In the spotlight

A trading turret for the Y generation

Today’s trader is used to the speed and convenience of devices like smartphones and tablets. With its intuitive touchscreen, the new BT Netrix HiTouch is a trading turret for the Y generation. Featuring the latest high-definition visual and audio interfaces and communications services, and integrated with all the specialist trading applications and market information traders need around them, it helps them to make faster and more informed decisions.

Offering a user experience unlike any other, BT Netrix HiTouch acts as a control centre for collaboration between traders and all their clients, colleagues and counterparties involved throughout the trade cycle. With the swipe of finger, they can simply tap into hundreds of apps, market data feeds and communications services delivered by the BT Radianz Cloud, including BTs specialist trading floor and enterprise voice, video and conferencing services. Read more>

Watch the BT Netrix HiTouch in action here; or contact us to arrange a demonstration.

Voice transformation in banking and finance

Will voice transformation become a top priority for IT leaders in banking and finance in 2014? Or will it continue to be a missed opportunity?

When it comes to the financial industry, an efficient, cost-effective, simple and secure infrastructure is vital to make sure that everything runs smoothly, says Marc Carletti, VP Global Banking & Financial Markets at BT.

But historically, financial bodies have had separate voice connections and multiple networks which are complicated and hard to manage. The technology exists to move the financial industry forward and maximise its efficiency – so surely, the sooner this opportunity can be seized the better?

The convergence of voice and data is widely embraced across many industries because it brings significant financial savings and improved efficiency. But the banking and finance industry seems to be driven by a traditional approach to telephony and IT which has kept voice siloed from IT operations – and this means many banks are missing out on some significant cost-cutting advantages because they are still treating voice as a part of their real estate.

During a recent interview with Wall Street & Technology, Marc talked about the historical challenges the financial industry faces regarding the reorganisation of its IT infrastructure. Read the full article here to find out how true voice transformation can be achieved.

BT has launched BT One Voice Radianz, a new service that unifies voice, mobile and data services and delivers them to members of the BT Radianz Cloud, the world’s largest secure networked community for the financial services industry

Should the finance sector fret as regulatory deadline looms?

Since the economic meltdown, financial services firms around the world have had a raft of new regulations to comply with. It’s a subject that is on the agenda of every Compliance Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Information Officer, and Chief Technology Officer across the financial services world; from banks to Central Counterparty Clearing (CCPs) and corporates, says Alex Foster (pictured), Global Head of Strategy & Business Development, BT Financial Technology Services. In fact, research by analyst house, IDC, showed that 60 per cent of banks state ‘Op Risk’ as the most important tech area for IT investment

One regulation which is particularly topical at the moment is the EMIR (European Market Infrastructure Regulation) trading reporting regulation which came into effect on 12 February. This is a directive from the European Union which aims to introduce new requirements that improve transparency and reduce the risks associated with trading on the derivatives market. The market for derivatives is undergoing huge transformation, driven by regulations on either side of the pond. The way institutions operate is being forced to change and technology will be the enabler of these regulatory challenges. Read more >

Download the BT for Financial Services – Compliance white paper

BT in the news

BT and Visa win 2014 FSTech award

BT and Visa Europe carried off a top award in the 2014 FSTech awards for the Best Use of Networking/Cabling for the major enhancement to Visa Europe’s communications environment. The winners were announced on 27 March at the Lancaster Hotel London.

BT completed a major upgrade of Visa Europe’s communications network in September 2013, helping the payment giant process around €2 million of payments every minute. There are over 470 million Visa debit, credit, pre-paid and commercial cards in Europe, and BT’s technology now supports services across 37 European markets, where more than one in every three pounds of UK consumer spending and more than one in every seven euros of European consumer spending is with a Visa card.

The Great BT Tower Abseil for Sports Relief

A team of brave volunteers – including intrepid adventurer Bear Grylls, Olympic and World Champion swimmer Mark Foster, TV presenter Helen Skelton and BT CEO Gavin Patterson – abseiled 148 metres down 29 floors of the BT Tower on 10 March.

The event was organised to raise money for two good causes – the UK charity Sport Relief, which helps vulnerable people across the world, and the Royal Marines Charitable Trust Fund via BT’s MyDonate online fundraising site. Each participant was asked to raise funds to take part in this ‘once in a lifetime’ experience, and all those taking part underwent rigorous training with the Royal Marines, who were in charge of the abseil on the day, and all the money raised will be shared between the two causes.

Watch the Youtube video here.

Meanwhile competitive instincts were to the fore at the “Raise a Turret for Sports Relief” event organised by BT Financial Technology Services on 20 March.

Friends from across the financial sector (including a team from Aquis Exchange pictured left) joined us in our version of weightlifting – raising a trading turret for Sport Relief.

Making global connections

Financial services customers call for a human touch in the digital age

British people are fundamentally changing the way they deal with their banks, building societies and insurers, according to a new study by BT and Avaya.

In the two years since the companies last conducted a similar study, the number of different ways (or channels) that people use to contact their financial services providers has grown by 44 per cent. Read more >

BT service to prevent cyber attacks in Brazil

BT Assure Threat Monitoring is now available to Brazilian customers, helping to alleviate security concerns that often prevent organizations from benefiting from cloud computing and BYOD (bring your own device) solutions for fear of exposing their network to malicious intrusions.

BT Assure Threat Monitoring was used during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to perform continuous network monitoring and identifying cyber security threats in real-time. Read more >

BT Assure offers a partnership approach to IT security : find out more here

Find out more about BT Assure Analytics global threat management service here

BT a “strong performer” says Forrester

BT has been positioned as a “Strong Performer” in The Forrester Wave™: Asia Pacific Carrier Ethernet Services, Q4 2013 evaluation report.

The report includes BT Global Services as one of the strong performers that offers a good choice for multinational companies that want to source their carrier Ethernet site-to-site services on a regional basis. It identifies BT Global Services’ strengths in the following areas:

• Range of services provided: “BT Global Services is the new entrant in carrier Ethernet service in Asia Pacific, but it brings a full range of Ethernet WAN service offerings to the market”.
• Support services: “BT Global Services is present in nine cities in seven countries across Asia Pacific; its Network Operations Centre runs 24x7 local service desks in Australia, China, and India with multilingual technical support. It also has a strongly scalable IP network that provides flexible bandwidth speeds upon customer demand”.
• Customer service: “A European customer using Asia as a B-end site told Forrester that BT Global Services’ responsiveness and proactivity for its site-to-site carrier Ethernet WAN service were excellent”. Read more >

Gartner positions BT as a leader

BT has been positioned by Gartner, Inc. in the Leaders Quadrant in the Magic Quadrant for Global Network Service Providers for the tenth time, based on its ‘Completeness of Vision’ and ‘Ability to Execute’.

Gartner states that “leaders have a full portfolio of voice and data products, coupled with above-average service and support, wide global coverage, and competitive pricing. They have a strong vision that includes adopting more information and communication technology (ICT) capabilities, which is a strategy they articulate clearly and openly”. Read more >

BT and Dolby shake up enterprise comms

BT and Dolby Laboratories have announced the latest updates to BT® MeetMe with Dolby® Voice™, an audio conferencing service enhanced by the Dolby application that makes conference calls sound and feel like in-person meetings

BT MeetMe with Dolby Voice combines Dolby’s nearly 50 years of expertise in core signal processing and human psychoacoustic perception with BT’s world-class communications capabilities to improve the way people communicate at work, enhance business productivity and reduce the cost of conferencing.
Read more >

Let's Talk

Tomorrow’s trading tools

Gesture-based user interfaces and easy-to-use communication and collaboration services are making their way onto the trading floor, says Robin Farnan, Managing Director, BT Financial Technology Services. This is a complex environment where traders need to be able to communicate easily and effectively in real-time, and make fast and well-informed decisions. They also need to be in control of complicated trading strategies and demanding client relationships. Read more >

A day in the life of a sales trader

Traders are early birds, says Robin Farnan. At 6.30am he’s up and calling clients as he’s on the way to the trading floor. He uses his smartphone or tablet to keep updated with the latest market activity, and has received updates via email throughout the night. Read more >

Do banks still need a human touch in the digital age?

The world of banking has moved many services online and made them available via mobile apps. But the question is, when it comes to banking do we really want instant digital service, or is there still a need for the human touch? Mark Jopling, VP Retail Banking & Financial Services, BT discusses the latest BT/Avaya Youbiquity research. Read more >

Jumping hurdles when time is money

Where you have groups of people all trying to work together in different corners of the world, already battling with various currencies and customs, it’s imperative that you’re not laden with outdated legacy systems that will struggle to meet demand, says Marc Carletti, VP Global Banking & Financial Markets. The good news is that the hurdle-jumping technology is here and available – video conferencing just a click away, instant messaging to all your colleagues, desktop sharing at the touch of a button. Read more >

Show as well as tell

The benefits of desktop sharing are undeniable. When combined with other communications solutions such as audio and video, desktop sharing can create a virtual meeting room where people can work together as though they were in the same room. It gives more depth to discussions by boosting concentration and increasing understanding, leading to better meeting outcomes and faster decision making. Read more >