Skype outage is worse than a tube strike – Op Ed

What is more destructive? A disobedient collection of militant, trade union card-carrying London Underground employees who regularly take industrial action, causing the City of London, the world’s largest and most sophisticated institutional financial center, great cost due to the inability of brokers, bank executives and urbane financial services executives to actually reach their offices, or […]

What is more destructive? A disobedient collection of militant, trade union card-carrying London Underground employees who regularly take industrial action, causing the City of London, the world’s largest and most sophisticated institutional financial center, great cost due to the inability of brokers, bank executives and urbane financial services executives to actually reach their offices, or a day without Skype?

download

Today, for the first time in memory, Skype experienced global network disruption, causing a large percentage of its users not to be able to use it, and herein lies the proof that in today’s technologically advanced financial sector, problems with network traffic are worse than problems with physical traffic as instant messaging has become the defacto method of communication between many global firms.

Just what has the cost to global business been today as a result of the Skype outage? For those who were less affected, the technical malady manifested itself in all contacts being displayed as being offline, even though they are logged into Skype, however many users were unable to use voice or written messaging facilities.

In the retail FX business, many FX brokerages use Skype to maintain close contact with introducing brokers – or IBs – internationally. Without this medium, one day’s work lost can mean the difference between securing deposits from clients or not, therefore this apparently innocuous, free application is indeed an instrumental part of the business for many firms.

tube strike skype outage

Whilst outages of this magnitude are rare indeed, today’s service disruption has demonstrated how dependent the online ecommerce business sectors are on interactive, free messaging services.

The well worn adage and tongue in cheek suggestion that a London Underground train is unable to arrive at its platform on time (if at all) due to a leaf on the track, more seriously, an industrial dispute, may well raise a smile in these times of ability to work remotely and contact global key partners at any time, free of charge, however it is most certainly less amusing when the virtual equivalent occurs on the worldwide web.

Read this next

Institutional FX

FXSpotStream volumes hit 14-month high in November

FXSpotStream’s trading venue, the aggregator service of LiquidityMatch LLC, reported its operational metrics for November 2023, which moved higher on a monthly basis.

Digital Assets

Circle denies ties with Palestinian groups, TRON founder

Stablecoin issuer Circle has denied allegations that it facilitates funding for terrorist organizations.

Retail FX

CySEC hits operator of Titanedge, TradeEU with €90,000 fine

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) announced that it has imposed a fine of €90,000 on Titanedge Securities Ltd due to shortcomings in their regulatory obligations.

Institutional FX

Cboe FX volumes retreats slightly in November 2023

Cboe’s institutional spot FX platform today announced its trading volume for the month ending November 2023, which took a step back after a strong rebound in October.

Institutional FX

Alpha Group seals Cobase majority acquisition

Foreign exchange service provider Alpha Group International plc (AIM: ALPH) has finalized its acquisition of Financial Transaction Services, operating as Cobase.

Digital Assets

TMNG Tokens Successfully Listed on MEXC Crypto Exchange

TMN Global proudly announces the successful listing of its native TMNG token on the MEXC crypto exchange, effective December 1st, 2023. This strategic partnership marks a significant milestone for TMN Global in the crypto space.

Institutional FX

Marex completes acquisition of TD Cowen’s PB business

London-headquartered commodities broker Marex has completed the acquisition of TD Cowen’s prime brokerage and outsourced trading business, which will be integrated into Marex’s capital market division. This division was established following the acquisition of ED&F Man Capital Markets in 2022.

Digital Assets

Talos introduces decentralized liquidity and onchain settlement with Uniswap and Fireblocks

“At the cornerstone of the DeFi ecosystem, Uniswap has the breadth of assets and depth of liquidity that institutional traders need. And to have this partnership powered by Fireblocks, a digital assets infrastructure provider trusted by some of the most renowned institutions, is very fitting.”

Digital Assets

FINMA-regulated crypto bank SEBA Bank rebrands to AMINA

“As we look forward to 2024, our ambition is to accelerate the growth of our strategic hubs in Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Abu Dhabi, and to continue our global expansion, building on all the successes we have laid down over the past years.”

<