Forex is the largest global market in the world, open 24/7 and with a value of $6.6 trillion traded every day. Running such an enormous marketplace is a huge operational strain, with immense demands on the systems to sustain the required performance levels.
It’s perhaps then no surprise that forex is expected to move to the cloud gradually. Providing security and cost-effective solutions, maybe the only question is why didn’t forex move to the cloud sooner?
If you’re wondering how you’ll be affected by the move to cloud technology, here’s what you need to know.
Will It Really Happen?
Forecasts don’t always come true, and so a healthy dose of skepticism around expert predictions isn’t a bad thing. However, when it comes to cloud technology, it seems almost inevitable that the expected changes will take place.
One of the reasons is that the cloud is already in use, with some firms already using this technology to offer forex trading for US markets and beyond. One survey suggests that cloud usage within forex trading is currently at 26%.
The same survey found that 69% of forex firms expect to be using the cloud exclusively or as part of a hybrid solution within the next five years.
Latency Issues
One of the biggest concerns that users may have is latency within the network. Even a fraction of a second delay in executing an order could produce a hefty financial loss in trading.
Having everything hosted remotely may therefore raise legitimate concerns over the speed of processing, but providing the right network is chosen. This shouldn’t be an issue.
Cloud providers have low-latency networks that prevent any lag from occurring, delivering real-time execution and the speed required for high-pressure trading.
Elasticity
The recent global events heightened interest in trading even further, and this focus isn’t showing any signs of dying down. This means that there are greater levels of traffic being experienced by sites, putting pressure on overloaded networks.
This type of scenario is where the strength of the cloud really shines. Unlike localised solutions, the cloud is able to absorb spikes in traffic without compromising the service or latency.
Outside forex, one of the biggest reasons companies turn to cloud solutions is scalability, which is no different for traders. A network that can cope with sudden rises in demand while still sustaining performance is a dream come true.
And of course, with cloud solutions, if traffic falls dramatically, there’s no big outlay that’s gone to waste. The elasticity of the available service is one of its greatest strengths.
Cost-Effective
As a trader, you might be wondering what the elasticity of the service has to do with you. Since the network is operating quickly and in real-time, should you even care about the outlay to deliver the service?
In a word, yes.
In business, all costs have to be paid for, and that means usually being passed on to the end-user. If there are no heightened costs required and using the cloud saves money, there will be an inevitable cost saving for you too.
