Global network provider BSO has partnered with Hoptroff London, the time-synchronising software experts, to provide the financial services community with the most reliable and accurate Time-as-a-Service (TaaS) offering on the market.

Since MiFID II went live in January, the entire financial ecosystem has a growing demand for a precise reading of when a trade is executed, so the need for acute synchronised timing has become crucial.

The new partnership combines Hoptroff’s market-leading time feed software with BSO’s global low latency network reach, providing firms with a timestamp of trades to within ten micro-seconds in accordance of Universal Time coordinated (UTC).

This enables market participants to meet other regulatory demands since MiFID II came into force, such as CAT and PSD2. New requirements have put technological and operational strains on firms who risk heavy fines if they fail to comply, so BSO and Hoptroff’s complete and scalable technology allows for a quick, smooth and cost-efficient implementation, eliminating risk of any infringements to any regulatory requirements across the globe.

BSO and Hoptroff’sTaaS model is the only product on the market which provides an accredited, highly accurate time feed and eliminates the need for firms to fork out a heavy initial investment in clocks or other expensive hardware. Instead, firms can simply cross-connect into the time feed from any of BSO’s 100+ points of presence around the world.

Commenting on the partnership, Michael Ourabah, CEO of BSO said: “Having an accurate time-stamp is imperative for firms to adhere to a number of global regulations. With our far-reaching and reliable network infrastructure underpinning Hoptroff’s exceptional software, firms can rest assured they have a fully compliant time-stamping service. It’s an extremely beneficial arrangement for both parties and we’re excited to be bringing it to market.”

Simon Kenny, CEO of Hoptroff added: “Developing this hardware and ensuring it operates with optimum effects can be a burdensome endeavour for firms, so this upgraded capability is something we feel will bring value to many of our existing clients as well as prospective clients. We have fully accredited terrestrial and satellite backup streams to ensure the time feed is as more accurate than anything else on the market, from anywhere in the world. The requirement is crucial for firms across the globe and we wanted to make sure our time feed was underpinned with the most reliable, and fastest, low-latency network available.”

“The time-stamping saga is far from over so it’s an exciting development which we’re confident will bring benefits to the financial trading community and other industries as well.”