Financial service firms, especially those that trade actively, have long been a hotbed of IT activity. To hear a lot of executives talk about it, it's like a souped-up arms race. You need an arsenal that is constantly updated, faster than the rest. Otherwise, the other guys have the advantage. The rise of Reg MS and Miffed, which promote electronic trading, is expected to lead to a surge in market data that investment firms will need to keep up with. If you're a hedge fund, you've likely been inundated with vendor calls as of late. Unsurprisingly, startups with a perceived hot technology are in vogue right now. Automated Trading Desk and FX Solutions are two that recently announced private equity investments, according to Wall Street & Technology. Other deals are expected. There are lots of hot areas, from trading to reference data management. We'll see some winners bubble up. Of course, the top investment banks are at work on their own solutions as well.  

For more:
- here's the Wall Street & Technology article