News

Warsaw Stock Exchange selects Equinix as data centre for its new trading system WATS

PRESS RELEASE

• The Warsaw Stock Exchange’s (GPW) proprietary Warsaw Automated Trading System (WATS) will be launched in a data centre provided by Equinix, one of the largest digital infrastructure and colocation companies in the world
• Selecting Equinix data centre for the launch of WATS will further facilitate GPW’s access to a world class financial services and trading ecosystem that will support growth plans of the exchange
• The launch of WATS is planned for November 2024

The Warsaw Stock Exchange (GPW), the leading stock exchange in the CEE region, has selected Equinix, global market leader for hosting financial markets and trading ecosystems, as the provider of the state-of-the-art data centre where GPW’s proprietary Warsaw Automated Trading System (WATS) will be launched.

The presence in the new data centre will create an opportunity for the Polish capital market to join the global ecosystem connecting thousands of Equinix partners. The GPW primary matching engine and platform will be located in Equinix WA3 in the Polish capital. Test market access is anticipated to be ready during 4th quarter of 2023, with full switchover planned for November 2024.

“Migrating to Equinix’s WA3 data center allows GPW to offer more capabilities to our clients and enhanced trading performance. In today’s world, for financial services companies like GPW it is crucial to position trading platforms for maximum performance, connectivity and flexibility. With the global reach of Equinix, GPW is tapping into the ecosystem where all the major market players are present enabling us to achieve unparalleled growth potential in the sector”, said Izabela Olszewska, Member of the Management Board at the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

For those consuming market data and/or trading GPW from outside of Warsaw, the Equinix ecosystem provides vendor choice that supports all possible trading strategies. Equinix offers a range of collocation and interconnection services for GPW’s trading community to suit all latency requirements, with fully diverse and resilient access. For those seeking the lowest latency market data and trading access to GPW’s new matching engine, collocation services are available in a dedicated trading room in Equinix’s WA3 site. From this trading room, diverse access to GPW’s primary matching engine is provided over latency equalised cross connects.

"We are very happy to welcome the Warsaw Stock Exchange to our world class data centre and Equinix’s digital infrastructure right here in Warsaw.  Equinix has a long history of supporting a wide range of financial companies to easily expand their global reach with minimal operational disruption. Working with the Warsaw Stock Exchange not only reaffirms Equinix as the platform of choice for trading entities, but also demonstrates the great and enduring importance of data centre colocation for efficient trade execution" said Sylwia Pyśkiewicz, Managing Director of Equinix in Poland.

Collocation services can be contracted directly with Equinix, or via a range of specialist Managed Service Providers. Connectivity into GPW’s platform in Equinix WA2 is available via over 30 network service providers, as well as Equinix’s Metro Connect network link from any other Equinix Warsaw site.

“Financial markets are constantly pushing the boundaries of technology – demanding faster access, bigger data volumes, innovating on all fronts– and it takes a village to provide the supporting tech. From clouds to AI, high speed networks and high-density solutions, the financial ecosystem at Equinix is enabling the next gen of global financial markets”, said Eleni Coldrey, Capital Markets specialist at Equinix.

GPW has declared advanced support for market participants in adapting to the new infrastructure. It has established the GPW WATS Data Centre Migration Support Programme in connection with the localisation of WATS in the new data centre. Under the new Programme, GPW will offer monthly discounts on technology fees for Exchange Members from the time of connection to the GPW WATS Data Centre. The Support Programme will run from November 2023 to November 2024. The Programme is addressed to all Exchange Members who are authorised to operate on GPW Main Market, NewConnect, and Catalyst. Each Member must apply for qualification in the Programme. The discount will be based on due and paid invoices related to the connection to the GPW WATS Data Centre.

Detailed terms and conditions of the Programme can be found in the rules of the GPW WATS Data Centre Migration Support Programme.

GPW WATS is a new IT system developed from scratch as a modern, complete multi-asset trading platform to replace GPW’s legacy central system. The new system can also be used by other companies of the GPW Group and sold to third parties in the form of software licences and services provided within the system.

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The Warsaw Stock Exchange Group (GPW Group) operates trading platforms for shares, Treasury and corporate bonds, derivatives, electricity and gas, and provides indices and benchmarks including WIBOR and WIBID. The index agent FTSE Russell classifies the Polish capital market as a Developed Market since 2018. The markets operated by the GPW Group are the biggest in Central and Eastern Europe. For more information, visit www.gpw.pl