Waters Rankings 2015: Best Low-Latency Data Feed Provider ─ Interactive Data

The Bedford, Mass.-based firm's Consolidated Feed features over-the-counter (OTC) content from over 200 contributors. This is in addition to data for equities, options, futures, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and ETF options for more than 150 exchanges.

Multi-asset class instrument coverage and extensive Level 2 data is also available through the Consolidated Feed, which can be accessed via Interactive Data's 7ticks network and offers direct connectivity to more than 50 global futures, options, equities and FX exchanges and trading venues.

"The cross-asset, cross-market content coverage with depth and breadth, overlaid with the low-latency 7ticks network is what sets the Consolidated Feed apart," says Shai Popat, director and global business manager of content and real-time feeds for Interactive Data.

It's not just what the Consolidated Feed offers, but how it can be delivered. Full tick, conflated and delayed data services are all available through a variety of deployed and hosted solutions, including customer site deployments on leased lines, cross-connection access via Interactive Data's 7ticks data centers, virtual private network (VPN), or internet implementations. Integration can take place in a wire protocol format or through APIs that are available in C++ and Java. Once up and running, data is processed in less than 10 milliseconds and its distribution network has ticker plants that are fully redundant and geographically diverse.

But a firm doesn't end a five-year winning streak without regularly enhancing its offering: Over the past 12 months, Interactive Data added new exchange, Level 2 and full order book data for its Consolidated Feed. OTC content sets, including an FX Professional service and Continuous Evaluated Pricing for fixed-income securities, were also added.

"This data can then be fed directly into pricing, risk applications and data distribution platforms or accessed through a library of third-party feed handlers to increase data transparency, integrity and efficiency," Popat says.

Popat adds that Interactive Data has plans to broaden the Consolidated Feed over the next year and there will be a focus on content sets regarding regulatory-drive solutions.

"Interactive Data plans to continue to enhance the depth and breadth of its OTC and exchange data as well as focusing on differentiated content sets-specifically regulatory-driven solutions with aggregated swap execution facility feeds," Popat says.