Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE), together with trading communications solutions provider IPC Systems, has successfully launched the ICE Voice platform it announced earlier this year. ICE Voice is a cloud-based audio solution integrated into ICE Chat, ICE’s instant messaging platform for commodities traders and other global market participants with over 120,000 users.
The new ICE Voice solution supports full audio recording, configurable retention, and playback options, while combining integrated chat and voice logs into a single record. It leverages IPC’s Connexus Unigy private cloud platform to enhance communication capabilities with always-on, persistent open connections, enabling seamless transition between chat and voice interactions.
“ICE Voice aligns with IPC’s broader strategy to enhance workflow integration, especially where there are natural opportunities to do so,” Tim Carmody, IPC’s Chief Technology Officer, tells TradingTech Insight. “ICE Chat is already a major player in the commodities space, with a large user base incorporating it into their daily workflows. However, when users reach a point where they need to switch to a voice call, they’re often relying on separate systems—whether that’s dial tone or traditional communication platforms. By integrating voice directly into ICE Chat, we’re streamlining the process for traders, making communication more seamless. This is part of a larger strategy we’ve been pursuing, such as with the launch of OneView last year, which focuses on improving workflow integration. It also ties into our work with the framework from Here (formerly OpenFin) to enable better data sharing between applications, as well as new devices that can run applications natively, alongside traditional turrets.”
He continues: “While ICE traditionally serves a different segment of the market than we do, there are significant synergies between us. ICE was keen to expand into voice capabilities to better compete in the market, so this collaboration made sense on multiple levels. We’re also in discussions with them about broader opportunities. For example, we already use their market data for our electronic trading portfolio, but there’s much more potential for joint initiatives in that area.”
Key features of ICE Voice include integration with ICE Chat’s AI-powered Smart Text Recognition, which converts texts into actionable data, and Message Blaster, which allows users to send messages to multiple contacts simultaneously. Users can initiate voice calls directly from chat tabs and group chat rooms, streamlining their workflow.
“By integrating chat and voice, you can increase compliance and do things like transcription and feed that smart text back into the chat session,” explains Carmody. “This creates a complete record, not only of what was typed before a trade, but also what was discussed during the call, all in real time. Traders benefit from having everything visible on screen before executing, while compliance officers gain enhanced trade reconstruction capabilities. Firms, in turn, get greater confidence and efficiency in how the communication is managed. That’s the core of Smart Text Recognition. Beyond this, there are many additional possibilities for using the data, including advanced analysis and analytics.”
Carmody expects to see many additional opportunities for collaboration between ICE and IPC, as well as new developments from IPC alone in the future. “Over the coming months, we’ll be focusing on driving further workflow integration, with more announcements to come, including AI-powered solutions and tools that aggregate data from various sources. This aligns with our API-first, open platform strategy. Rather than trying to be all things to everyone, our goal is to seamlessly integrate with the tools and systems that our clients need, which is a central part of our overall strategy.”
Maurisa Baumann, Head of Desktops and Feeds at ICE, comments: “We’re pleased to offer a single, integrated platform for chat and voice that was designed to tailor to the workflows of our customers and provide always-on, instantaneous connectivity for traders and other financial market participants. This innovative new solution can foster communication throughout the trading process and offer an easy-to-use recordkeeping tool for both chat and voice communications.”
ICE Voice is now live and available to all ICE Chat users.
Subscribe to our newsletter
