Capital markets stand to benefit from an infusion of advanced data center technology that’s now being deployed by infrastructure providers.
The Clifton, N.J. campus of data center provider Telx is being outfitted for ultra low-latency as well as airtight security to meet the needs of market participants now and in the future.
Shawn Kaplan, Telx
“The Telx Clifton campus at 100 Delawanna consists of two independent facilities (NJR2 & NJR3) with a unique set of features specifically designed for capital markets participants,” said Shawn Kaplan, general manager of financial services at Telx. “In the capital markets, access to liquidity, security and reliability are top concerns, but in today's markets cost of ownership is also becoming an increasing concern. The Telx Clifton campus was designed with the most advanced set of features but also operate at a price point which can make an impact on the bottom line."
Latency is critical in today's automated trading environments, and the Telx Clifton campus sits equidistant between the NYSE and Nasdaq facilities, making Clifton an ideal location for smart order routers and strategies which trade on all exchanges equally.
“With the newly optimized fiber routes in New Jersey, Telx is 20%-30% closer to the NYSE matching engines than competitive facilities in Secaucus and Weehawken,” Kaplan said. “The Telx Clifton campus runs right along the new fiber paths, and for those choosing microwave ample roof rights are available.”
Unique among industry verticals, financial services has seen benefits from eco-systems of business partners inside of datacenter colocation facilities.
“Colocation initially started in an effort to reduce the transaction latency for trade executions, but moving forward the operational efficiencies of cross-connecting between business partners is emerging to become equally important,” said Kaplan. “Within facilities such as the Telx Clifton campus, you can now readily access managed service providers, brokers, clearing firms, cloud compute platforms, and leading fiber network providers.”
Telx’s NJR3 facility contains 215,000 gross square feet of high power density, energy efficient space and more than 100,000 square feet of customizable colocation space. Together with the adjacent facility, NJR2, the campus allows clients to establish physical redundancy in two completely separate infrastructures and yet managed by the same data center operator, according to Telx.
Security at the Telx Clifton Campus was designed by a leading security design firm.
“Campus security begins with a fully fenced in perimeter with motion detecting cameras tracking all movements inside the campus,” Kaplan said. “Man traps, access zones, security escorts and biometric systems will ensure only authenticated individuals are permitted access and only within the areas they are designated.”
The data centers of the future are beginning to emerge with very distinct specialization.
"There are essentially three types of facilities: the carrier neutral 'carrier-hotels' have emerged as critical locations for latency reduction such as in execution technologies (111 8th Avenue and 350 E Cermak are good examples)," said Kaplan.
The second is a "proximity" datacenter which is where most enterprise colocation has migrated.
"These proximity centers are close enough to corporate offices to send technicians but are lower priced than the carrier hotels which are often inside the city centers," Kaplan said. "These campus style facilities can be strategically located near public transportation, redundant power grids, and have sufficient power density and cooling to host high-density footprints."
Lastly, there are the low-cost cloud computing centers for commodity processing. "These are often placed far outside of the populated cities where low-cost real-estate and power is plentiful," said Kaplan. "In the future, it is likely you will see lower-cost facilities located in northern latitudes where ambient air cooling or chilled water can reduce the costs of cooling equipment."
