How Financial Traders Use Enterprise IPTV, and What to Look For in Your Next Solution
Financial traders rely on up to date information to make investment decisions which can affect their livelihoods and the performance of the funds that they manage. TV is widely relied upon by the general public and decision makers across different industries (government, finance, health, etc…) to keep up to date on on the news, so it should come as no surprise that financial traders make heavy use of TV to stay on top of market events. Here’s an overview on why financial organizations need enterprise IPTV and how you can select the right solution.
Why Financial Traders Need to Watch TV
Unlike your average consumer who flips through their TV menu one channel at a time, and maybe will use picture in picture (PiP) to keep a sports game in the background, a trading floor will rely on a sophisticated enterprise IPTV system to display multiple feeds of video at once onto a large screen (or multiple screens) and on their desktop computer screens. Picture a security guard watching an array of camera feeds, picking and choosing which ones to focus on when a notable event happens.
Aside from your regular news channels, traders will monitor business and financial news like Reuters, Bloomberg, BNN, Mad Money with Jim Cramer (just kidding about the last one). Up to the minute news monitoring allows traders to better perform their jobs and keep their clients up to date.
Commodities, stocks and other investment instruments are all heavily influenced by day-to-day events in the world. For example, how the Brexit results influenced the value of the Pound Sterling, European banks, and created general unease in the stock and bond market. Events such as Brexit, will also trigger responses from other nations and multinational corporations which will help determine how much of an impact this type of event can have on outside markets. Traders need to be aware of these events as they are happening, so that they can use this real time information to navigate the financial world.
What You Should Consider Before Purchasing a New Enterprise IPTV System
Typically a new office, or an IT overhaul/upgrade will spur on the need for a new IPTV system. But not all systems are equal, and there are some features which financial organizations with trading floors should consider.
Content from multiple sources:
Your IPTV system should bring content in from multiple satellite and cable providers, allowing for different news sources from around the globe. A financial trader would need news feeds from American, European, Middle Eastern, Chinese and other sources.
Security and authentication:
Support for digital rights management (DRM) is table stakes for many content providers. They’ll also need to see that their licensing rights are being respected, and that your IPTV system meets their security needs. This means your IPTV solution should feature end-to-end AES encryption to ensure that the broadcast content is not copied or distributed without authorization. It should also be able to integrate with single sign-on solutions like LDAP and Active Directory, allow for individual rights management and include strong reporting and rules so that IT can spot any abnormalities.
Desktop players:
A soft player gives your traders the ability to view live news on their desktops or laptops. Some of the most important considerations include having a player that is operating system agnostic, that doesn’t require software downloads or updates, that can support various video formats, integrated EPG, closed captioning, FEC, and encryption.
Set-top boxes:
IPTV deployment to displays on the trading floor involve the installation of set-top boxes and selecting the right set-top box can help you avoid the costly process of replacement. A set-top box should be designed and manufactured according to the most up-to-date technology. It should be easy to install and maintain, offer centralized control, and of course, it must play both live and on-demand content. Enterprise set-top boxes should leverage the features of your IPTV system, including encryption, various video formats, and so on.
Centralized control:
Having overreaching control of the system is a great feature for those breaking news moments where everyone in the office needs to be made aware of important information. You should be able to give your administrator full control so they can push specific channels to individual users and groups viewing from their desktops. An IPTV management system should also be able to distribute specific content to set-top boxes connected to monitors and screens throughout a facility.
Ease of use:
You need easy programming and a powerful user interface. Financial traders don’t have the time to go to IT every time there needs to be a change in the IPTV system. Time is money, and having a reliable, easy-to-use and powerful user interface is important. Adding channels, changing sources and viewing channels all need to be dead simple. From the ingestion to the play-out of content, it should be easy and efficient to get video onto your trading floor.
Network Considerations:
An IPTV system should be designed to keep your network performance in mind. Aside from making sure that the broadcast content is sufficiently compressed after leaving their source feeds, it’s important that for large scale deployments an IPTV system works with multicast networks. The last thing you’ll want to do is overwhelm your network.
Digital Signage Integration:
A final consideration should be digital signage integration. If you’re using signage in your office, it’s an interesting idea to find an IPTV solution which can integrate with your signage system, allowing for live TV or other video content to display throughout your organization.
Making sure you have the right IPTV system is important to both your traders and to your IT team who will have to manage it. Security, network performance, and ease of use are all strong factors to be considered.
When you’re ready to learn more contact us to speak with one of our IPTV Experts.
