The key to successful innovation is to provide an invaluable service for which there is a great need in the market. Algomi investment has been shrewdly focused on big data management. The bond trading industry is frequently seen to be drowning in a combination of information overload and illiquidity. Complex algorithms and software solutions seem to be the only way out.

What is ‘big data’?

‘Big data’ is a term that was coined in the 1990s. It refers to massive amounts of information that could potentially be mined for business gains or further material given the right circumstances. The big data analytics market is currently worth around $203 billion.

Analysing the big data sea entails taking raw data or pre-processed forms and running it through algorithms that highlight pertinent data points. This has to take place within a manageable timeframe to be useful.

What are the systems?

Algomi investment has centred on software programs that crunch the big data of the bond trading world. This has included creation and delivery to interested companies. Some of their programs have been independently developed and others were acquired or created in partnership. The 4 big offerings at the moment are:

• Synchronicity, this is one of Algomi’s sell-side products that creates an internal network of traders and salespeople within a bank. It can be used alongside the institution’s existing trading platform to provide a seamless and useful flow of information;
• Euronext Synapse, created by partnering with pan-European giant, Euronext, Synapse is described as an ‘anonymous centralized inter-dealer marketplace, a new secure ecosystem connecting pools of liquidity through a network of interconnected banks’;
• Algomi ALFA, ALFA stands for ‘Automated Liquidity Filtering and Analytics’ and was originally developed by Alliance Bernstein. They sold the product to Algomi so that it could be brought to market using existing structures and networks. It’s essentially a way to pull together the available electronic platforms for data analysis into one place, giving a view of the entire bond market;
• Honeycomb, turning ‘big data’ into useable knowledge and offering information on trade opportunities is this program’s great strength. It is designed to service portfolio managers, execution desks, and compliance teams. Traders can investigate potential deals through Honeycomb without telegraphing their movements to the whole market.