Going 24/7 Isn't Just a Switch Flip

At CJC, we have operated a true 24/7 support model for almost 13 years—a milestone that took over two years to achieve. We know first-hand that enabling 'always-on' operations is far more than simply extending working hours. It demands deliberate design across systems, teams, and time zones. Becoming a 24-hour operation means:

• Engineering for resilience.
• Structuring support models that scale.
• Synchronising operations across global regions.
• Investing in people, training, and process governance.

Instead of relying on brute-force staffing, we have built and productised a specialised and dedicated managed service model—designed for real-time market data systems and rooted in people, tooling, and process maturity. It is designed to flex and respond to client needs, without compromising stability or continuity. Crucially, it scales and allows us to deliver to more customers without needing to increase headcount linearly.

How CJC Delivers Global Coverage

To operate without interruption, you need a support centre presence where it matters, strategically. For CJC, that meant building operations in key financial hubs:

• London (HQ) – Established in 2006, leading our EMEA region.
• Hong Kong and Singapore – Launched in 2010 and 2011, anchoring APAC coverage.
• New York – Operational since 2012, covering AMERS support.

Each region operates a 12-hour shift at 7 AM local time. These are not handover teams, but autonomous, overlapping, and capable support units responsible for maintaining infrastructure, managing incidents, and executing planned changes within their respective time zones.

Key enablers include:

• Structured shift overlaps for seamless follow-the-sun coverage.
• Scaled and codified to ensure holidays, absences, and surges never impact service delivery.
• Embedded escalation and service-level agreement (SLA) management practices.

The goal is not only to keep the lights on, but also to deliver a service with a consistent quality globally.

The Stakes For Exchanges

In our current model, after-hours periods offer windows for maintenance, upgrades, and patch cycles. However, in a continuous 24/7 trading environment, there is no 'off' period and fundamentally shifts the operational rhythm of markets. Most exchanges operate around fixed patterns – opening auctions, batch reporting, and end-of-day reconciliations. These established rhythms are deeply embedded in how markets function and how infrastructure is maintained. Moving to 24-hour trading means rethinking those rhythms entirely.

Subsequently, maintenance windows shrink, and the configuration, software, and upgrade changes essential to infrastructure reliability become harder to implement. Surveillance and escalation must function—every hour of every day. The pressure on both systems and people intensifies.

To explore what this shift realistically demands, we asked four CJC experts to weigh in.

Victor Arriola – Solutions Engineering Specialist.

Victor identified the growing momentum behind 24/7 market access, pointing out that it already has a precedent “This push isn’t just a technological ambition—it’s rooted in structural changes, particularly in Asia. The concept isn’t theoretical—CME has already proven it. CME operates around the clock and has shown that infrastructure can scale to meet global trading rhythms. Their work with cloud technologies—whether via AWS or Google—further demonstrates that exchanges can adapt without needing to rebuild from scratch.”

Victor sees this as a pivotal ‘must-do’ moment: “This shift opens access to a significant pool of ‘floating money’ during Asian trading hours—capital that is active, global, and looking for somewhere to go. US exchanges now have a real chance to meet that demand by extending their trading windows and offering access to high-demand names like Nvidia and Tesla at the right time for Asia-based participants.”

He adds that “This is a chance for major venues to evolve from regional incumbents into truly global platforms. If they move quickly, they can capture flow, relevance, and client trust in regions that are increasingly central to capital markets. If they hesitate, newer fully regulated venues like 24 Exchange may start moving ahead. For traditional exchanges, the choice is clear—either evolve to match the new market tempo or risk being overtaken by more agile competitors. The infrastructure exists. The demand is growing. The only question is who will seize the moment.”

Brian Daly – Global Head of Solutions Delivery.

Brian focused on the operational and regulatory friction points that needed to be resolved before 24-hour trading becomes a sustainable reality "It’s not just about keeping the lights on longer—it’s about fundamentally re-engineering the processes happening behind the scenes.” One of his most immediate concerns is settlement, commenting, “Today’s clearing systems operate on delayed cycles (often T+2) and process settlements only Monday through Friday. What happens when trades are executed over the weekend or across time zones? That gap creates risk. You can’t have round-the-clock trading with a back end that still clocks out on Fridays.”

He also raised the issue of market surveillance, highlighting another critical challenge: "Right now, a lot of trading is monitored and escalated to the SEC as needed. But if we’re trading 24/7, who’s watching the tape at 3 AM? Who will be there to receive and respond to a flagged alert?” For Brian, this was not just a compliance issue but a question of human logistics as much as technology: "The tech can be built. But we must first decide what we’re building. Trading around the clock isn’t just a matter of uptime—it’s a matter of redesigning the entire ecosystem to keep up."

Steve Geary – Software Engineering.

Steve explored the technical realities and future potential of cloud infrastructure as exchanges consider scaling their operations to 24/7. He explains, "The technology exists—companies like Robinhood rely on platforms such as Blue Ocean Technologies. These aren’t full exchanges, but the infrastructure is there. What’s missing is operational maturity."

That maturity, Steve emphasised, depends on deployment strategy: "In the 24/5 world, zero-downtime isn’t a luxury—it’s a requirement. That’s why blue-green deployment is the only real answer.”

He described how his teams have worked with clients to move beyond static Terraform builds, embracing mirrored environments for production and development: "You maintain two legs: one live, one staged. When it’s time to release, you switch from green to blue - or vice versa. But there are nuanced challenges, like database state, rollback logic, and how long to retain the old version in case something goes wrong. It’s not trivial.”

He views this approach as a necessary step toward a truly cloud-native architecture but warns that most exchanges aren’t there yet. "This is still some distance away. Right now, cloud is mostly used at the distribution edge, not for core trade execution.” For major institutions, the risk tolerance simply isn’t there. “Executing trades and transactions over cloud infrastructure is still a tough sell for most large financial firms.”

Peter Williams – Chief Technology Officer.

Peter zeroed in on one of the most critical success factors in enabling 24/7 trading: The support model. He said, "You can’t run a 24-hour market on a 9-to-5 support structure. The challenge isn’t just whether your systems can stay online, it’s whether your people and processes are positioned to respond when something goes wrong at 2 AM on a Sunday.” Peter emphasised that traditional support assumptions, like overnight patch windows or weekend change freezes, do not work in a continuous trading environment.

"If you don’t have live coverage, clearly defined escalation paths, and a support team that’s deeply familiar with your infrastructure, you’re going to struggle. You can’t just extend the hours. You have to rethink the entire model.”

“That’s where we traditionally step in. Our 24/7 client support, spanning exchanges, data providers, and consumers across regions and platforms, has been in place for 13 years. We know what it takes to stand up a global model—how to structure teams, build around SLAs, and maintain continuity across multiple time zones.”

Final Thought: More Than Uptime—It’s About Support

The appetite for 24-hour trading is clear. The business case—greater access, faster responsiveness, expanded participation—is compelling. But realising that ambition requires more than just technology. It calls for infrastructure, support models, and operational readiness to match.

It’s not simply about uptime. It’s about having an ecosystem that can continuously sustain itself with support that stays responsive even in quiet hours, systems resilient enough to self-heal, and teams structured to operate globally without pause.

As a trusted partner to the world’s leading exchanges, we look forward to supporting this new direction. At CJC, we’ve spent over a decade building toward this standard, and we’ll continue evolving alongside the markets we serve.