Sell-Side Technology Awards 2016: Best Sell-Side Trading Communication System — Cloud9 Technologies

One such contender and winner of this year's best sell-side trading communication system category is Cloud9 Technologies, with its C9 Trader platform, which aims to replace the ubiquitous trading turrets with its Web Real-Time Communication (WebRTC)-leveraged solution.

Cloud9 is built on WebRTC, which provides real-time communication capabilities through simple application programming interfaces (APIs) and Amazon Cloud Infrastructure, and was launched in 2014. In mid-April of this year, Cloud9 closed an initial investment round that included JPMorgan, Icap and Barclays. Interdealer-broker Icap has already implemented the technology, JPMorgan plans to roll it out later this year, and Barclays is continuing its assessment regarding the potential that C9 Trader holds for the bank. The platform is currently used by more than 2,700 traders and is employed by over 350 different companies across 13 countries, enjoying the greatest traction with commodity investors, according to New York-based Cloud9 Technologies. The vendor itself has grown by a rate of 10 percent each month since January 2015. 

C9 Trader connects counterparties across all asset classes via a cloud-based voice and messaging platform that features end-to-end security and encryption, responding to the increased importance of minimal latency, balanced with resiliency and infrastructure stability. It is aimed at eliminating the infrastructure and costs associated with legacy turret systems for voice-based trading, instead replacing them with an application that can be seamlessly integrated into the trading desktop and across devices.  

The platform meets, and in some cases exceeds, the multiple, stringent regulatory requirements for Mifid II and those specified by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and ISO 27001 around security, cloud-based practices, record retention, recording, and storage. Cloud9 has made specific efforts to address concerns around the impending implementation of Mifid II, particularly for expanded mandates on larger volumes of recorded communications through automatic data capture capabilities and end-to-end reconciliation. While most areas of the sell-side market infrastructure have embraced cloud-based technologies, trading communication has been somewhat stagnant by comparison, with traditional turret providers having enjoyed an extended period of market dominance. That time might now be coming to an end with the advent of technologies such as WebRTC and platforms like C9 Trader that look to upset the established status quo.

C9 Trader connects counterparties across all asset classes via a cloud-based voice and messaging platform that features end-to-end security and encryption, responding to the increased importance of minimal latency, balanced with resiliency and infrastructure stability.