Dublin, Ireland, The Irish Stock Exchange (the ‘Exchange’) has implemented an integrated web based data delivery service for its members and the general public. The new service was designed and programmed using Parallel’s pTools content management software in conjunction with the Exchange’s IT Development Group headed up by Mr. Mark Scully, and is hosted by leading Irish independent hosting company, Hosting365.ie.

The Exchange has 2 members which are licensed to trade on its primary equity market, currently located in Frankfurt. The Exchange has also developed a listing standard which includes corporate bonds, covered warrants, government bonds, investment funds (here it is a world leader) and specialist debt securities. The listing of investment funds and specialist debt securities utilises a document management and workflow system allowing the Exchange to electronically receive and store the relevant listing particulars in its back-office systems.

To provide its members as well as the general public with relevant information to support these listings requires a complex collection, processing and publishing of data.

The combination of the many different sources from which to collect the data as well as the often time-sensitive volatility of the data, creates further integration issues.

Alan Finan, IT Manager of The Exchange has been working with Parallel and Hosting365 to deliver phase one of the data presentation project – which collates, homogenises and presents the key data in easily an assimilated and timely fashion.

“I do not want to underestimate the scale of the technical issues here,” says Finan. “The Exchange’s Development Group first built a back office engine that catered for all the different feeds in conjunction with Parallel in a standardised fashion, which was then integrated into a Web data serving engine by Parallel. This provided us with the pTools content management system for further refinement of the data. Together these news systems have created a powerful data engine for the Exchange.”

The Exchange receives feeds from companies such as Reuters, Bloomsberg, and Thompson Financial, Telekurs Financial and RNS. While information feeds are standardised on XML, in reality there are many variations of feeds used according to Tom Skinner, managing director for Parallel. “Part of our task is to evaluate the different feeds, assess their variations on the XML standards, make adjustments and then import them in a format that can be manipulated by the Exchange content management engine. This was a complex project from this perspective.”

Parallel also installed the pTools content management system so that the highly specialised research and data created locally within the Exchange could be monitored, and controlled by each department.

As Finan explains: “Each department can now directly control specific data that is published on the web. They do not have to ask either the internal IT department or an external supplier. They can decide on the content and on the timing which makes the web content more timely and more accurate.”

In addition to the general information available, members, and indeed general members of the public, can register for free on the site and avail of increased information, further reports and more frequent data updates.

“Registered users of the site can also avail of clever features where they can export our data directly into their own spread sheets,” says Finan. “For members or serious investors this can be a great time saver and a valuable tool for analysis.”

We will continue to create a more extensive extranet with different levels of access and information depending on authorisation. “This is a very exciting process,” says Finan.

Working with Parallel and Hosting365 has been a rewarding experience. “Choosing Hosting365 as our hosting partner is also critical,” says Finan. “The Exchange has worked closely with Hosting365 prior to the initiation of this project and so we were delighted to continue our relationship while working with Parallel.

“Having real people to sit down with and to discuss our server and security requirements makes all the difference. We would choose Hosting365 time and again,” concludes Finan.

Ends

The Irish Stock Exchange (“the Exchange”) is a key element of the financial infrastructure of Ireland. Its roots stretch back to 1793 when the Exchange first opened for trading in Dublin.
As a regulated European stock exchange the Exchange has developed listing standards of the highest quality for its listed securities which include equities and corporate bonds of companies, covered warrants, government bonds, investment funds and specialist securities.
Trading on the Exchange is primarily conducted in the equities and Government bond markets on the ISE Xetra trading platform and EuroMTS platform respectively. The highest regulatory standards apply to participation in the Exchange’s markets to ensure the protection of investors and the integrity of the market.
In recent years the Exchange has established a leading position globally in investment funds and specialist securities listings and this continues to be a growth area for the Exchange.
The Exchange is committed to developing new products and continuously improving the cost effectiveness and efficiency of its infrastructure to further enhance Ireland’s capital markets.