As markets operate 24/7 and volatility remains a constant, professional traders are under increasing pressure to execute faster, more securely, and at greater scale. Choosing the right infrastructure is no longer just a technical decision; it is a strategic one. Whether you are a proprietary trading firm, broker, or hedge fund, the choice between building your setup or opting for outsourced trading infrastructure can define your competitive edge.
Each path offers distinct benefits and challenges, and the wrong decision could lead to unnecessary complexity, expense, or missed opportunities.
What It Takes to Build a Trading Infrastructure
1. Capital and Technical Expertise
Building a trading infrastructure from the ground up is not for the faint-hearted. It demands a significant capital investment and a high level of in-house technical expertise. Institutional investors must design, implement, and maintain custom network architectures capable of meeting the performance demands of modern trading strategies. This includes developing secure routing protocols, managing bandwidth usage, and ensuring fault tolerance at every level. For institutions without a strong IT and network engineering team, the challenges can quickly outweigh the benefits.
2. Physical Co-Location and Global Reach
To achieve true low-latency performance, physical proximity to key exchanges can give you a competitive advantage. That means securing co-location space in major data centres. These facilities are highly sought after and come at a premium, both in terms of availability and cost. Additionally, establishing cross-connects and leased lines between points of presence takes time, technical coordination, and ongoing maintenance. For many, this global infrastructure footprint is not only difficult to establish but also hard to scale as business needs evolve.
3. 24/7 Operations
Trading never sleeps. Infrastructure must be monitored and managed around the clock to prevent downtime, resolve issues swiftly, and optimise performance continuously. This requires a dedicated Network Operations Centre (NOC), complete with advanced monitoring tools and on-call engineers. Without such a setup, even minor disruptions can have major financial consequences. Building and maintaining this level of operational maturity is a major undertaking, often better handled by a specialised provider of outsourced trading infrastructure.
The Case for Outsourcing Trading Infrastructure
For many institutions, the advantages of outsourced trading infrastructure far outweigh the appeal of building an in-house setup. Choosing to outsource provides immediate access to institutional-grade solutions without the delay, complexity, or capital burden of building from scratch.
1. Plug-in Access to Institutional-Grade Infrastructure
With outsourced solutions, companies can plug directly into low latency networks that are already integrated with leading exchanges. This includes direct cross-connects, co-location services, and FIX API access, giving professional traders everything they need to operate at peak performance. Market Synergy, for instance, operates from secure Swiss data centres with global Points of Presence (POPs) in Zurich (ZH4), London (LD4), and New York (NY4), giving clients global reach with minimal effort.
2. Cost-Efficiency and Speed to Market
Time is money, particularly in the fast-moving world of crypto and digital asset trading. With outsourced trading infrastructure, there is no need to lease and install hardware, hire engineers, or negotiate contracts with multiple vendors. Onboarding can be completed swiftly, allowing firms to go live in a fraction of the time it would take to build internally. Costs are also more predictable and contained, as ongoing maintenance, upgrades, and monitoring are all bundled into the service.
3. Built-In Support and Security
Perhaps one of the most significant advantages is the level of operational maturity and security that outsourcing brings. Providers like Market Synergy offer 24/7 network operations support, proactive monitoring, and hardened infrastructure built for institutional resilience. This ensures your connectivity remains uninterrupted and secure, even in the face of market surges, cyber threats, or equipment failure. For firms without dedicated network teams, this peace of mind is invaluable.
|
Criteria |
Build In-House |
Outsourced Trading Infrastructure |
|
Initial Capital Outlay |
High: Data centre space, hardware, talent |
Low: Included in service package |
|
Speed to Market |
Slow: Months to procure, build, test |
Fast: Plug-in and start trading quickly |
|
Technical Expertise Required |
High: Requires in-house network and IT specialists |
Minimal: Provider manages all technical aspects |
|
Global Reach |
Limited without significant investment |
Integrated access to global POPs (ZH4, LD4, NY4) |
|
Operational Burden |
High: Requires 24/7 in-house support |
None: Managed service with continuous monitoring |
|
Scalability |
Complex: Requires planning and hardware upgrades |
Seamless: Scales with demand using virtual or physical setups |
|
Security & Resilience |
Depends on internal team capability |
Enterprise-grade security and redundancy included |
Key Considerations When Making the Decision
Every firm has unique needs, so the decision between building and outsourcing should consider long-term strategy as well as immediate requirements.
1. Control vs. Simplicity
Building in-house gives firms complete control over every detail of the infrastructure. However, this control comes at the cost of complexity, risk, and ongoing operational responsibility. Outsourcing, on the other hand, allows firms to focus on trading while the provider handles the technology. With an outsourced trading infrastructure, you benefit from simplicity without sacrificing professional-grade performance.
2. Custom Needs vs. Standardised Reliability
Some high-frequency or proprietary traders may require highly bespoke setups. In such cases, building might offer a better fit. But for the vast majority of institutions, a robust, standardised infrastructure already used by leading exchanges and brokers is more than sufficient. Market Synergy’s solutions, for example, are tailored to meet the demanding needs of banks, hedge funds, and digital asset firms, ensuring reliability from day one.
3. Scalability and Future-Proofing
As your trading volumes grow or your strategy evolves, infrastructure must keep pace. Outsourced providers offer a scalable environment, whether that means deploying more virtual machines, expanding to additional POPs, or upgrading connectivity. This flexibility ensures you are always ready for what comes next, without needing to rebuild your architecture.
Are You Ready to Optimise Your Trading Setup?
Get in touch with Market Synergy today and discover how our outsourced trading infrastructure can give you the speed, security, and scalability it needs to stay ahead.