Client Challenges

The infrastructure provider’s client base progressed rapidly toward public cloud adoption across multiple AWS regions. The shift required a managed RTDS solution that matched the reliability of their existing private-cloud deployment while also delivering the elasticity, rapid provisioning, regional distribution and automation provided by cloud‑native architectures.

Key challenges included:

• Manual deployments and long provisioning cycles: Traditional RTDS deployments relied heavily on manual configurations and fixed networking models, which hindered onboarding and increased operational risk.
• Cloud native expectations: The infrastructure provider aimed to reduce onboarding to approximately 10 days, with 70–90% automation across infrastructure and service layers.
• High availability and lifecycle governance: The solution needed multi-availability zones (AZ) resilience, nominal downtime upgrades, and close integration with existing lifecycle management, CI/CD standards, and governance controls.
• Operational oversight: 24/7 monitoring, entitlement extraction, and end‑to‑end service analytics needed to be built into the platform from day one.
• DR design: Cost‑efficient resilience with an on‑demand footprint was required, which allowed the solution to inflate elastically on demand and lower ongoing operational cost, without compromising business‑continuity commitments.

A full architectural redesign grounded in Platform Engineering principles, composability, automation, observability, and repeatability, was needed.

CJC’s Approach: Platform Engineering Services

CJC’s Cloud Engineering team applied the Platform Engineering Services to design and deliver a cloud‑native RTDS platform built on standardised, automated, and governed deployment patterns. The approach focused on abstracting infrastructure complexity, enabling rapid onboarding, and ensuring every environment, regardless of region, was deployed, operated, and monitored consistently.

By treating the RTDS cloud platform as a product with defined interfaces, automated workflows, and reusable components, our team established a foundation that supports current real‑time data distribution requirements while creating a pathway for future enhancements.

Outcomes

CJC delivered a fully cloud‑native RTDS solution capable of onboarding customers within 10 days, reducing onboarding time, improving resilience, and enhancing operational visibility. Key measurable outcomes included:

• Accelerated onboarding with automated IaC and CI/CD, allowing environments to deploy in under two hours.
• Resilient multi‑AZ design using dual‑ and quad‑endpoint topologies and blue-green deployment patterns.
• Reduced operational cost through cold‑standby DR design, rightsizing, and automated cleanup procedures.
• Enhanced observability via comprehensive ITRS monitoring, customer-facing telemetry, and analytics integration.
• Governance uplift driven by structured entitlement management and extended audit trail retention.
• A future-ready platform offering clear progression toward containerised RTDS workloads, autoscaling and cross-region connectivity.

Industry

• Financial Services.

Platforms

• Real-Time Distribution System (RTDS).
• Real-Time Data Access Control System (DACS).
• Advanced Transformation Services (ATS).

Client Requirements

• Cloud‑Native RTDS Platform.
• Automated Multi‑Region Deployment.
• High‑Availability Architecture.
• Blue–Green Deployments.
• 24×7 Monitoring and Telemetry.
• Secure Entitlement Management.
• Data‑Transformation Capability.
• CI/CD Lifecycle Integration.
• Cost‑Efficient DR Model.
• Ongoing Operational Governance.

CJC Services

• Platform Engineering Delivery.
• AWS Architecture Design.
• Infrastructure As Code Automation.
• CI/CD Pipeline Engineering.
• ITRS Observability Implementation.
• DR Design and Runbook.

CJC Partnership Benefits

• Market Data Specialists.
• Vendor-Neutral.
• SRE Engineered Solutions.
• 24/7 Support Teams.

Client Benefits

• Faster Onboarding Automation.
• Multi AZ Resilient Architecture.
• Zero Impact Release Cycles.
• Full 24/7 Visibility.
• Secure Entitlement Operations.
• Lower Operational Costs.
• Future Ready Cloud Foundation.

"This case study is a strong example of what CJC’s engineering team can deliver. And it’s only a small glimpse of their capability. Their value goes far beyond the solution itself. It’s about how they work together, thinking ahead, challenging assumptions, and designing something robust that anticipates future needs, not just today’s. Their approach is being applied across CJC to strengthen our internal operations and to provide clients with solutions that genuinely work and last.”

- Bill Reynolds, Global Head of Engineering at CJC Ltd.

"Real-time market data platforms are among the most demanding systems in financial markets. This engagement demonstrates how modern platform engineering, automation, and cloud-native architecture can transform RTDS from a traditionally complex deployment into a resilient, repeatable service. By standardising infrastructure, embedding observability, and automating lifecycle management, we’ve created a foundation that allows organisations to scale their data distribution platforms with confidence while maintaining the reliability the market depends on.”

- Peter Williams, Chief Technology Officer at CJC Ltd.

About CJC:

CJC is the leading market data technology consultancy and service provider for global financial markets. CJC provides multi-award-winning consultancy, managed services, cloud solutions, alert monitoring and observability, and commercial management services for mission-critical market data systems. CJC is vendor-neutral and ISO 27001 certified, enabling CJC’s partners the freedom to focus on their core business.

Email: marketing@cjcit.com
Tel: +44(0) 203 328 7600