{{Short description|Defunct electronic trading platform of the London Stock Exchange}} {{infobox software|developer = Accenture|released = June 2007|discontinued = yes|operating system = Microsoft Windows|platform = .NET|genre = Electronic trading platform|latest release version=?|latest release date = {{Start date and age|2011|2}}}}
'''TradElect''' was the London Stock Exchange's main electronic trading platform from 2007 to 2011. It ran on HP ProLiant servers running Windows Server 2003, using .NET technology and Microsoft SQL Server 2000.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Vaughan-Nichols |first1=Steven |title=London Stock Exchange to abandon failed Windows platform |url=http://blogs.computerworld.com/london_stock_exchange_to_abandon_failed_windows_platform |website=Computerworld Blogs |access-date=19 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090704003523/http://blogs.computerworld.com/london_stock_exchange_to_abandon_failed_windows_platform |archive-date=4 July 2009 |date=1 July 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Its development took four years from project inception to rollout and had a total cost of £40 million.<ref name='computerweekly2'>{{cite web|url=http://www.computerweekly.com/news/1280090627/London-Stock-Exchange-to-replace-Tradelect-with-Millennium|title=London Stock Exchange to replace Tradelect with Millennium|date=4 September 2009|access-date=19 October 2013|work=Computer Weekly}}</ref>
The impetus for the development of TradElect was the rise of algorithmic trading<ref name='wsj'>{{cite news|url=https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB118221001351039774|title=LSE Puts Its Stock in Speed|author=Alistair Mcdonald|work=Wall Street Journal|date=19 June 2007}}</ref> and the liberalisation of the trading sector in Europe due to the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive.<ref name='computerweekly'>{{cite web|url=http://www.computerweekly.com/news/1280096945/Will-London-Stock-Exchange-scrap-Tradelect|title=Will London Stock Exchange scrap Tradelect?|author=Karl Flinders|access-date=19 October 2013|date=29 June 2009|work=Computer Weekly}}</ref> Both of these factors meant that stock exchanges – previously facing little or no competition<ref name='computerweekly'/> – had to offer faster response times to be competitive. The system which TradElect replaced, Sets, was 10 years old and took 140 ms to complete a trade, compared to TradElect's 10 ms.<ref name='guardian'>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/sep/09/londonstockexchangegroup.stockmarkets|title=Computer crash brings LSE to a standstill|author=Phillip Inman|work=The Guardian|date=9 September 2008}}</ref> Infolect, an integrated part of TradElect, is used for dissemination of market data.<ref name='osloborsvps'>{{cite web|url=http://www.osloborsvps.no/obvps_eng/Oslo-Boers-VPS/Press/Press-releases/Oslo-Boers-and-London-Stock-Exchange-Group-agree-strategic-partnership|title=Oslo Børs and London Stock Exchange Group agree strategic partnership|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019162048/http://www.osloborsvps.no/obvps_eng/Oslo-Boers-VPS/Press/Press-releases/Oslo-Boers-and-London-Stock-Exchange-Group-agree-strategic-partnership |archive-date=19 October 2013|date=12 March 2009|access-date=19 October 2013|publisher=Oslo Stock Exchange|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In April 2010 the Oslo Stock Exchange also adopted TradElect,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thetradenews.com/news/Trading_Venues/Exchanges/Oslo_B%C3%B8rs_may_face_further_tech_change_after_TradElect_shift.aspx|title=Oslo Børs may face further tech change after TradElect shift|work=The TRADE News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019113101/http://www.thetradenews.com/news/Trading_Venues/Exchanges/Oslo_B%C3%B8rs_may_face_further_tech_change_after_TradElect_shift.aspx |archive-date=19 October 2013 |date=13 April 2010|access-date=19 October 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> as part of a strategic partnership agreement.<ref name='osloborsvps'/> The Johannesburg Stock Exchange also adopted TradElect in 2007.<ref name="jse_TE1">{{cite news |last=Guest |first=Kimberly |date=April 3, 2007 |title=JSE goes live with new trading system |url=https://www.itweb.co.za/article/jse-goes-live-with-new-trading-system/dgp45qaYp15qX9l8 |location=Johannesburg |publisher=ITWeb |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260219125202/https://www.itweb.co.za/article/jse-goes-live-with-new-trading-system/dgp45qaYp15qX9l8 |archive-date=February 19, 2026 |access-date=February 19, 2026}}</ref><ref name="jse_TE2">{{cite report |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=2007 |title=Annual Report 2007 |page=56 |url=https://www.jse.co.za/sites/default/files/media/documents/2020-06/JSE%202007%20AR.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260219125828/https://www.jse.co.za/sites/default/files/media/documents/2020-06/JSE%202007%20AR.pdf |archive-date=February 19, 2026 |access-date=February 19, 2026}}</ref>
==Downtime== On 8 September 2008, TradElect trading was mostly unavailable for over 7 hours, on what the ''Wall Street Journal'' described as a "huge trading day".<ref name=":0">{{cite news|title = London Exchange Paralyzed by Glitch|date = 9 September 2008|url = https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB122088611707510173|last = Shah|first = Neil|last2 = Mollenkamp|first2 = Carrick|work = Wall Street Journal|access-date = 19 October 2013}}</ref> Traders walked out of the London Stock Exchange in protest.<ref name='nw'>{{cite web|url=http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/063009-london-stock-exchange-to-dump.html|title=London Stock Exchange to dump £40m TradElect - reports|date=30 June 2009|author=Leo King|work=Network World|access-date=19 October 2013}}</ref> Another major technical fault had occurred less than a year earlier.<ref name=":0" />
The London Stock Exchange claimed that the TradElect software was not to blame, instead blaming an unspecified fault with "network software".<ref name='computerweekly3'>{{cite web|url=http://www.computerworlduk.com/news/infrastructure/10912/london-stock-exchange-confirms-network-software-caused-costly-outage/|title=London Stock Exchange confirms network software caused costly outage|date=10 September 2008|access-date = 19 October 2013|author=Leo King|work=Computer Weekly}}</ref> However, Celent analyst Cubillas Ding noted that this outage, and three previous ones, all coincided with large spikes in trading volumes, from different economic events, and concluded that the LSE's technology could not cope with the high trading volumes.<ref name='stm'/>
Microsoft had previously used TradElect as a case study in marketing material to position its Windows operating system as suitable for "highly reliable" systems. It did not respond to requests for comment.<ref name='windows'>{{cite web|url=http://windowsitpro.com/windows-development/london-stock-exchange-crash-who-was-blame|title=The London Stock Exchange Crash: Who Was to Blame?|author=Jeff James|work=Windows IT Pro|date=10 September 2008|access-date=19 October 2013}}</ref>
== Successor == In May 2009, the London Stock Exchange gained a new CEO, Xavier Rolet, who set about reviewing costs and cutting jobs. Only two years after TradElect had first gone live, the London Stock Exchange decided to scrap it and replace it with something else. The LSE investigated the possibility of building a new system in-house, but eventually decided on acquiring the existing, Linux-based system Millennium Exchange, which had a lower, sub-millisecond latency.<ref name='computerweekly2'/> It acquired this system by acquiring the company that created it, MillenniumIT, in 2009, for £18 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.londonstockexchange.com/about-the-exchange/media-relations/press-releases/2009/london-stock-exchange-group-to-acquire-millenniumit-for-us30m-18m.htm|title=London Stock Exchange Group to Acquire MillenniumIT for US$30M (£18M)|publisher=London Stock Exchange|date=16 September 2009|access-date=19 October 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019165211/http://www.londonstockexchange.com/about-the-exchange/media-relations/press-releases/2009/london-stock-exchange-group-to-acquire-millenniumit-for-us30m-18m.htm|archivedate=19 October 2013}}</ref> In its annual report, the LSE said that it expected the switch to Millennium Exchange to save $16 million per year starting from the 2012 financial year.<ref name='stm'>{{cite web|url=http://www.securitiestechnologymonitor.com/reports/21_22/-24395-1.html|title=Clock is Ticking on London Exchange|author=Maria Korolov|work=Securities Technologies Monitor|date=14 December 2009|access-date=19 October 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019184937/http://www.securitiestechnologymonitor.com/reports/21_22/-24395-1.html|archivedate=19 October 2013}}</ref>
By 2011, TradElect had been completely replaced with Millennium Exchange at the London Stock Exchange.
The Oslo Stock Exchange<ref>[http://www.oslobors.no/ob_eng/Oslo-Boers/Trading/Delta/Millennium-Exchange Millennium Exchange / Delta / Trading / Oslo Børs / Home - Oslo Børs]</ref> and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange also switched to Millennium Exchange.
== References == {{reflist|2}}
Category:Custom software projects Category:Former electronic trading platforms Category:2007 software