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Blue System and Transaction Network Services Ink Three-Year Marketing Collaboration Agreement

Posted on: Tuesday, 22 November 2005, 18:00 CST

Transaction Network Services (NYSE:TNS), a leading network and data communications provider for transaction-oriented applications, today announced that Blue System Inc. has entered into a marketing collaboration agreement with the company to help bring Blue System's revolutionary electronic dealing room application to market.

Blue System, headquartered in London, has appointed TNS as its preferred connectivity provider in a three-year arrangement. Via TNS' proprietary IP network, the Secure Trading Extranet, customers using the Blue System application will be able to connect to trading counterparts for fast, reliable and secure transport of market data and trades. Blue System will support Straight Through Processing from conception to completion of trading in multiple asset classes.

The application will give institutional brokers and their customers the ability to directly access and analyze data from more than 40 exchanges and ECNs, as well as global spot currency markets. Real-time and historic data is provided within the system, and order routing and execution facilities are in financial information exchange (FIX) message format, using an embedded CameronFix engine.

Via TNS' Secure Trading Extranet, online clients will be able to submit indications of interest, route orders and execute trades and support advanced applications including market data, voice and wide-area network services and establish a new connection with an on-net trading partner within three days.

"We conceived Blue to streamline and simplify the way in which trading is carried out and to take out most of the technology cost," said Sulim Malook, chief executive of Blue System. "Since the move from open floor to electronic trading in 2000, brokerages have been compelled to create and pay to install and maintain their own systems using multiple specialist providers for access to information and markets that had been freely available.

"Blue System has been built around best-in-class market data, technology, clearing house and connectivity services to create the ultimate marketplace for real-time trading. Traders can deal in whatever they like, wherever they like whether that is equities in Tokyo, Spot FX in New York or futures in Chicago," said Malook. "Installation and software licences are free-of-charge and clients pay at the same or a lower rates for the volume of trades they carry out."

TNS' Secure Trading Extranet operates 96 points-of-presence connecting 1,000 end-points in 25 countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific.

Earlier this year, Blue System also announced agreements with market data provider, Tenfore, giving customers access to real-time and historic data in 60 countries; FIX engine provider, Cameron Systems, linking it to thousands of sell and buy-side institutions and international broker, Instinet, providing access to over 30 equity exchanges worldwide.

TNS will transport messages originated in the FIX, which means the system can be integrated with clients' and third parties' infrastructure using a common language to standardize messages between trading partners.

Regulated by the U.S. National Futures Association and the UK Financial Services Authority, Blue System is able to negotiate tariffs directly with providers. The company is also brokering deals with leading international sell-side institutions in each region to open up to a further 60 markets by 2007.

"We looked at a number of financial extranet providers, but opted for TNS because it is one of the world's largest FIX-based communities of interest," said Malook. "Connecting with TNS means we can be sure customers will have rapid access to Blue System and to international markets irrespective of where trades are generated, processed or authorized and without the need to rely on local telcos for a connection."

"We liked the fact that TNS is hungry for growth and wants to do business everywhere, and that they were willing to think outside the box and be flexible," said Malook. "We were also impressed at how quickly TNS can establish new connections and its willingness to put in place points-of-presence in new markets and make decisions quickly."

The joint arrangement with Blue System supports TNS' plans for aggressive expansion outside the U.S. and to extend the network through partnership arrangements with third party distributors including software and application providers, ECNs and exchanges. Since 2004, it has expanded its international operations from 70 to 96 points-of-presence. TNS is also leveraging its wider value-added capabilities including access to market data, ECN books, voice and wide area network services.

"Working with Blue System will give our clients simple access to a very powerful trading and analysis application and the ability to achieve Straight Through Processing," said Alex Walker, vice president of TNS' international financial markets division. "We're delighted to be working with Blue System and look forward to offering mutual clients a powerful combined solution."

About Transaction Network Services

Transaction Network Services (TNS) is one of the leading providers of business-critical, cost-effective data communications services for transaction-oriented applications. TNS provides rapid, reliable and secure transaction delivery across multiple vertical markets and trading communities.

Since its inception in 1990, TNS has designed and implemented multiple data networks, each designed specifically for the transport of transaction-oriented data. TNS' networks support a variety of widely accepted communications protocols and are designed to be scalable and accessible by multiple methods. TNS' network technologies have been deployed in the United States and internationally, and TNS' networks have become preferred networks servicing the trading community, wireless and wireline carriers, and the card processing and dial-up automated teller machine markets. For further information about TNS' transaction solutions, please refer to www.tnsi.com.

Source: Business Wire

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