Whilst the world is getting smaller the workplace is getting bigger. Teams are global and offices are virtual. True collaboration has never been more crucial.

Specifically in trading, effective and efficient collaboration can be the difference between make or break, the stakes are insanely high, huge sums of money rest on traders being able to make split second decisions based on real-time, accurate market data. This communication is happening around the clock, internally and externally and at a global scale and with; a huge amount of variables, back and forth, interspersed with human intervention, it is an absolute minefield for error. One thing we need to be absolutely sure of is that technology is playing its part, harmoniously enabling trades to take place. The word ‘efficient’ doesn’t even do it justice. The tech has to be bullet proof but at the same time offer the ‘next generation’ capabilities that are in high demand. High frequency trading, whether you are a fan or not, has clearly defined it’s market, based on being able to do business at a much faster rate than anybody else. By seamlessly aligning best of breed solutions, traders can differentiate themselves from the competition, which in an increasingly ruthless and competitive environment, is absolutely essential. The days of resting by your laurels are long gone – its dog eat dog and the slowest dogs are going to get swallowed up.

Collaboration is at the heart of everything we do, it marries together communication and fine tunes actions to work together to produce amazing outcomes. In recent years the word collaboration has actually been devalued through overuse in irritating campaigns. But, on the flipside it should be over used because it is so important. The digital age we live in means reputation and opinions are fickle, small mistakes or poor communication can have wide ranging impacts – in seconds or even micro seconds. Social media and the internet means that everyone knows everything, as it happens and it’s very difficult to undo the damage that it can cause. Our world has become transparent (with a full audit trail) and as a result, once-mighty household names eg. Ryanair and Equifax are suffering from the fallout.

The race is on, and there is nowhere to hide. Collaboration is no longer just a wishful thinking ‘nice to have’, it’s an absolute imperative if you want to do business.