HP announced that it has become the hardware technology partner for the London Stock Exchange’s Infolect data delivery application – acknowledged to be the fastest in the world.

With a data latency of only two milliseconds, the exchange’s system broadcasts 20 million messages a day to more than 100,000 terminals in more than 100 countries.

HP powers Infolect with a scalable hardware platform based on around 100 HP ProLiant servers, distributed across three London sites. The application is based on Microsoft® .NET and Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and was developed in partnership with both Microsoft and Accenture. HP also provides ongoing support for Infolect.

The application was developed in anticipation of the demand for greater speeds in data delivery, a need for support for different protocols and a continuation of the dramatic growth in the exchange’s business.

With latency cut from 30 milliseconds to two milliseconds, the time it takes for customers to receive price information was significantly reduced.

Infolect’s use of the Microsoft .Net framework and SQL Server is a milestone both for Microsoft and the stock exchange. Microsoft has met the exchange’s increasing need to offer clients real-time, business-critical data fluidity, and the exchange has recognised Microsoft’s ability to deploy powerful, innovative technology capable of taking on rapidly growing data loads.