Derivatives exchange operator CME Group has joined the Linux Foundation, with its associate director Vinod Kutty taking on the chair of the organisation's end user council.
The Chicago exchange first implemented Linux in 2003 as it looked to make cost savings, increase reliability and cut the round-trip time of a trade transaction. The Exchange has since rolled out newer versions of the open source operating system and broadened its use.
As a member of the non-profit Foundation - joining the likes of IBM, Oracle, Google and VMware - CME Group will work with Linux developers and vendors.
Kutty, who is also the Exchange's head of distributed computing R&D, will chair the council, which comprises the largest Linux end users, providing a forum to collaborate and learn about technical, legal and community efforts.
"Our Linux Foundation membership allows us to move beyond just being users of Linux to being participants in the direction of this important technology," says Kevin Kometer, MD and CIO, CME Group. "Joining the Linux Foundation and being deeply involved in Linux will also help the exchange determine the future use of our own technology."
Jim Zemlin, executive director, Linux Foundation, adds: "We're looking forward to CME Group's contribution to Linux Foundation events and to vendor and developer understanding of what kinds of requirements large financial institutions have of Linux."
In May, Nyse Euronext said it had migrated its electronic trading infrastructure to Linux under a deal with open source vendor Red Hat. The exchange moved to Red Hat's Enterprise Linux and Network software to help integrate various trading platforms following its mergers with Archipelago in 2006 and Euronext in 2007.