Previous pageNext page

No Substitute for Sub-Second Response Time
In the fast-paced world of global finance, there is no substitute for sub-second response time. Brokers count on it to access market data, relay it to customers, conduct transactions, and stay ahead of the competition. "Ours is a competitive business," explains an IT executive at another large Wall Street securities firm, "so we want to ensure that the people who talk to our client base have as much information at their fingertips as they need, as quickly as possible. That way they can provide the highest level of service."

An HDS Skyline Series processor helps this securities firm keep that commitment. Installed on the eve of the worldwide stock market correction in October 1997, the Hitachi 215 mainframe enabled the company to cope with a record number of transactions-more than double the usual number processed. "The market correction sent most investors to their brokers to find out what was happening," says the New York-based IT executive, a 30-year veteran of the company and former director of the information technology department. "There was a huge amount of activity on that day and the Skyline quickly proved its capability by processing a record number of transactions in one day."

Rapid growth and high demand necessitated a change at the firm's Manhattan office, the hub of its worldwide computer network, which supports branches throughout Europe, Asia, and Australia. Over a thousand users around the world access the company's system each day, and the Hitachi Skyline supports it all-from the front and back offices, to the portfolio/product areas, and all processing in between. In addition, the system delivers immediate information on stocks, prices, and market changes so the firm's clients can make informed decisions.

In 1997, when system response times first started slowing due to higher volumes and expanding networks, the firm recognized something had to be done. "Our service level guarantees call for 90 percent of our responses to be in the sub-second frame, and we were down to about 80 percent," he said. "We were concerned with this trend and worried that a high-volume day would swamp us." As a result, the company decided to upgrade from lower-capacity dual processors to a high-capacity single processor to meet its substantial on-line requirements.

"We made out great because we had the foresight to install excess computer capacity," said the IT director of another major Wall Street brokerage. This organization deployed a Hitachi Skyline Series processor in early October 1997, just three weeks before Wall Street's meltdown. The brokerage had sufficient capacity-barely-to weather the storm. "Our performance metrics indicated that our predecessor system, configured as it was, would not have been able to meet the demands placed on it," the IT director said.

"In the securities industry, perhaps more than any other industry in the world, being first out of the gate demands a computing infrastructure that can offer a lavish amount of CPU/MIPS capacity, as well as attractive economies of scale. That's why we selected the Hitachi Data Systems Skyline mainframe," said the CIO of yet another leading Wall Street securities firm.

Previous pageNext pageBack to top