Under the agreement Deutsche Börse will act as the network provider to Fortis. The move marks the expansion of Deutsche Börse's IT managed services into network operations. Fortis will benefit from over 3.000 existing connections to financial services firms currently provided by Deutsche Börse’s global network.
Trading firms connected to Deutsche Börse's network can now directly access Fortis' services for trading and clearing on leading derivatives and stock exchanges. All other trading firms can simply hook into the nearest local Deutsche Börse hub in 13 locations worldwide.
"With today's emphasis on efficiency and fast connectivity for electronic market access, we are excited to announce an exclusive deal with Deutsche Börse to provide access over a network with proven speed, reliability and performance. This is a huge step in market access connectivity" said Chris Lee, Global Head of Screen Based Trading for Fortis. "The cost benefits to clients are obvious and the fact that the Deutsche Boerse has something in the region of 3.000 existing connections worldwide makes for a fantastic deal. This Global Deal builds on our strategy of being a major force in third party clearing and market access".
"Deutsche Börse is a leading service provider to the global securities industry. With this agreement we expand our IT managed services for third parties to the area of network services," said Michael Kuhn, CIO of Deutsche Börse and CEO of Deutsche Börse Systems. "Continuous development has resulted in a global network with unrivalled features and performance allowing for fast provision of new services. We greatly appreciate the opportunity to expand our relationship with Fortis providing high quality network services," Kuhn concluded.
Highest service availability for customers choosing redundant connectivity is based on Deutsche Börse's elaborate network architecture and optimized network infrastructures exceeding overall connection availabilities of 99.999 percent. Fortis will rely on Deutsche Börse's 24/7 follow-the-sun operational centres managing the network at all times. Customers will benefit from Deutsche Börse's adherence to strictest network and communication security standards proven in many years of operating mission critical platforms for the financial markets.