Omega Mulls New Feeds After IT Upgrade

Canadian alternative trading system Omega ATS is considering the development of new data products, after completing an upgrade to its feed architecture last month that delivers lower latency and higher throughput as part of an upgrade of its overall infrastructure, including physical hardware, network infrastructure and a new matching engine.

While the primary purpose of the infrastructure upgrade was to improve performance, it also "paves the way for us to roll out new features and functionality in the future," says Eric Stoop, chairman of Omega ATS.

This will initially involve developing new order types, though Omega is also considering the introduction of data products for new instruments. Currently, Omega delivers data for securities listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange, but is considering adding US-listed stocks, US and Canadian options, and fixed-income products, Stoop says.

The upgrades bring Omega's market data feeds up to date with the latest version of the ITCH data distribution protocol, while also enabling the ATS to move from its existing TCP-based feed to a Multicast version that will enable faster data delivery speeds-though it will continue to support the TCP feed to allow clients to transition at their own pace, Stoop says.

Users connecting to Omega's data via its primary distribution channel - TSX Datalinx, the Toronto Stock Exchange's data distribution business - or feed handler partners such as Exegy, will not be required to make any changes to connect to the updated feed, Stoop says, while users such as high-frequency traders that connect directly to the ATS will only need to make simple code changes to connect to the new feed.