Switch and Data (NASDAQ: SDXC), a leading provider of network neutral data center and Internet exchange services, announced today that IPC Systems, a key provider of indispensable communications for the global financial markets, has expanded the availability of its Ethernet Connection Services (ECS) to Switch and Data's sites in Chicago and New York.
Switch and Data customers at these sites now have direct access to the low-latency Ethernet private lines ECS provides to improve access to the financial exchanges and other market data and trading applications.
ECS provides secure and reliable Ethernet private lines to support inter-firm data communications, electronic trading and Trader Voice requirements. ECS gives trading firms a wide range of secure, dedicated Ethernet private lines at speeds of 1.5 - 100 Mbps for low-latency, low-jitter connectivity. ECS is a dedicated service, providing guaranteed bandwidth dedicated to each individual circuit. There is no sharing, contention, Class of Service, or queuing of traffic with ECS, each circuit is dedicated and runs across IPC's SONET backbone. In addition to point-to-point and point-to-multi-point connectivity options, IPC ECS offers trading firms and IT/telephony departments a 24/7 managed solution to connect with exchanges, electronic communications networks (ECNs) and the world's largest On-Net community of approximately 3,400 financial institutions.
"Our Ethernet Connection Service is one of the key ways our customers connect with more than 3,400 'On-Net' counterparties on the IPC global network," said Peter Meroni, IPC senior product manager. "Increasingly, they want to know where our ECS service is available before requesting a formal quote. IPC provides connectivity to our network and Enhanced Voice Services through Switch and Data's Chicago and New York sites, located in North America's major financial centers. Potential customers can search Switch and Data's Web MarketPlace for up-to-date details of ECS availability within the S+D footprint."
"The electronic trading community is increasingly relying on IPC for direct market access and direct interconnectivity to satisfy new regulatory requirements," said Ernie Sampera, chief marketing officer for Switch and Data. "Switch and Data is delighted to add IPC to the roster of low-latency network service providers in our sites. IPC has a strong reputation for providing value to the financial markets and their ECS service will be a great option for our financial services customers."
In the past year, Switch and Data has added more than a quarter-million square feet of data center capacity to its footprint in the key communications hub markets of North America such as Dallas, New York Metro, Northern Virginia, San Francisco Bay Area and Toronto. This space is all built to the company's latest high-performance standard and provides power densities up to 200 watts per square foot, access to large numbers of networks, an Internet exchange for peering, and highly rated remote technical support services.