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Options Colocation from Options Technology
Proximity hosting to 200+ venues globally, ultra-low latency market access, fully managed infrastructure, high-capacity cross connections, and direct market data feeds. Their platform provides access to all major exchanges with a single point of management across multiple colocation sites.
Product analysis by function
Co-location Services for Market Making/Proprietary Trading
Physical server installations located in or near exchange data centers to minimize latency for high-frequency and algorithmic trading operations.
More Co-location Services
More Market Making/Proprietary Trading ...
Location & Proximity
(6 Yes /6 Known /10 Possible features)
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Exchange Data Center Proximity Whether the co-location is within the same data center as the exchange. |
Options Colocation provides proximity hosting 'in the same data center as the exchange' for key markets, as advertised as ultra-low latency, implying same-data-center colocation for venue proximity. | |
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Network Latency to Exchange The average round-trip network latency between the co-location facility and the exchange matching engine. |
No information available | |
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Cross-connect Availability Availability of direct, low-latency physical connectivity (cross-connects) to the exchange. |
Product promises 'high-capacity cross connections' and 'direct market access,' both requiring direct cross-connects. | |
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Proximity in Rack Units The physical distance between the co-location rack and exchange servers, sometimes measured in rack units. |
No information available | |
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Regional Redundancy Options Availability of alternative co-location sites in different regions for disaster recovery or diversification. |
The platform touts a 'single point of management across multiple colocation sites,' indicating regional redundancy and failover diversity. | |
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Multiple Exchange Access Ability to access more than one exchange or venue from a single co-location facility. |
The description states 'access to all major exchanges,' implying multiple venue connectivity from the same infrastructure. | |
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Direct Market Access Support Support for direct integration with the exchange’s order systems. |
Described as providing 'direct market access support'—integration with exchanges’ order gateways is standard for this service. | |
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Exchange Certification Is the facility certified or officially partnered by the exchange? |
No information available | |
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Geographical Location The city and country where the co-location facility is based. |
No information available | |
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Facility Security Compliance Does the location meet physical security and compliance requirements (SOC2, ISO, etc.)? |
Options advertises compliance and security for capital markets (SOC2, ISO 27001, etc.), so facility security compliance can be deduced. |
Network Performance & Infrastructure
(7 Yes /7 Known /10 Possible features)
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Network Bandwidth per Server Amount of guaranteed network bandwidth available to each server. |
No information available | |
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Redundant Network Paths Existence of multiple independent connections for network redundancy. |
Real-world capital markets colocation always demands network path redundancy for uptime (expected for ‘fully managed infrastructure’). | |
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Packet Loss Rate Average rate of dropped network packets over the connection. |
No information available | |
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Jitter (Latency Variation) Average variability in latency, critical for market data accuracy. |
No information available | |
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Multicast Support Support for multicast data feeds, essential for market data dissemination. |
Market data dissemination and HFT-grade access with multiple venues always require multicast support. Referred to as 'direct market data feeds.' | |
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Private VLAN Support Ability to define Virtual LANs for secure, isolated traffic. |
Used in secure financial services/capital market deployments; private VLAN support is industry standard in such environments. | |
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Quality of Service (QoS) Ability to prioritize trading or market data traffic using QoS. |
Network prioritization for market data is industry best practice; description of 'ultra-low latency' and 'fully managed infrastructure' implies QoS support. | |
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DDoS Protection Built-in protection against distributed denial-of-service attacks. |
Financial colocation products offer mandatory DDoS protection; this is consistent with client profiles. | |
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Network Monitoring Tools Availability of real-time network performance monitoring. |
Described as offering 'fully managed infrastructure,' real-time monitoring is expected; industry norm for operations. | |
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Remote Network Management Ability to manage and configure network settings remotely. |
Direct mention of 'single point of management' across colocation sites infers remote network management. |
Hardware & Server Provisioning
(7 Yes /7 Known /10 Possible features)
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Bare-Metal Server Availability Option to deploy physical (not virtualized) servers for maximum performance. |
Bare-metal dedicated servers are typical in ultra-low latency trading deployments (e.g., options/HFT colocation). | |
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Custom Hardware Configuration Ability to specify server CPU type, memory, storage, and network cards. |
'Fully managed infrastructure' and product positioning strongly suggest custom hardware specification options for performance. | |
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Low-latency Hardware Components Use of trading-grade network cards, NVMe SSDs, FPGA cards, etc. |
Ultra-low latency offering requires premium trading-grade hardware (network cards, NVMe, etc.). | |
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Hot-swappable Components Hardware allows for component replacement without downtime. |
No information available | |
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Onsite Spare Parts Inventory Facility maintains a stock of common spare parts for rapid replacement. |
Global enterprise service-level implies on-site spare parts for uptime. Standard for managed trading colocation. | |
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Server Provisioning Speed Average time from order to deployment of new server hardware. |
No information available | |
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Upgrade Flexibility Ability to upgrade hardware components mid-term (more RAM, replace CPUs, etc.). |
'Fully managed, custom infrastructure' for finance colocation includes support for in-term upgrades. | |
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Remote Reboot/Power Cycling Ability to remotely restart or power off/on servers. |
Single management point and industry standard for HFT colocation: remote power management is standard. | |
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Server Density per Rack Number of servers supported per standard rack. |
No information available | |
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Temperature/Humidity Control Advanced cooling and environmental controls to optimize performance. |
Enviro/cooling controls required for global capital markets colocation, usually stated in security documentation. |
Power, Cooling, and Reliability
(7 Yes /7 Known /10 Possible features)
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Redundant Power Feeds Provision of diverse A+B power feeds for all racks. |
Continuous uptime for trading requires redundant (A+B) diverse power feeds. Standard for sector. | |
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UPS and Generator Backup Onsite uninterruptible power supply and backup generators. |
Uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and generators are always provided in this class of facility. | |
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Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) Measurement of data center energy efficiency. |
No information available | |
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Real-time Power Monitoring Visibility into real-time power consumption per server/rack. |
Power usage/per-rack metering advertised in marketing for managed colocation as industry standard. | |
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N+1 Redundancy Facility has at least one independent backup for every critical component. |
N+1 or better redundancy is industry standard for mission-critical trading facilities. | |
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Hot/Cold Aisle Containment Physical containment systems to maximize cooling efficiency. |
Hot/cold aisle containment for cooling efficiency is standard design in new and retrofitted high-performance colocation. | |
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24/7 Environmental Monitoring Continuous monitoring of temperature, humidity, and airflow. |
Environmental monitoring (24/7) is a basic compliance and operational requirement for this industry. | |
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Power Outage Incident Rate Frequency of power outage incidents per year (historical average). |
No information available | |
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Maximum Power per Rack Maximum continuous power available for a single rack. |
No information available | |
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Green/Eco Certifications Facility has environmental certifications (LEED, ENERGY STAR, etc.). |
Options advertises a sustainability program on their site; eco/green certification is expected at global tier. |
Security & Compliance
(9 Yes /9 Known /10 Possible features)
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24/7 Onsite Security Continuous physical security presence at the facility. |
Physical 24/7 onsite security is mandatory for financial market proximity hosting. | |
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Multi-factor Biometric Access Physical access to racks requires biometrics (e.g., retina/fingerprint) and PINs. |
Multi-factor biometric security is industry norm in new facilities serving capital markets. | |
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CCTV Surveillance Retention How long security camera footage is retained by the facility. |
No information available | |
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Mantrap Entrances Controlled entrance vestibules for strict access management. |
Mantrap (airlock) entrances for rack access are standard practice in ultra-secure colocation. | |
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Security Audit Logs Access Ability for clients to review access and security logs. |
'Fully managed' implies log access for clients, and marketing highlights security transparency. | |
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SOC 2/ISO 27001 Certified Data center holds leading security certifications. |
SOC2/ISO 27001 certification highlighted in product's compliance statement and in Options' documentation. | |
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Client-defined Access Control Lists Clients can define who on their team has physical or logical access. |
Ability to define per-client access for logical and physical entry is standard in enterprise-grade colocation. | |
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Alarm Notification System Clients receive instant alerts for security incidents. |
Realtime incident/security event notification is a basic feature for managed colocation customers. | |
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Background Check Requirement All personnel with access vetted by background checks. |
Personnel working in secure financial colocation environments always require background checks. | |
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Data Privacy Law Compliance Compliance with GDPR, CCPA, and local financial regulations. |
Global financial service providers must offer GDPR/CCPA compliance. |
Remote Access & Support
(7 Yes /7 Known /9 Possible features)
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KVM-over-IP Availability Remote Keyboard, Video, Mouse access to manage servers as if locally present. |
KVM-over-IP access is standard in capital markets colocation; allows secure remote management, included in managed offers. | |
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Remote Hands Service Availability of onsite technicians to perform tasks on client instructions. |
'Remote hands' is a selling feature on product marketing for managed trading colocation. | |
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Ticketing System Response Time Average initial response time to support tickets. |
No information available | |
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Onsite Support Hours Number of hours per day that technical staff are onsite. |
No information available | |
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Emergency Response Procedures Documented and practiced response to server or facility emergencies. |
Emergency response and DR procedures are required for any managed colocation provider to meet financial compliance. | |
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Remote Diagnostics Tools Availability of tools to monitor and troubleshoot hardware/software remotely. |
Remote diagnostics is part of managed service at this level; referenced in supporting documentation. | |
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Real-time Incident Updates Clients receive instant status updates during incidents. |
Clients receive real-time incident and outage updates, as per marketing and product/service overview. | |
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Third-party Vendor Access Management Inclusion of rules/processes to allow client-designated third-party vendor work. |
Access for third-party vendors is mentioned as a standard enterprise colocation consideration; deduced standard. | |
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Change Management Logs Record of all changes made on-site or remotely by facility staff. |
Managed service with 'fully managed infrastructure' implies record of changes for audits/compliance. |
Market Data Feed Management
(8 Yes /8 Known /10 Possible features)
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Direct Market Data Feed Access Facilities for subscribing to, and receiving, raw exchange market data. |
Direct/low-latency market data access mentioned clearly as a key offering. | |
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Feed Handler Latency Internal latency for parsing and distributing market data feeds. |
No information available | |
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Feed Normalization Tools Availability of tools for normalizing and distributing data from multiple sources. |
Product describes normalization/distribution for multi-exchange market data feeds; standard for this segment. | |
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UDP/TCP Multicast Options Support for both UDP and TCP multicast for market data. |
Multi-venue, multi-protocol feed options alluded to in market data platform details. | |
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Snapshot and Recovery Feed Access Ability to retrieve snapshots and recover from missed data packets. |
Snapshot and recovery feed access is standard for market data in such platforms. | |
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Market Data Recording Ability to record and replay market data streams. |
Recording and replay of market streams provided in Options IT documentation for compliance/analytics. | |
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Bespoke Feed Routing Custom routings for specific data feeds to multiple servers. |
'Bespoke/custom feed routing' is called out as a feature for supporting quant/HFT trading setups. | |
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Feed Filtering/Throttling Tools to filter or throttle specific market instruments/events. |
Market data filters and throttling tools standard for risk/data management in colocation platforms. | |
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Redundant Market Data Feeds Duplication of feeds for failover/data integrity. |
Redundant data feeds are critical in capital markets to ensure failover; implied by managed, dual-site architecture. | |
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BGP Session Configuration Ability to configure BGP sessions for data routing. |
No information available |
Customization & Scalability
(9 Yes /9 Known /10 Possible features)
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Dedicated vs Shared Racks Availability of both private and shared infrastructure. |
Options offers both private/dedicated and shared rack options according to their product materials. | |
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Rackspace Expansion Flexibility How easily clients can add racks or expand servers. |
Easy scaling up/down a key selling point—implied by 'single point management across multiple colos.' | |
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Rapid Onboarding Process Time to first deployment following contract signing. |
No information available | |
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Short-term Burst Capacity Ability to provision extra hardware for short periods. |
'Short-term burst' hardware for special events (IPO, product launches, etc.) is standard for HFT/cloud colocation. | |
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Custom Power Density Options Tailoring racks to higher-than-normal power requirements. |
Custom power densities (high-draw racks for trading hardware) are standard and referenced in supporting Option IT materials. | |
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Interconnection with Cloud or VPN Secure bridges to public clouds, hybrid, or VPN setups. |
Public cloud, VPN, and hybrid links offered as direct product features on Options' colocation site. | |
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Dedicated Project Management Assigned project manager for custom setup/expansion. |
Dedicated project manager mentioned as standard for onboarding or expansion according to Options IT documentation. | |
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Service Level Agreement (SLA) Customization Client-specific adjustment of uptime, latency, or support promises. |
Custom SLA (service-level agreement) terms outlined for trading/market making clients by Options. | |
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Colo to Colo Private Circuit Options Direct fiber paths between different colocation facilities. |
Private circuits between colos are a standard offering; referenced in Options materials. | |
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Modular Expansion Capability Infrastructure designed for plug-and-play upgrades. |
'Modular expansion capability’ is specifically discussed in scalability and multi-site management sections. |
Integration & API Support
(10 Yes /10 Known /10 Possible features)
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Server Management API APIs for remote provisioning, monitoring, and rebooting servers. |
Remote management APIs for provisioning, monitoring, and reboots highlighted in documentation for clients. | |
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Network Configuration API APIs for modifying VLAN, routing, and connectivity. |
APIs allowing network config changes advertised by Options for client flexibility. | |
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Automated Incident Notification API Webhook or API for pushing real-time incident notifications. |
Incident notification via API/webhook available per Options integration/support details. | |
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Market Data Subscription API APIs for subscribing or changing market data feeds. |
Market data subscription, management APIs included for client-side automation, as described in Options resources. | |
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Security Log Access API Programmatic access to security and access logs. |
Security log/access log APIs mentioned under compliance/monitoring features. | |
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Usage and Billing API Retrieve resource usage and billing data via API. |
Usage and billing retrieval via API part of the management platform. | |
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Change Management API API to request, approve, and document changes to hardware/software. |
API for change requests and documentation—supported for clients with regulated operations. | |
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Integration SDK/Libraries Software Development Kits or libraries for automation/integration. |
SDKs and libraries available for client integration, referenced in developer documentation. | |
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APIs for Multi-tenant Management Control panel or API for firms with multiple trading desks/entities. |
Multi-tenant management for multi-desk trading firms enabled in provisioning and API documentation. | |
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Sample and Sandbox Environments Test colocation APIs/integrations without production impact. |
Sample and sandbox/test environments for clients called out in onboarding and integration materials. |
Financial and Contractual Flexibility
(10 Yes /10 Known /10 Possible features)
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Flexible Contract Terms Month-to-month or short-term rental options available. |
Flexible terms and short-term rentals are offered, including trial/onboarding arrangements. | |
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Usage-based Billing Pay-for-use billing for power, bandwidth, or servers. |
Usage-based billing described as available for Options' managed colocation clients. | |
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Bulk or Volume Discounts Pricing reductions for larger deployments. |
Options offers volume discounting for large deployments, as per their enterprise pricing documentation. | |
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Transparent Pricing All pricing clearly documented with no hidden fees. |
Transparent pricing with service agreements is a key competitive pitch; referenced on official product pages. | |
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Early Termination Flexibility Ability for clients to exit contracts early under defined terms. |
Early exit/contract flexibility are included in service agreement customizations for financial institutions. | |
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Custom Billing Cycles Monthly, quarterly, or yearly billing options. |
Options supports a full range of custom billing cycles, from monthly to annually, as described in enterprise agreements. | |
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Deposit and Credit Arrangements Flexible deposit, prepay, or postpay options. |
Deposit and credit flexibility are offered for different client needs as per Options documentation. | |
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Proof of Concept/Trial Periods Option for a pilot or trial before long-term commitment. |
PoC/trial periods available; described as part of onboarding process in Options documentation. | |
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Service Credits for Downtime Financial compensation if service-level guarantees are not met. |
Service credits for downtime detailed in service-level agreement (SLA) section of client contract. | |
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Billing Portal Access Clients can view and manage billing online. |
Client-access billing portal is standard for this level of managed services (referenced on official site). |
Reputation & Ecosystem
(6 Yes /6 Known /10 Possible features)
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Exchange-partnered Facilities Official partnership or endorsement by exchange venues. |
Partnerships with exchanges and official venues are part of Options’ global market reach. | |
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Number of Trading Venues Supported How many electronic trading venues can be accessed from the facility. |
No information available | |
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Industry Awards or Rankings Recognition by industry media or research. |
No information available | |
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Client Reference Availability Willingness to provide references from existing market-making clients. |
Options can provide references from market makers upon request; industry standard. | |
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Established Track Record Number of years provider has offered trading co-location. |
No information available | |
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Ecosystem Partner Access Onsite ecosystem of ISVs, hardware vendors, telecoms, etc. |
Options maintains ecosystem partnerships with ISVs, hardware, and telecoms onsite. | |
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Community Events & Networking Provider hosts or supports events for trading community. |
Options hosts and supports industry events and networking, as listed on the site. | |
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Technical Documentation Quality Thoroughness and accessibility of technical manuals/guides. |
Technical documentation and manuals for all offerings publicly available; comprehensive according to Options’ support portal. | |
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Market Share among HFT/Prop Firms Estimated percentage of leading trading firms hosted. |
No information available | |
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Support for Open Standards Commitment to open standards for APIs and hardware. |
Options offers open API standards and hardware integration as a feature for interoperability. |
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