NSE, Rack Centre seal pact on data centre co-location services

THE Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Oscar N. Onyema has stressed the importance that technology has played in the quest to transform the Nigeria’s Stock Exchange (NSE), even as the exchange strives to play its strategic role in the development of the capital market both in Nigeria and the world at large.

Onyema, who spoke at the Chief Executive Officer Briefing Forum, organised by Rack Centre Limited, the Nigerian Tier III design certified data centre in West Africa, said the NSE will continue to focus on providing the “Best-in-Class “ technology with smart trading tools and enhanced market surveillance capabilities.

He said the current NSE management team led by him will continue in its avowed aim of a technological transformative agenda, adding that it was in realisation of this objective that it launched several “innovative solutions such as X-Compliance-Qual and Broker –Trax,” which were technologically driven, and had also rolled out the “X-Web and X-Whistle and the NASD trading system on the NSEX-Gen Platform,” which had been dubbed as the “fastest trading engine in Africa, being the first issuer of such a portal in West Africa.

Onyema, who expressed satisfaction with partnering with Rack Centre, said what stood the Data Centre out was its qualities of being “truly carrier neutral which gives an “access to multiple connectivity providers that can serve the brokerage community; localised IXPN which provides low latency for real-time trading and on line transaction; state of the art, Tier III Design certified, which provides assurance of uptime commitment to minimum of 99.982 percent availability, state of the art data centre technology environment that gives infrastructure a longer life and better performance; and an energy efficient, secure and modular technology scalable to about 3000 racks which help to meet the needs of brokerage community… and lower costs and therefore long term savings.”

Onyema said the protection of “data “ is the lifeline of the NSE, added that he was not only impressed by the 100 percent Nigerian ownership of Rack Centre, but also that a partnership with Rack Centre was an “opportunity to experience world class right here in Nigeria.

The NSE CEO said technology, as well as working with companies like Rack Centre will enable the NSE to engage in international best practices, increase its presence in international and regional organisations, aid it in financial market modernisation, and increase its maturity in information security and also in crime reduction.

Enumerating what the Exchange had achieved with the help of technology, Onyema said the NSE today services the largest economy in Africa and is presently championing the development of Africa’s financial markets and has become the first West African country member of the World’s Federation of Exchanges.

Onyema explaining the NSE Technology framework, said it was based on leadership through innovation, operational excellence through business transformation, and growth reputation through diversification, and that technology had impacted positively on its efficiency levels.

Managing Director of Rack Centre, Ayotunde Coker, pointed out the advantages of outsourcing data centre services through data centre colocation to include, significant cost reduction, efficient energy consumption, carrier neutrality and therefore diverse connectivity access points, most especially to international undersea fibre cables.