The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (Asic) has selected First Derivatives to design, build and host a new market surveillance system.
Following a competitive tender process, the Northern Ireland-based capital markets tech house has signed Asic to a multi-year software license for its Delta Stream system.
Asic took on market supervisory responsibility in 2010 as part of a government shake-up designed to end the ASX's monopoly and let in new players such as Chi-X.
The Aussie watchdog says the surveillance system will help it plan for this new high-frequency trading-heavy environment, that will include greatly increased message traffic, new technologies, increased competition between venues and the increased globalisation.
First Derivatives' platform will help spot trading anomalies and irregularities that may indicate disorderly or prohibited trading across asset classes and products.
Asic says it will be able to interrogate and analyse very large and complex data sets, consistent with the increased use of technology in day-to-day trading.
The regulator will also continue working on surveillance with Nasdaq OMX-owned Smarts, a relationship inherited from ASX.
Brian Conlon, CEO, First Derivatives, says: "Delta Stream will allow Asic to quickly respond to evolving market regulations, the introduction of new products and projected increases in data volumes."