No Compromise: The Next-Gen TT Platform

By: Drew Shields, CTO

Few things are transforming software, business, and nearly every aspect of our lives like cloud computing and software-as-a-service (SaaS). It’s easier than ever to build and deploy new applications, and the result is a plethora of new companies vying for our attention across nearly every domain. The cloud revolutionizes data collection and analysis and empowers SaaS, making it simple to distribute software to anyone, at any time, in nearly any location.

It’s no surprise, then, that the cloud is finding its way into trading systems as well. TT was an early adopter of cloud technologies in the trading space. We began talking about our next-generation trading platform in early 2014, but a year and a half later, and particularly with new entrants using similar terms, I think it’s important to ask: what does it mean to be a “cloud trading platform,” is there a difference between SaaS and “cloud,” and where does TT fit into the mix?
Next-Gen TT Trading Platform

New technologies such as HTML5/Javascript make the next-generation TT platform accessible to users via the internet, mobile device or desktop client.

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Go Mobile with TT

By: Patrick Rooney, Product Marketing Manager

The evolution of mobile phone technology has been remarkable over the past several years as business and personal applications expand—and in some cases transition—to mobile platforms.

Five years ago, we saw laptops begin to replace desktops as the device of choice for many business and personal applications. Now, laptops are being nudged aside by phones, including increasingly popular “phablets” like Samsung’s Note and Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus, which feature larger, more vibrant screens along with more functionality and greater options. Personally, I find myself managing tasks on my iPhone 6 Plus nearly as much as I do on my MacBook Air.


Clearly, phones today are for more than just making calls. Now, your phone is your take-everywhere friend, confidant and constant source for information of all types.

And now with TT Mobile, the mobile app for the new TT platform, your phone is also your source for market data and your platform for trading.

The fact that we’ve been able to replicate the desktop experience of TT in a form factor for the phone that is robust enough to appeal to the professional trader is a big achievement. TT Mobile comes complete with MD Trader®, access to the full audit trail and order book, charting, spread trading and more, allowing you to take the markets with you virtually anywhere you go. Continue Reading →

#PreviewTT: ADL®

By: Andrew Renalds, Product Manager

Last week’s #PreviewTT series on Twitter focused on the ways we’re enhancing our award-winning visual programming platform, ADL (Algo Design Lab), in the new TT platform. We’ve recapped the content below.

ADL is one of our most powerful tools for algorithmic traders, with drag-and-drop building blocks that allow you to quickly create, test and deploy automated trading strategies without any manual programming. With ADL you can leverage fleeting market opportunities without the need for manual coding or expensive programmers.

The TT version of ADL will include the same powerful features as the X_TRADER® version along with many significant enhancements. Here’s a sampling:

  • You’ll have the ability to drive Autospreader® from ADL. We just released this functionality to production on Friday, so if you have a TT account, you can log in now and give it a try.
  • You also can drive one algo from another through the new Algo block. Algos can be based in different locations—for example, an algo running in New York can drive an algo running in London—delivering the ultimate in flexibility and performance.
  • You can create algos using ADL or with our new high-performance API, TTSDK™.
  • Our popular Autotrader™ tool is now part of ADL, serving as both a market-making algo and a graphical interface that’s tailored to drive the algo.

All ADL-created algos will run on co-located execution servers, so performance will be faster than ever.

And just like your workspaces and everything else in TT, all of your algos and configurations are accessible wherever you go thanks to our software-as-a-service (SaaS) architecture.

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#PreviewTT: Come and Get It

By: Rick Lane, CEO
The new TT platform allows users to replicate the X_TRADER experience,
but with more accessibility, flexibility and power than ever before.

Today marks a momentous achievement for both us and our customers. After revealing one year ago that we were building a brand new trading platform, today we’re announcing that the platform, which we’re calling simply TT, is now available to everyone, worldwide.

This marks only the second time in our 21-year history that we’ve embarked on an initiative of this magnitude. Our original trading platform, X_TRADER®, was introduced in 1994 and has been our flagship—and only—offering ever since. X_TRADER has been time-tested and lauded with awards for more than two decades, and it still remains one of the most-used systems for professional derivatives traders worldwide.

But technology and market needs have changed, driving us to rethink how we build and deliver software to our customers. Businesses across nearly every industry are embracing the software-as-a-service (SaaS) delivery model. While the professional financial services industry has been slower than most to do so, we believe that time has come.

We built TT upon a SaaS framework, empowering us and our distribution partners to do things never before possible with other platforms. Thanks to this approach, the new TT platform requires no client-side software. FCMs can permission new traders in minutes through web-based tools, from anywhere on any device. And our users can begin trading in just minutes after creating a TT account and logging in.


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#Preview TT: Charting & Analytics

By: Drew Shields, CTO

Last week on Twitter, we showed how the new TT platform takes charting and analytics to new levels, with sophisticated tools for the high-performance professional trader.

TT allows you to create and access charts from virtually any computer as well as Android and iOS phones with support for a vast array of chart types, technical indicators and built-in drawing tools. You can add a chart to any workspace and customize it to your preferences to chart outrights and spreads from any TT-connected exchange. Charts are saved as part of your go-anywhere TT workspace so that when you go from the office to home or from one day to the next, you can quickly pick up where you left off.

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