Marty DeMonte, managing director and chief information officer at Jefferies, said: "With Markit's network we are giving our team another tool with which to communicate and do business with clients.  The innovation here is that we are not adding software to our platforms, but rather extending the capabilities of our existing messaging systems."

Andrew Eisen, managing director and head of Collaboration Services at Markit, said: "Welcoming Jefferies and its global team is a big win for our community and network.  With Collaboration Services, firms like Jefferies have expanded ability to communicate with customers regardless of what messaging technologies they have in place.  We provide a seamless communication link that bridges the front, middle and back offices and makes it easier for people in the financial industry to work efficiently with one another."

Markit Collaboration Services creates interoperability among messaging systems and provides the first vetted, central directory for the financial markets.  With the service, people can see availability, send instant messages, use video and chat rooms, and exchange documents securely across disparate messaging platforms.