The intersection between order management systems (OMSs) and execution management systems (EMSs) is a critical junction in the FX market. And while some elements are relatively simple, others are not.
First the easy bit: linking EMS and OMS platforms is a relatively straightforward process. Many EMSs have certifications from leading OMS vendors, and platforms can be integrated via a financial information exchange (Fix) API.
“There is a general perception that workflow automation requires lengthy and resource-intense integration projects,” says Sebastian Hofmann-Werther, head of Europe, the Middle East and Africa at 360T. “Our experience is that with the right support and expertise, integrating these platforms can be an easy and smooth process.”
But emulating EMS capabilities is where OMSs tend to struggle, since there are certain workflows in the former that are not fully enabled in the latter.
The FX market is extremely liquid, with up to 15,000 updates per second for prices. EMSs are built to handle multiple updates and streams from vendors and banks, and can handle that workload, but not all OMSs have similar capacity.
Some
