NCS is the only Japanese brokerage firm to offers its clients access to four major Japanese exchanges - Tokyo Securities Exchange (TSE), Osaka Securities Exchange (OSE), Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM), and Tokyo Grain Exchange (TGE) as a clearing member/participant. 

The new network will enable faster execution and order processing speed that can handle a higher volume of trades on the TSE, OSE and TOCOM.

Recognising the importance of network efficiency, NCS made a decision to upgrade its systems to enable them to capture new revenue opportunities, in particular with the buy-side investors, by embracing technologies such as algorithmic trading, complex event processing (CEP) and smart order routing (SOR).

"Japan's financial sector is undergoing a major electronic trading revolution," said Tomoaki Hirao, Director Head of System Solutions and Deputy Head of Global Markets, Nissan Century Securities. "For us to effectively compete in new systems such as high-frequency trading, we would require sophisticated IT tools that would allow us to trade at speeds and volumes previously not possible. Upgrading our network was a natural progression. The challenge was identifying the right solution and partnering with the right provider to make the migration into the new technology seamless and smooth for ourselves and our customers."

The new network infrastructure comprises the Arista 7148S high-performance, Layer 2/3/4 10 Gigabit Ethernet switch. This ultra low latency switch forwards data packets in less than 900 nanoseconds, providing a clear advantage in the time-sensitive world of financial trading. Network connectivity will be facilitated by the Cisco Catalyst 2960, another fast Ethernet switch that offers a highly-secure, easily manageable switching solution. In addition to architecture and implementation, Dimension Data has also been commissioned to manage the new infrastructure for an initial period of two years.

"FFrom the earliest stages of the planning process, Dimension Data made a point of getting to know our business, and our objectives for this project.

We are very satisfied with their professionalism in implementing the project, and we're confident that we have the service level agreements in place that we need to keep our platform running smoothly 24/7," said Hirao.

NCS expects more buy-side customers to start using their system and a very rapid increase in trading liquidity. The enhanced network infrastructure is expected to support the anticipated new business with room for new applications in the future.

"I believe that, through flawless execution of this project and provision of reliable maintenance and management services for the new infrastructure, we can add Nissan Century Securities to the list of our satisfied clients in Japan." said Hirokazu Mochizuki, General Manager, Dimension Data Japan.