The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) has chosen an Amdahl System/390-compatible Millennium 2000C server to handle the trading of its 1,5 million contracts and the processing of 25 million quotes a day. The CBOE has cited the Amdahl Millennium`s cost-effectiveness, upgradeability, and the long-term value of the Amdahl relationship as key factors in the decision.
"We brought Amdahl into CBOE nine years ago and the relationship has been superb," said Curt Schumacher, VP, Systems Operations at CBOE. "The level of support Amdahl provides and the cost-effectiveness and reliability of the product they`ve been able to produce have helped us in our business. Every time we need a bigger system, we look at all available alternatives. When we compared all the competitors head-to-head, Millennium price/performance and value just stood out."
CBOE is the largest options exchange in the world and a recognised innovator in using technology to support traditional open outcry trading with automatic order execution systems. 94% of all customer orders are routed electronically, and 39% are executed electronically. The Millennium 2000 Series model 2035C - as the "trade floor engine" for a distributed network of Unix servers and more than 4 500 PC clients and handheld devices - provides sub-second order execution.
Upgradeability was a key factor in selecting the Amdahl Millennium 2035C. With the rapid growth of the options market, CBOE`s average daily volume has increased 57% in a year, and quote traffic has more than doubled. On its first day in action, the Millennium 2035C easily handled the load at 50% capacity utilisation, but CBOE is always looking ahead. The impending conversion from fraction to decimal trading later this year is expected to increase quote traffic by an estimated 266%.
"It`s a challenge to stay ahead of the capacity curve. The engine size of the Millennium 2000C is going to pay huge rewards. And we`ll be able to add even bigger, faster CPUs in the future, within the same frame. Amdahl was also the first to provide spare engines for rapid capacity upgrades, and we`ll certainly be taking advantage of them," says Schumacher.
"Our customers expect us to understand their requirements for supporting their business with superior technology offerings," said Ali Jenab, president, Amdahl Technology Division. "We`re in the business of understanding those requirements and helping customers derive maximum benefit from their IT investment. That`s why we have long-term associations with customers like the one we have with CBOE."
Amdahl products are available in South Africa through CCH Enterprise Solutions
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