Johannesburg Stock Exchange will switch to Linux

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) announced that after moving to Johannesburg it will switch to a Linux-based trading platform. JSE currently operates from London on the TradElect platform, which is based on Microsoft .Net and SQL Server 2000. The exchange plans to migrate to the Millennium Exchange platform from MillenniumIT in the first half of 2012.

The JSE follows the example of the London Stock Exchange (LSE), which also operated on the TradElect platform, but in 2009 began the process of transitioning to the Millennium Exchange system using systems based on Linux and Solaris. The LSE also acquired the Sri Lankan developers of the Millennium Exchange - MillenniumIT - for $ 30 million.

Now the JSE intends to return to Johannesburg to make its services more accessible to South African customers. The exchange used the move to switch to the Millennium Exchange. And unlike LSE, it will only work on Linux systems.

The new system will significantly increase the trading speed, it will allow you to carry out transactions almost 400 times faster than the current trading platform. This improvement will allow the exchange to grow. As JSE Executive Director Lin Parsons said: “There is much evidence that, when exchanges increase their trading speed, they also increase levels of high-frequency trading. This is important for deepening the market. ”