Wall Street has embraced electronic messaging and ordering, of course, just take a look at the NYSE floor. But it hasn't been without frustration. To hear Wall Street & Technology tell it, there are more than a few traders for whom data latency has become an issue. The editors say they are hearing reports from brokerages that "on numerous occasions in March and April, the brokerages have had to use self-help exceptions on their trading desks when dealing with certain exchanges because messaging was delayed." This seems to be fairly widespread across all exchanges and apparently affects actual orders as well as messages. Is this the back-office crisis of the 2000s? Well, I doubt it. But it could be a problem, as success is often a matter of milliseconds.

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