EccoAutomation Interface & RTD
Ecco has developed an automation layer for it's software with the purpose of aiding traders to perform their own proprietary business logic and analysis without the need for it to be integrated by a vendor.  The versatility that this brings to the system is many fold, with trading groups and individuals adding many different types of technology to the system.  Included among the systems currently being connected are MS Excel, Visual Basic and C++ based application, supporting traders in a manner of methods, from Visual enhancements and secondary information delivery to a wide variety of quote machines, market makers and arbitragers.

The core of the trading data delivery is based around Microsoft's RTD functionality, described as "A new Real-Time Data function making it easy to bring real-time data into Excel and other applications  for analysis".  This Ecco is treating as the natural successor to DDE links available in legacy software often currently still on trading desks.  The ease of use of RTD, as well as the reliability and speed are many times greater, giving the trader better, easier and more consistent access to market prices outside of the core trading application when needed.  Combined with this Ecco provides access to Positional information via RTD, including positional information for all traders if the connected Ecco Pro has the Ecco Risk Manager system and appropriate rights.

The automation interface itself and the RTD are implementations of COM with the Prices and Positions being IRTD servers and the Order manipulation interface being IDispatch.  This allows the trader complete access for the adding and modification of orders so as they can implement their own software in as much detail as they require.  COM is the defacto standard for communicating between process, particularly with MS Office and represents an easy entry level into the development of specialist tools for traders.

The EccoAutomation Interface offers a simple yet extremely powerful entry level into the in-house development of specialist trading tools for traders.  It gives the user direct access to Ecco's high performance underlying price update and order routing mechanisms.   Whether triggering a stop from a price movement, automatically updating the level of a spread within the EccoSpreader, or quoting a whole series of options based on a user defined volatility surface, the EccoAutomation Interface offers a simple yet extremely powerful entry level into the in-house development of specialist trading tools for traders.