Lessons from the Covid-19 Outbreak: What History Tells Us

First Published: Traders Magazine / July 2020

Companies everywhere are beginning to pause and take stock of how they have handled the COVID-19 pandemic. It only makes sense to reflect on what has been an exceptional and intense time in order to draw lessons and plan for the future. IPC is no different. For us, the biggest lesson from the past few months is one that has echoes in military history.

We play a vital infrastructural role, one that effectively provides the nervous system for financial markets. So, we immediately knew that how we responded would be decisive not only for our own firm but also for so many others. The relationship we have with our clients is what makes military history so analogous. They depend on us, in the same way that one part of a military operation depends on another.

Take, for example, one of the more dramatic moments from World War II in the Pacific theater. In December 1944, the United States Navy’s Task Force 38 was under the command of Admiral William “Bull” Halsey. The navy’s task force operations were based on aircraft carriers, from which attacks could be launched. Halsey had been told that a weak tropical storm was approaching. But the information he received – about the location, direction and intensity of the storm – was inaccurate. On December 17th, Halsey unwittingly sailed the Third Fleet into the center of Typhoon Cobra. By the time the storm had ended the Third Feet had lost three ships, 146 aircraft and almost 800 sailors. Another 30 ships suffered major damaged. Task Force 38 was as severely battered as if it had been in a major battle.

Flash forward 75 years and it’s December 2019. A mysterious illness is first reported in Wuhan, China, while the Dow Jones is scaling all-time highs. The next month, the World Health Organization issued guidance comparing the outbreak to SARS and other respiratory pathogens. The Dow is still going strong. By mid-February, as the WHO convened a COVID-19 forum with more than 400 experts, the Dow was approaching 30,000.

What links these two stories together? Information. Having reliable, accurate information makes all the difference between plunging headlong into a disastrous situation or averting the worst of a crisis. In the case of COVID-19, the information was there, but few people were watching. Within a few weeks, the Dow would be below 18,600. Those firms that had the right information were able to plan and take appropriate measures. Those that did not, suffered badly.

IPC had no choice but to respond to the information immediately. It became clear straight away that we would have to execute our own Business Continuity Plan (BCP) and Work from Home (WFH) strategy at an unheard-of scale – all while supporting the global financial markets and the world’s largest trading intuitions. By the end of March, the company launched four BCP solutions into the market. In the weeks that followed, our company actually began to resemble a military operation. Gathering client feedback, managing supply chains, making enhancements and rolling out updates all had to be done clearly and precisely. We were certainly tested.

Moving forward

IPC provides solutions that help the market ensure they have access to accurate information for voice and electronic trading.  While the electronic markets continued to function, it became clear that voice became even more important for markets to communicate during the worst of the pandemic. In an uncertain global trading environment, voice provided a sense of normality. Millions of people around the world have been affected by the virus. Countries, states and local governments are now reopening. We all know that the world will not go back to how it was before. But we also have learned some significant lessons. We know the importance of acting swiftly on health information. We know that we and our clients were able to survive the most demanding operational test of our lifetimes. And we know that if the pandemic worsens again, we will be ready.

IPC Breaks Record Again in 2020 Waters Rankings with Two New Award Wins

NEW YORK, July 16, 2020 – IPC, a leading global provider of secure, compliant communications and networking solutions for the global financial markets, is delighted to announce two new award wins in WatersTechnology’s 2020 Waters Rankings:

  • Best Cloud Infrastructure Provider for IPC’s Connexus Cloud
  • Best Trading Floor Communication System Provider for IPC’s Unigy solution

The latter category has been won by IPC 15 consecutive times, breaking IPC’s own record for most wins in a single category in this prestigious awards program’s 18-year history.

“IPC is always focused on making the trading environment more efficient and productive through our unified communications solution, Unigy,” said Bob Santella, Chief Executive Officer, IPC. “To also receive recognition for our industry-leading Connexus Cloud platform is a testament to IPC’s consistent dedication in providing the highest quality data, voice and cloud solutions to our customers.”

 Unigy has been recognized globally for years as the industry’s best trading and communications platform. It is a widely adopted, secure, compliant, end-to-end solution purpose-built to address the specific needs of the global regulated financial markets community, and has experienced robust growth in installations over the past year, seamlessly interoperating with IPC’s global financial ecosystem of over 6,600 customer locations in more than 750 cities throughout the world.

Furthermore, Connexus Cloud is an unparalleled private, secure cloud solution for the global financial markets. By providing and integrating private and hybrid clouds, and enabling secure access to over 550 public clouds, Connexus Cloud empowers the use of cloud for secure, high-performance data and voice communications, which includes optimized deliveries for market data and trade lifecycle services.

“As recognized by its peers, IPC is maintaining the highest standard of achievement even amid stressed financial market conditions globally,” said Anthony Malakian, Editor-in-Chief, WatersTechnology.

The Waters Rankings are the annual readers’ choice awards of WatersTechnology, which recognize the combined leadership of technological capabilities and human expertise in various categories of financial services technology. Qualified voters participating in the Waters Rankings are from buy- and sell-side firms as well as exchanges and interdealer brokers.

About IPC

IPC is a technology and service leader powering the global financial markets. We help clients anticipate change and solve problems, setting the standard with industry expertise, exceptional service and comprehensive technology. With a customer-first mentality, IPC brings together one of the largest and most diverse global financial ecosystems spanning all asset classes and market participants. As the enabler of this ecosystem, IPC empowers the community to interact, transact and react to market changes and challenges, and we collaborate with our customers to help make them secure, productive, compliant and connected. Visit ipc.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter (@IPC_Systems_Inc).

Certain statements contained in this press release may be forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projection and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

IPC Wins Best Artificial Intelligence Based Solution at the WatersTechnology Asia Awards 2020

Hong Kong – July 9, 2020 – IPC, a leading global provider of secure, compliant communications and networking solutions for the financial markets community, announced today that its Blotter solution, an innovative data visualization tool built in partnership with GreenKey Technologies, has won Best AI Based Solution at the WatersTechnology Asia Awards 2020. The WatersTechnology Asia Awards recognize excellence in the deployment and management of financial information and technology within Asia’s capital market community.

“As a leader in trading communications and innovation around emerging technologies, such as natural language processing, machine learning, and speech recognition, we are honored that the Blotter solution has been recognized by industry leaders in this year’s WatersTechnology Asia awards” said Bruce Maslen, Vice President, Asia-Pacific Sales, IPC. “Blotter has broken new ground in trade execution, analytics and compliance and is a remarkable feat of engineering as trading is fast-paced, uses unique terminology, and often occurs in noisy environments. It is a prime example of how IPC is unlocking the value in voice communications and developing highly accurate language models to serve the financial markets both in Asia and around the world”.

Blotter is a pioneering data visualization tool designed by IPC to leverage GreenKey’s industry-leading NLP engine and enables financial market participants to convert their over-the-counter (OTC) voice quotes into a structured data feed. With millions of voice quotes generated daily over IPC’s communications platform, Blotter has the capability to unlock this market data by structuring it with GreenKey’s patented NLP technology. Blotter seamlessly interoperates with IPC’s Connexus Cloud financial ecosystem – consisting of over 6,600 market participant locations in 750 cities around the world.

Market participants interested in speaking to IPC’s subject matter experts can schedule a meeting with our teams here.

About IPC

IPC is a technology and service leader powering the global financial markets. We help clients anticipate change and solve problems, setting the standard with industry expertise, exceptional service and comprehensive technology. With a customer-first mentality, IPC brings together one of the largest and most diverse global financial ecosystems spanning all asset classes and market participants. As the enabler of this ecosystem, IPC empowers the community to interact, transact and react to market changes and challenges, and we collaborate with our customers to help make them secure, productive, compliant and connected. Visit ipc.com and follow us on Linkedin and Twitter (@IPC_Systems_Inc).

IPC Expands Partnership with Best Execution Solutions into Canada

NEW YORK and TORONTO – July 7, 2020 – IPC, a leading global provider of secure, compliant communications and networking solutions for the global financial markets community, announced today that its award-winning Connexus Cloud platform has expanded its offering of compliance products to Canadian financial firms and exchanges through its partnership with Best Execution Solutions, LLC (BXS), a premier provider of Best Execution analytics and trade surveillance software. BXS’s unparalleled toolkit can be accessed via the secure, high-performance Connexus Cloud platform.

“We’re taking the success of our U.S. partnership with BXS to Canada’s exciting and dynamic financial markets,” said Mike Smith, Director of Global Exchange Relations Management, IPC. “Execution analytics can be quite daunting for firms around the world, and we’re fortunate to have been able to incorporate BXS’s offerings into IPC’s flagship Connexus Cloud ecosystem.”

BXS has developed a reliable set of products that provide Canadian market centers, broker-dealers, and institutions highly cost-effective solutions that fulfill their compliance reporting obligations, along with a comprehensive set of trading surveillance modules and transaction cost-analysis tools.

“It’s phenomenal to be able to grow our integration with IPC’s Connexus Cloud ecosystem through this expansion into Canadian markets,” said Mike Post, Executive Vice President, BXS.

Connexus Cloud is an unparalleled multi-cloud platform for the global financial markets, a financial ecosystem that interconnects more than 6,600 diverse capital market participants across 750 cities in over 60 countries. To learn more, or to speak to IPC experts about Connexus Cloud, please visit www.ipc.com.

About IPC

IPC is a technology and service leader powering the global financial markets. We help clients anticipate change and solve problems, setting the standard with industry expertise, exceptional service and comprehensive technology. With a customer-first mentality, IPC brings together one of the largest and most diverse global financial ecosystems spanning all asset classes and market participants. As the enabler of this ecosystem, IPC empowers the community to interact, transact and react to market changes and challenges, and we collaborate with our customers to help make them secure, productive, compliant and connected. Visit ipc.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter (@IPC_Systems_Inc).

About BXS

Best Execution Solutions, LLC (“BXS”) is a privately owned company which focuses on providing Best Execution solutions, regulatory reporting, trading analytics, and surveillance software across multiple asset classes. BXS was founded in 2015 by industry veterans and is operated by a management team with extensive experience in the financial industry. BXS has developed a reliable set of cost effective products and services that provide Broker Dealers, Institutions, Market Centers with solutions that fulfill their Compliance reporting obligations such as SEC Rule 605, Rule 606, and Best Execution reviews, along with a comprehensive set of peer-to-peer comparison and transaction cost analysis tools that provide a competitive edge and enhance profitability.

Certain statements contained in this press release may be forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “should” or “will” or similar terminology. Any forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections. Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. Actual results may differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

Best Sell-Side Technology Provider, 2020

First Published: WatersTechnology/July 2020

By winning the best sell-side technology provider category in these awards, IPC Systems has finally followed up its phenomenal run of form in the annual Waters Rankings where it has won the best trading floor communications system provider category for 14 straight years. This year, the Jersey City-based infrastructure and communications specialist featured prominently in the best infrastructure provider and best sell-side trading network categories without emerging victorious in either, although it did win the best sell-side trading communication system award, which it also won back in 2018.

The bulk of IPC’s awards success has come on the back of its Unigy platform, a unified communication and application offering, although it has also enjoyed considerable success with its Connexus family of products. It goes without saying that all technology and service providers have had to deal with the recent uncertainty, stressed systems and delivering solutions through a range of mediums to a widely dispersed user community, while at the same time managing their own employees’ needs, especially in the early days of Covid-19 pandemic.

According to Dave Brown, COO of IPC, his firm was able to maintain the breadth and depth of its products and their functionality, even during the period of rapid change in February and March this year.

Brown explains that IPC was able to maintain its “integrity” at clients’ primary locations, because, he says, clients typically employed a multi-tasking approach to dealing with the crisis— they had workers who remained at their usual locations, but they also had employees who went to BCP sites, while the majority worked from home.

“That’s the first time we’ve ever seen that done at such scale within the industry and I’m pleased to say that both Unigy and IPC coped with it successfully,” he says.

By winning the final category of this year’s SST Awards, IPC joins former winners SunGard (2013), Markit (2014), Bloomberg (2015), SmartStream (2016), IHS Markit (2017), SIX (2018) and Numerix (2019) as a recipient of this award.

Best Sell-Side Trading Communication System

First Published: WatersTechnology/July 2020

Jersey City-based IPC Systems wins this year’s best sell-side trading communication system category thanks to its unified communication and application platform, Unigy. To those who have followed these and WatersTechnology’s other awards programs over the years, this result will come as no surprise: A cursory glance at the annual Waters Rankings shows that IPC has a string of 14 consecutive wins in the best trading floor communications system provider category, a record that no other technology vendor can come close to matching.

All that success is down to Unigy, a platform designed to record, archive and monitor sell-side firms’ trading and communication activities to ensure employees comply with global regulatory mandates. For an industry currently in a state of flux that has experienced unparalleled volatility over the course of the last six months, together with record trade volumes and steadily increasing quantities of voice and electronic communication, a platform with the scalability and functionality to accurately monitor all communication for suspicious behavior is essential.

According to Dave Brown, COO of IPC, the firm experienced a significant spike in communication volumes in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, not only because of increased volatility leading to a surge in trading activity, but also due to firms’ staff members being scattered across multiple locations.

“We saw a huge increase in trade volumes with a renewed emphasis on voice communications,” he says. “We actually saw people moving away from electronic trading platforms and reverting to voice execution, particularly when the markets were very volatile, and we saw a significant increase in activity, both on the platform and on the network.”

Brown explains that IPC has a number of pivotal initiatives that it is currently working on, key among which is what he describes as an “API-first approach,” which will ultimately open up Unigy to other third-party providers and applications, and by so doing provide its 140,000 users with deeper, richer functionality.

“We’ve made a big strategic shift over the past several years towards a broader and more open platform-based strategy,” he says. “We’ve embraced an API first approach and are working with best-of-breed strategic partners to bring greater capabilities to our clients. We’ve also invested time in things like real-time audio gateways to allow customers to leverage third parties’ or our own transcription engine, as well as delivering enhanced monitoring and surveillance capabilities, though many of these initiatives predated the current Covid-19 environment.”

IPC’s Connexus Cloud Ecosystem Continues Expansion with Linkage to London Metal Exchange

LONDON – July 1, 2020 – IPC, a leading global provider of secure, compliant communications and networking solutions for the global financial markets community, announced today its expansion into the London Metal Exchange (LME), the world center for industrial metals trading. IPC’s global customer ecosystem utilizes its flagship Connexus Cloud platform for trade execution, order routing, market data delivery, and accessing vital marketplaces like LME that serve as a global reference for prices.

“The LME is incredibly valuable to investors,” said Chris McQuade, Vice President Network Operations EMEA, IPC. “It’s the perfect hedging venue, and we at IPC are thrilled to be able to offer our customers instant access to what is truly one of the most important markets in the world.”

Most of the world’s non-ferrous metals business is conducted on the LME’s three trading platforms: LMEselect (electronic), the Ring (open outcry) and the 24-hour telephone market. In 2019, 176 million lots were traded at the LME equating to $13.5 trillion. Trading on the LME often exceeds world metal production by a factor of 40.

IPC’s Connexus Cloud is an unparalleled multi-cloud platform for the global financial markets, an ecosystem that interconnects more than 6,600 diverse capital market participants across 750 cities in over 60 countries. Market participants interested in speaking to IPC subject matter experts about Connexus Cloud can schedule a meeting with us. We also encourage you to learn more at www.ipc.com.

About IPC

IPC is a technology and service leader powering the global financial markets. We help clients anticipate change and solve problems, setting the standard with industry expertise, exceptional service and comprehensive technology. With a customer-first mentality, IPC brings together one of the largest and most diverse global financial ecosystems spanning all asset classes and market participants. As the enabler of this ecosystem, IPC empowers the community to interact, transact and react to market changes and challenges, and we collaborate with our customers to help make them secure, productive, compliant and connected. Visit ipc.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter (@IPC_Systems_Inc).

Certain statements contained in this press release may be forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “should” or “will” or similar terminology. Any forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections. Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. Actual results may differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

 

IPC Wins ‘Best High Performance Network Services’ at TradingTech Insight Awards — North America for Second Year in a Row

NEW YORK, June 30, 2020 – IPC, a leading global provider of secure, compliant communications and networking solutions for the global financial markets, today announced its Connexus Cloud platform was named the winner in the “Best High Performance Network Services” category in the prestigious TradingTech Insight Awards — North America 2020 for the second consecutive year.

“It is exciting to see IPC’s strategic vision and continuous investments in Connexus Cloud recognized by the industry,” said Bob Santella, Chief Executive Officer, IPC. “Connexus Cloud allows firms anywhere in the world to trade faster and achieve greater agility, productivity and efficiency, providing our customers with a tremendous competitive advantage.”

 Connexus Cloud is an unparalleled private, secure cloud solution for the global financial markets. By providing and integrating private and hybrid clouds, and enabling secure access to over 550 public clouds, Connexus Cloud empowers the use of cloud for secure, guaranteed, high-performance data and voice communications. This includes optimized deliveries for blockchain, market data and transactions. The Connexus Cloud multi-cloud platform links together the global capital markets with sell-side firms, buy-side firms, inter-dealer brokers, liquidity venues, energy firms, trade lifecycle providers, and market-data vendors as well as clearing and settlement firms. They are all interconnected in an ecosystem of more than 6,600 capital market participants across 750 cities in over 60 countries around the world.

Produced by A-Team, the TradingTech Insight Awards — North America emphasize operational and product excellence in financial trading technology, and reflect the different challenges facing market practitioners and suppliers as they seek to develop trading and data solutions for the rapidly changing North American marketplace. The shortlist was selected by the TradingTech Advisory Board, as well as A-Team’s editorial team, with the winner chosen by the TradingTech Insight readership.

About the TradingTech Insight Awards

The TradingTech Insight Awards celebrate operational and product excellence in financial trading technology. This edition of the awards focuses particularly on technology solutions that cover North America and reflect the different challenges facing the numerous market practitioners and suppliers as they endeavor to develop trading and data solutions in the rapidly changing marketplace.

 About IPC

IPC is a technology and service leader powering the global financial markets. We help clients anticipate change and solve problems, setting the standard with industry expertise, exceptional service and comprehensive technology. With a customer-first mentality, IPC brings together one of the largest and most diverse global financial ecosystems spanning all asset classes and market participants. As the enabler of this ecosystem, IPC empowers the community to interact, transact and react to market changes and challenges, and we collaborate with our customers to help make them secure, productive, compliant and connected. Visit ipc.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter (@IPC_Systems_Inc).

Certain statements contained in this press release may be forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projection and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

IPC Wins Two Waters Sell-Side Technology Awards, Including Prestigious ‘Best Sell-Side Technology Provider’

NEW YORK, June 29, 2020 – IPC, a leading global provider of secure, compliant communications and networking solutions for the global financial markets, is privileged to announce today that it has won two categories in the Waters Sell Side Technology Awards 2020. IPC was named “Best Sell-Side Technology Provider,” the most prestigious category of this year’s awards. Additionally, the company’s flagship trading communications platform, Unigy, was named “Best Sell-Side Trading Communication System.”

“To be selected the Sell-Side Technology Provider of the Year out of the top and most respected names in financial technology is a tremendous honor,” said Bob Santella, Chief Executive Officer, IPC. “This award speaks to our company-wide dedication to customer satisfaction at every level. I’m also very proud that IPC’s Unigy was recognized for its vital role in financial institutions’ resilience under stressed market conditions.”

During the last year, IPC has made significant investments that have acted as “multipliers” for the firm and its solutions in the areas of most interest to the financial markets, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing technologies. Through the digital transformation enabled by these investments, as well as IPC’s full embrace of the “subscription economy,” the firm has empowered customers and partners with a frictionless experience, remaining a beacon of progress and stability for the financial markets during challenging times.

Furthermore, Unigy, IPC’s flagship solution, has been recognized globally for years as the industry’s leading trading and communications platform. Unigy is a widely adopted, secure, compliant, end-to-end solution purpose-built to address the specific needs of the global regulated financial markets community, and has experienced robust growth in installations over the past year. Unigy seamlessly interoperates with IPC’s global financial ecosystem of over 6,600 customer locations in more than 750 cities throughout the world.

Hosted by WatersTechnology, the 8th-annual Sell-Side Technology Awards recognize the leading technologies and third-party vendors in their area of expertise, through an auditable and transparent methodology developed and managed by WatersTechnology’s senior journalists, headed up by Global Content Director, Victor Anderson.

“IPC translated its phenomenal run of form, from the annual Waters Rankings to the Sell-Side Technology Awards, by winning the overall Best Sell-Side Technology Provider category for 2020,” said Victor Anderson, Global Content Director, WatersTechnology. “That it also emerged victorious in the best Sell-Side Trading Communication System category, courtesy of its widely used Unigy platform, is hardly surprising, given that so much of the firm’s awards success has come on the back of its unified communication and application offering.”

About IPC

IPC is a technology and service leader powering the global financial markets. We help clients anticipate change and solve problems, setting the standard with industry expertise, exceptional service and comprehensive technology. With a customer-first mentality, IPC brings together one of the largest and most diverse global financial ecosystems spanning all asset classes and market participants. As the enabler of this ecosystem, IPC empowers the community to interact, transact and react to market changes and challenges, and we collaborate with our customers to help make them secure, productive, compliant and connected. Visit ipc.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter (@IPC_Systems_Inc).

Certain statements contained in this press release may be forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projection and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.