Nasdaq Decodes: Tech Trends 2020

By: The WFE Focus Team Feb 2020

Our founders launched the world’s first electronic market in 1971, and over the decades it became the benchmark for exchanges around the world. Since then, advancements in technology have enabled the capital markets to undergo a complete transformation and achieve greater operational efficiency and lower costs while providing exciting new products and a better experience for our clients.

Exchanges are a central hub where buyers and sellers come together. Price discovery is when the buyer and the seller agree on the value of an asset at any given moment, and both have an equal role. We see an opportunity to bring that dialog between buyers and sellers into the broader economy, and make it more inclusive through markets everywhere. The work we have done has created the foundation for new types of marketplaces to emerge. These companies are disrupting their industries by providing a platform and business model for price discovery and matching buyers with sellers of an array of financial and non-financial assets. Among them are shipping and logistics, advertising and reinsurance to name a few.

2020 is the fourth year that we have published a report on the technology trends that we think are having the most impact on our industry, and our outlook for the year ahead. Three key trends have led us to where we are today, and are reflected in our priorities:

First, the creation of data through machine-to-machine communication and the internet of things, and the ability to process data at scale and in real time, lies at the core of innovation. Machine learning and artificial intelligence tools are increasingly being used to analyze data and deliver actionable insights. Blockchain is expanding the universe of markets that can be digitized and providing collaboration and trust where it is lacking. Moreover, user interface tools and microservices are helping to leverage detailed information about user experience and customer behavior in selling channels.

Second, the ability to source and process valuable data is allowing businesses to go real time. Streaming technology that broke ground in the world of social media and entertainment is now being utilized in the capital markets. Moreover, robotic process automation is leading to more efficient use of resources and a consistent, predictable, reliable, scaled operational model.

Third, machine-to-machine communication is creating new data, and platforms and APIs are enabling it to be integrated. Serverless compute in the cloud is reducing capital costs and shifting the focus to customers’ needs instead of setting up, configuring, patching and maintaining servers in the data center. Meanwhile, low code no code (LCNC) is simplifying the process of building and testing of mobile and web applications.

Given the opportunities presented by these trends, we are pleased to offer you our view on the current state of technology of the capital markets and beyond. At Nasdaq, we work with these technologies and developments every day. They energize us and keep us focused on our path forward into an exciting future.

To download the full report, click here.

To learn more about the project, click here