Cameron Systems launches CameronFIX 6.0

Cameron Systems, an Australian-based supplier of FIX (Financial Information eXchange) engines, has released CameronFIX Version 6.0 with its universal server – a server application offering clients a ‘plug and play’ system that can be interfaced and configured to existing technology to communicate via the FIX protocol.

The Financial Information eXchange (FIX) protocol is an industry-wide initiative developed for real-time exchange of securities transactions between fund managers, brokers and exchanges.

Version 6.0 offers users two key improvements over its predecessors: an ‘off-the-shelf’ developed universal server that can manage multiple FIX connections, versions and dialects, and improved application programme interfaces that allow configuration to almost any application and programming language. Customers can also adapt Version 6.0 to their own proprietary systems due to its ‘open’ architecture by writing a simple piece of code that sits on top of the FIX engine.

“Version 6.0 has been in beta testing with six clients, including London-based Singer Friedlander Investment Management, which are expected to go live with it in early April,” said Martin Koopman, commercial director of Cameron Systems.

All Cameron Systems’ existing clients will migrate to the new FIX engine, which is part of the company's support and maintenance agreement. Clients include UBS Warburg PaineWebber, Barclays Capital, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, Deutsche Bank, Fidelity Investment Services and Knight Securities.

“Version 6.0 will help clients with fewer IT resources to connect easily to the FIX protocol,” said John Cameron, chief technology officer, Cameron Systems.

Richard Curry, chief operating officer of Singer Friedlander, agrees: "We need to initiate a FIX connection from a Visual Basic [Microsoft programming environment] application, and we have found the COM/ActiveX interface a simple way to do this,” he said.