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15/05/2009

London, 15 May 2009.  Arcontech, the real-time market data technology specialist has today announced the availability of the Sun Solaris™ version of its CityVision market data distribution platform.  The Solaris version has completed rigorous internal tests and is currently undergoing client acceptance testing.

The latest CityVision version was developed in response to market demand for Solaris on Intel x86 and in recognition of the preference in many City firms for the robust operating system on lower cost hardware.

The Solaris version uses exactly the same core code base as the extensively proven CityVision for Microsoft Windows™. This was made possible by Arcontech’s innovative use of its own real-time micro kernel, providing an abstraction layer from the underlying operating system.  Only the kernel needed to be ported, greatly reducing both the effort required and the risk of introducing programming errors, since almost no logic needed to be reworked.

The Solaris components are completely interoperable with the Windows versions, meaning that even a change from Windows to Solaris can be undertaken with no system downtime. According to Andrew Miller, CEO of Arcontech, “CityVision supports true hot standby with automatic failover and no data loss. One half of the system can be brought off-line and upgraded while the other half continues. Then the system can be failed over to the newly upgraded Solaris side while the remaining Windows side is upgraded. All of this with no loss of service – no one can beat CityVision for availability.”

Solaris is often attractive to the market data operations of many firms because of the incumbent installations and staff skill sets. Solaris systems can be considered more manageable and easier to deploy.

Miller again: “We’re seeing strong interest in both Windows and Solaris solutions, with several new contracts signed this year, including specific requirement for a Solaris version which we are pleased to have delivered. Along the way we’ve incorporated many new ideas from the major firms we are working with and consequently both versions continue to stay ahead of the competition in terms of features, reliability, availability and flexibility.”

29/04/2009

London, 24th April 2009.  Following evaluation against competitive products, Arcontech has been selected to supply its CityVision Excelerator real-time market data “add-in” for Microsoft Excel™ to a large European bank, replacing the incumbent solution in a cost-cutting exercise.

The Excelerator product allows traders to bring real-time into their spreadsheets from multiple sources, including direct exchange feeds and the Reuter RMDS platform. It is extremely simple to use and very fast compared with other products, allowing large spreadsheets to calculate in true real-time or at a controlled update rate if preferred.

Commenting on the win, Andrew Miller, CEO of Arcontech said: “Excelerator has been the best performing add-in for Excel for many years and is already a core component for trading operations globally.  The new features remove barriers to change and mean that firms have a simple path to improved performance and greater flexibility, with potential for greatly reduced costs.  Efficient use of market data budgets is increasingly important and Excelerator, along with intelligent use of internally derived data and alternative data sources such as Chi-X and Equiduct can mean multi-million dollar annual savings in relatively small operations.”

Features in the latest release that proved persuasive in recent evaluations include: the ability to connect directly to RMDS using Tibco Rendezvous multicast as well as point-to-point server connections; user interface features such as dynamic record and field entry; tick and trend highlighting; the ability to run an Excel macro automatically following an update; and the ability to convert multiple complex Reuter PowerPlusPro spreadsheets in one simple operation.

Miller again: “Excelerator really is in a class of its own. Being part of our CityVision suite, it benefits from a combination of features that competitors simply can’t match, like dynamic chain handling, in-cell stale data alerting, price movement visualization, intelligent bandwidth management and instant fail-over combined with platform and vendor independence.”

The latest version 4.0.1 is available now.

03/04/2009

London, 3rd April 2009.  Following a resolution at its AGM, KTS plc (Knowledge Technology Solutions) has changed it name to Arcontech Group plc, incorporating the name of its wholly owned subsidiary, Arcontech Limited, the real-time market data and trading systems software specialist.

KTS plc acquired Arcontech Limited in September 2007 and shortly afterwards appointed Andrew Miller, its managing director as CEO of the Group.  A successful funding round in April 2008 raised £1.2m of investment capital which has been applied in research and development of the “CityVision” enterprise market data platform and “AXE” trading system for retail derivatives.

The KTS “Market Terminal” product and other unprofitable legacy operations have been closed down, removing over £1m of recurring costs from the business and generating cash from the sale of assets.

Group CEO Andrew Miller commented “The change of name marks the end of a difficult period following the acquisition of Arcontech just over a year ago.  However, we have kept to our plan, invested significantly, restructured and rationalised our product offerings and I believe are now well positioned to capitalise when the markets recover.  Even in this climate we are achieving significant new sales, confirming our CityVision market data platform as increasingly attractive to firms of all sizes looking for cost reduction without loss of reliability or functionality.  Our AXE on-line trading product is now live, supporting firms with thousands of users in their spread betting and Contracts for Difference operations and benefiting from our strategic enhancement of real-time trade and risk management.”