Merrill Lynch has contracted with IPC Systems for the installation of almost 4000 of the vendor's voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) trading turrets across its global trading floors.
Under the agreement, IPC will install almost 4000 of its IQ/MAX trader desktops at Merrill Lynch's two largest trading floors in New York and London and across the bank's other trading floors around the world in early 2008.
IPC says the deal also includes the establishment of four hardened data facilities in London and New York.
It represents a huge blow for BT, IPC's chief rival in the trading turrets business and a long-term supplier to the US investment house.
Commenting on the deal, Tony Kerrison, CTO, global technology infrastructure at Merrill Lynch, says: "IPC focuses on what matters most to our traders: efficiency, dependability and user-friendliness. The outstanding VoIP technology IQ/MAX delivers will provide our traders with highly advanced, reliable and collaborative trading floor communications."
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
IPC's IQ/MAX trader desktop was launched in March 2006. IPC CEO Lance Boxer says even prior to the agreement with Merrill Lynch, the launch of the IQ/MAX system had been the most successful in IPC's history.