TradePVR is a network appliance that automatically records all FIX connections on the network at the packet level, providing instantaneous searching and browsing and renders messages in plain English. Support staff no longer needs to defer to a FIX expert to dig through the cryptic FIX server logs, they can quickly and easily see relevant messages in a clear and concise format. Although there are a long list of benefits to using the device, Helium Systems President Alex Malone points out that the product uniquely allows exchanges and banks to offer a new level of service to its FIX customers.

"Not only can the development, QA, and support staff realize enormous benefits, but their FIX clients can view their connections via the web. The result is a highly competent support staff and a newly found independence for the clients, who can quickly investigate incidents and in many cases avoid a support call altogether. Electronic trading is going through some growing pains. It is difficult to find qualified candidates that have experience in the latest technologies like FIX, and its very expensive to keep them. This product goes a long way to relieving those pains."

Prior to this breakthrough, an operator would take anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours to get the data to start responding to an incident. Now, it can take only seconds for the operator to type in the order ID and view the results containing the full FIX chain of events for that order. The user need only a web browser to take full advantage of the responsive AJAX user interface. Development and testing teams can use the device in the staging area to improve time to market.

"People who see TradePVR compare it to the first time they saw the benefits of Digital Video Recorders like Tivo. Rather than managing stacks of bulky tapes and manually setting their VCRs, now all of the information they care about is automatically recorded and instantly available," said Alex Malone. The product is targeted at production support as well as engineering teams. The company plans to introduce a scaled down version, called the TradePVR Mini, later this year for small buy-side firms and individual developers.