The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) announced that it has transitioned to a new broker connectivity solution with Safaricom as the technology partner.
The state of the art Software-Defined Wide Area Network commonly referred to as SD-WAN, replaces the pure Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) network that has been in use since 2011.
SD-WAN is a virtual Wide Area Network (WAN) architecture that allows businesses to leverage any combination of transport services, including MPLS, Long Term Evolution (LTE) and broadband internet services – to securely connect users to business applications.
The network interconnects the NSE, the Central Depository and Settlement Corporation (CDSC) and all the Trading Participants in the market to offer higher trading platform availability.
The SD-WAN will be transformational for the market as it will reduce connectivity costs to the brokers by approximately 30 per cent, ensure higher uptime and performance and increase network security.
The NSE is leveraging on Safaricom’s experience and excellent service support to ensure a stable, secure and resilient network infrastructure for securities trading.
According to Peter Ndegwa the CEO for Safaricom, they are excited to extend their range of capabilities and technology to the Nairobi Securities Exchange to empower them in their next phase of growth.
This investment will provide the NSE with modern and future proof solutions to achieve cost efficiencies, tap new opportunities and innovate for their customers in a digital era.
Geoffrey Odundo the CEO for NSE stated that the transition to the SD-WAN Network is in line with their corporate strategy to offer best in class services to their customers.
The success of our business is underpinned by use of the innovative and efficient technology. The new network will reduce the lags and delays that may be experienced during trading, enhancing performance and overall service support to the market.
Nkoregamba Mwebesa the CEO for CSDC added that the SD-WAN solution offers network stability, agility and resilience with enhanced information security capabilities while reducing the cost of connectivity for all stakeholders.
The adoption of this solution further augments Kenya as a preferred investment destination in the region and the continent as a whole.
As the network offers lower costs of connectivity and higher availability, the NSE is poised to see an increase in trading activity and a better customer experience by its stakeholders.
