Scheduled to be operational by the fourth quarter of 2013, Direct Edge anticipates the new site will enhance its business continuity and disaster recovery capabilities by providing geographic diversity in the event of a disruption that impacts its primary facility at the Equinix NY4 data center in Secaucus, New Jersey.

"Continuous operation in even the most difficult of circumstances is a core pillar of investor confidence," said Saro Jahani, Chief Information Officer for Direct Edge. "Not only is the Equinix CH4 site a world-class data center already used by many of our members, its location will complement Direct Edge's primary facility by providing geographic diversity in the event of broad unavailability of our New Jersey facilities. Equinix has been a valued partner of Direct Edge since before the launch of our exchanges in 2010, and we are honored to expand our relationship with them."

"Equinix is pleased to provide Direct Edge with the redundancy, security, and connectivity it requires to deliver the performance and support its members demand," said John Knuff, general manager, global financial services at Equinix. "Direct Edge has access to a rich ecosystem of trading participants and connectivity options inside its primary deployment at NY4, and with its expansion to CH4 market participants in Chicago will have access to Direct Edge locally."

Direct Edge currently uses a data center facility in Clifton, N.J., as the DR site for the backup facilities of the EDGA and EDGX Exchanges. A detailed migration and implementation schedule will be distributed to members and trading participants in due course.