By Patrick Chambeau, Director of Marketing, IPC Systems

Arriving in Barcelona during a period of political uncertainty — and having not visited Spain in quite some time —  I was admittedly slightly wary about the experience that awaited.  Once I stepped onto the floor of the WFIC 2017 Conference – a well-organized, professional and compelling forum focusing on financial markets’ data and business challenges – any prior hesitations dissolved into great appreciation for having taken the journey.

At this dynamic gathering of 500 global senior executives representing buy-side firms, asset managers, sell-side firms, large investment banks, liquidity venues, exchanges, technology vendors, market data providers and specialists, there was a front and center need and desire to address an increasing demand for data in the market by anticipating the future data deluge the industry will face.  While it was clear different types of firms have different needs, the attendees were deeply engaged, sharing their research and experiences in solving challenges and optimizing the dramatic growth in data.

What were the key issues discussed by C-level professionals and market data heads?

To no one’s surprise, there is an increasing demand for data in our industry. Specifically:

• Greater computer power is needed to match and optimize the growing amount of produced and consumed data;
• Cloud technology is critical to secure, store and analyze data, and anticipate future data transfer, data privacy, data protection needs related to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
• It’s important to understand structured and unstructured data or alternative forms of data, as “one size doesn’t fit all”;
• A “business first” mind-set means understanding end-user requirements;
• A compliance approach to business is vital – With MiFID II on the horizon and the anticipation of numerous new complex policies, the appropriate level of contracts, standards, and checklists need to be in place to enforce and track compliance with those policies
• Finally, transaction reporting using technology as a facilitator to the business was cited as a common goal for delivering best execution.

Most firms appear to want to maintain constant market access and liquidity, stay ahead of competition and control costs.  Improvements in operations, productivity and efficiency are also key challenges in this age of greater speed and digital transformation.

In discussing IPC’s value with attendees, IPC’s unique holistic approach on helping counterparties to connect, exchange information, mitigate risks and leverage the cloud was highlighted.

WFIC 2017 was a supercharged forum of intelligence and business insights, where thought leaders and the financial community discussed, anticipated future issues and initiated problem-solving.  At IPC we help firms not only address, but benefit from the new challenges generated by data requirements and other emerging business needs so that together, we gain a competitive advantage.