.0, although most institutions still use 4.2.
Nyfix covers both equities and Futures, having bought Trinitech, one of the first Direct-to-Market trading platforms first introduced circa 1997. Perhaps not as complex as a large trading platform or system offering STP, nonetheless it is used throughout the investment banking sector as a response to the need for communication, and FIX connectivity consultants are always highly sought after. Click here to find out more about Nyfix
Click here to find out more about FIX protocol
Reuters Applications
Reuters may be well known for market data, but it also has a long history of providing technical expertise for a range of investment banking needs. Banking institutions utilising these technologies continue to require skilled professionals with a market specialisation in either Kondor+ and RET. Because the systems are often used in tandem with other applications, they often provide consultants with the ideal opportunity to gain exposure to a range of technologies: RET and Kondor+ no longer try to compete with market dominating systems like Murex and To find out more about RET, click here
Both Kondor+ and RET occupy niche areas within banking, and both are used extensively alongside other systems.
To find out more about Kondor +, click here
Globus / T24
Globus, recently rebranded as T24, comes from the leading wholesale, retail and private banking sector solution provider, Temenos.
The company’s aggressive stance to marketing has resulted in Globus becoming a core back-office solution with a very significant user base.
With the advent of T24, the re-architected version of Globus, provided a solution that operated continually, removing the need for end-of-day wrap up and utilising support from primarily Oracle. The new features are particularly useful to large banks, and the new functionality suits any size institution.
To find out more about T24, click here