The technology adoption curve in action

Mon, 05 May 2008 06:59:59 -0400

Virtualization has been a white hot trend in the technology world as of late. On Wall Street, the idea would seem ideal for hedge funds, which run a complex multiplicity of applications. As you can guess, the notion of creating a virtual layer of processing to better deploy IT resources is being marketed hard by a host of vendors (for now the big boys and the start ups are battling for supremacy).

Bob Guilbert, managing director of Eze Castle Integration, thinks there are three areas where hedge funds can really benefit: server consolidation, development and testing, and disaster recovery. It all makes a lot of sense. But to win over hedge funds--smaller ones especially--you've got to wonder whether the techie benefits resonate. From a marketers point of view, you'd like to be able to say, "buy our product and make more money."

In my mind, this is a neat example of the technology adoption curve at work. The idea makes a lot of sense but the transition isn't exactly costless. The high-level questions might be: What if it doesn't work? Will our apps slow down? Will the system not work right during the transition?

I think growth will occur, but you have to think it may be given a lower priority, even if the top dogs eventually buy the benefits, in a rally tough IT environment. - Jim

Options trading tech migrates to desktop

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 06:59:54 -0400

Market turmoil is a godsend for options traders. Not surprisingly, trading volume has held up well this year. In March, volume at the CBOE surged 12 percent. Increasingly, big buyside players are calling the shots, and they want more technology at their fingertips, which means they want systems from the sellside that will allow them to aggressively trade themselves, notes Traders magazine. All the sellside firms, from Goldman Sachs on down, seem enamored with new algorithmic strategies. A bunch of vendors also are cashing in. For many, this is a classic build or buy situation. ITG recently bought RedSky. BNY ConvergEx Group bought LiquidPoint. The trends in options technology are mimicking trends in equity trading. The move to penny increments will only fuel this. The bottom line: the technology arms race will continue.

For more:
- here's the article