With more than 100,000 accounts, optionsXpress is dependent upon a solid information technology and network connectivity infrastructure as the backbone of its business. To enhance this connectivity, optionsXpress will utilize Equinix Financial eXchange, a bundled service designed to provide the financial trading industry with the highest levels of network redundancy along with a high-performance data center environment and interconnectivity fabric to ensure operational continuity for critical electronic trading operations.

As banks and financial trading companies are increasingly migrating from floor trading operations to electronic trading platforms, Equinix provides the secure and reliable Internet hubs that enable these companies to efficiently establish their information technology and connectivity infrastructure. Equinix Financial eXchange offers a convenient platform for banks, financial trading companies and financial exchanges to interconnect with each other and with multiple network service providers in order to execute financial transactions. This direct interconnection enables the most streamlined network connectivity with partners and end-users, reducing latency in this time-sensitive business. In addition, Equinix Financial eXchange allows customers to rapidly and efficiently scale to meet increasing trading volumes and respond to additional data demands from partners and customers. The results are faster transaction processing, lower costs and enhanced trading capabilities.

Equinix's secure and network-rich facilities also provide optionsXpress with a solid disaster recovery infrastructure. In addition to the network redundancy of providing direct access to a choice of more than 200 network service providers, Equinix's centers include industry-leading security features, such as interlocking "mantrap" doors, multiple layers of biometric hand-geometry scanners controlling access, as well as 24-hour security officers and hundreds of surveillance cameras. The power operations of each center include a high-performance backup system that guarantees uninterrupted power even in the event of utility power disruption. In addition, by locating at multiple Equinix centers, optionsXpress has also incorporated the geographic diversity that further enhances their disaster planning.

"In our business, every second matters to our customers, and we have built our reputation around providing the fastest and most reliable online brokerage for the trading of options and other securities," said Ben Stein, vice president of IT infrastructure at optionsXpress. "Equinix provides us with an infrastructure that enables us reach all of our strategic connectivity partners in a single centralized location to more efficiently interconnect our networks and trade data traffic."

"As brokers, traders, clearinghouses and exchanges become more electronically connected, Equinix's centers have become critical hubs for these companies to link to each other, as well as with all of the major network service providers, in a high-performance and secure data center environment," said Peter Van Camp, CEO of Equinix. "In addition to significant cost structure benefits, the result is faster and more reliable access to a wide variety of financial companies and trading partners within the major financial exchanges, such as the Chicago Stock Exchange. The presence of optionsXpress and over twenty other leading financial trading firms at Equinix continues to validate our increasing strategic role in facilitating performance in the major exchange industries in the U.S. and worldwide."