Ariel Introduces iTrade: A Flexible Offering for Start-up Brokers

Service providers operating in the dynamic margin trading business have recognized the diverse nature of requirements for financial services firms. Ariel, a UK-based technology provider has amended its robust front to back trading portal to cater to the needs of start-up firms and smaller brokerages. Ariel is launching iTrade Cloud, a scaled-down solution of its multi-asset trading terminal as a cloud- based Software as a Service (SaaS).

The FX broking environment has benefited from technological advancements which has resulted in simple and easy systems that can be deployed by brokers with little or no technical knowledge. Through iTrade, Ariel expands its offering to cater to new entrants establishing their niche brokerage.

Simon Cox, CEO of Ariel, commented in a statement to the media: “This announcement is part of our strategy to broaden our client base whilst focusing on on-going innovation and new product development. It will enable entry level users to benefit from rapid, hassle free deployment of our platform at no additional IT infrastructure cost, minimal impact on a broker’s internal IT resources and reduced total cost of ownership (TCO).”

The margin trading landscape is constantly changing, primarily driven by regulatory enhancements coming on the back of EMIR, trade reporting, and the anticipated MiFID II in Europe. This has directly impacted the market and made brokers look at solutions that serve a specific purpose and can be added on to their core solution.

Mr. Cox explained to Forex Magnates during a lunch meeting in central London in 2013 that: “It's a world of interoperability, we have to ensure that our solutions can be customized to connect to other systems that firms are using.”

Mr. Cox took over as Ariel’s CEO in 2013, and since then has looked at strengthening the technology firm's position in the diverse FX and CFD brokerage arena. The firm has been viewed as a rigid provider with one solution that has limited flexibility, however, as per the firm's new strategy a key area of growth is creating modules around its main product to suit different players in the market. In 2013 several new firms entered the market including FCA regulated, Atom8, a broker established by former bankers.

In addition to its new direction, the firm has made considerable investments in hardware, hosted in one of the Equinix premier data centers which allows them to offer brokers connectivity to all of the top market data and Liquidity providers. They also provide a full disaster recovery solution to their customers as part of the package, a spokesperson for the company informed Forex Magnates in an emailed statement.

“This announcement clearly communicates our desire to widen the scope of our offer. Now new entrants and smaller brokers can take just the features and functionality of iTrade that they need today, while knowing they can scale-up as they grow tomorrow. We want to join new brokers from the outset of their journey and aim to be their long term technology partner of choice,” added Mr Cox.