Waters Rankings 2016: Best Network Provider — BT

It is no secret that trading firms are looking to expand into new markets in order to diversify risk and find new areas of alpha, as other asset classes and regions are becoming more restrictive. But that often entails a fair amount of investment and in some circumstances introduces new kinds of unforeseen risk. That’s where BT—with its Radianz cloud—comes in. The communications giant aims to provide cost-efficient, standardized and scalable solutions in order to allow clients to expand their businesses without having to invest large sums of money into unknown endeavors.

Michael Woodman, head of Radianz for BT, says the company is also noticing a greater desire for a managed and integrated set of capabilities. For example, BT has added the ability to combine managed compute and connectivity capabilities with a security overlay from a single package. “This approach is proving particularly popular with fintech customers, boutique trading firms, and larger firms seeking to reduce the number of suppliers,” Woodman says.

Managed services is becoming a popular theme across the vendor community, which also includes network solutions. As such, BT has expanded its capabilities to included managed compute and “datacenter-centric” managed connectivity and hosting, according to Woodman. It has also improved its digital experience, he says. 

As noted, BT has seen room for growth coming from the fintech space. It therefore recently launched a new drive to “accelerate innovation in global financial markets by bringing fintech startups onto the BT Radianz Cloud,” Woodman says. “By hosting their solutions in the datacenters, or on the growing range of cloud computing services connected to the Radianz Cloud, BT now provides fintech companies of all sizes with a ready-to-exploit market reach and commercial structure. This, combined with BT’s secure, scalable and managed operational infrastructure, can help them to grow quickly.” 

While the BT Radianz cloud was launched 15 years ago and acquired by BT from Reuters in 2005, the vendor has never stopped innovating. End-users have come around to the flexibility and choice that cloud-based solutions provide. Layer on high-level security, and it’s easy to see why Waters’ readers opted for BT over 13 other companies as winner of this category. 

While the BT Radianz cloud was launched 15 years ago and acquired by BT from Reuters in 2005, the vendor has never stopped innovating. End-users have come around to the flexibility and choice that cloud-based solutions provide. Layer on high-level security, and it’s easy to see why Waters’ readers opted for BT over 13 other companies as winner of this category.