Industry news & insights.

Machine-readable API documentation is the future. We discuss why firms should invest time to innovate specifications to a point where they are genuinely useful, and why innovation doesn't mean starting from scratch.

In our recent webinar series, we painted (we think) a fairly compelling picture of where we feel automation can help connectivity teams. And, from everyone we’ve spoken to since, although we hit the nail on the head with the vision, the important question remains; how do I get there?

This future-focused webinar discussed what FIX could look like in 3-5 years time, how APIs (and crucially documentation) may have to change, and what role automation will play within connectivity teams.

With the outbreak of COVID-19, firms around the world are looking within to review business continuity plans. In a totally novel landscape, with duration playing an indeterminate role, what are the effects of working from home for business continuity in the long term.

Efficiency is something that all firms aspire to. A universal goal to establish processes, minimise fragmented documentation and make communication clear and consistent. “Getting your house in order” is a simple statement, but often a daunting task.

A good process can work hand-in-hand with software. A poor process creates friction between person and tooling and hinders effective automation. But how do we reach a point of confident automation?

We’ve spoken to numerous firms who have a desire to enable customers to self-serve onboarding and ongoing integration. More often than not, however, it hasn’t been pursued as it is seen as too challenging a project, or are unaware that the tools to do so exist in the first place.

In conversation with UK customers so far this year, one topic keeps coming up time and again - IR35. While this isn't a new rule (its been around since 1999), a new update coming in April will create a significant problem for UK firms employing FIX consultants across their onboarding teams.

Certification shouldn’t be a painful process, but we appreciate it can be if the different elements of the project don’t come together. Our platform can significantly reduce the number of errors during that process, and therefore the time spent problem-solving connectivity issues. But, when it comes to re-certification, this is where the fixspec platform continues to add significant value beyond the initial onboarding project.

Specifications are a fundamental part of connectivity onboarding. Despite being the key to accurate and performant customer certification, they are often overlooked as a static PDF that nobody really “owns”, and nobody wants to invest time in. But why do so many firms overlook specs and fail to manage them in a way that can make them reusable?