Based on IBM WebSphere MQ Low Latency Messaging, the new technology backbone will help Deutsche Börse stay ahead of its demanding and ever-increasing speed, capacity and stability requirements, says the vendor.

Deutsche Börse says the new common infrastructure will enable Eurex, ISE and Xetra to react quickly to demands for technology upgrades, lower maintenance costs and expand into new markets and asset classes more easily.

On top of the IBM messaging technology, Deutsche Börse has defined application-specific modules for the different platforms to support for future expansions and new functions.

ISE in New York will be the first market to migrate its options exchange to the new common infrastructure, with roll-out slated for late 2010.

Michael Kuhn, CIO, Deutsche Börse, says: "Our key objective is to deliver a leading-edge, accurate and reliable transaction backbone, building on our track record of innovation as a first-mover in electronic markets. Deutsche Börse is committed to augmenting its IT capacity with best-in-class partners."

June Felix, general manager, banking and financial markets, IBM, says: "Using IBM's low-latency technology Deutsche Börse's new backbone will provide users of Eurex, ISE and Xetra with a platform for the future, capable of processing over one million quotes per second across the system at sub-milliseconds."

With a raft of new MTFs entering the market in the last two years, traditional exchanges are looking to beef up their technology platforms to compete on speed. The London Stock Exchange is set to dump its £40 million TradElect platform just two years after it went live in favour of a faster trading engine.