Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE) in collaboration with trading solutions and infrastructure provider IPC Systems, has announced the planned launch of ICE Voice, a new cloud-based audio platform designed to complement ICE Chat, creating a comprehensive communications solution for traders and financial professionals.
ICE Voice aims to integrate ICE Chat’s user base of over 120,000 active participants with IPC’s Connexus Unigy private cloud platform, in orderto facilitate always-on, persistent connections among traders, whether within internal trading desks or across the broader ICE Chat network. The service is designed to allow seamless transitions from text chat to voice communications, with features including the ability to initiate voice calls directly from chat interfaces and the capability to send ‘Voice Blasts’ to multiple contacts simultaneously.
“For the first time, ICE’s users will have a single, integrated platform for chat and voice that matches both traders’ need for always-on, instantaneous connectivity with other traders, and firms’ desire for easy-to-access and use records that help them meet their record retention requirements,” said Maurisa Baumann, Head of Desktops and Feeds at ICE. “ICE Voice builds on our instant messaging service, which has become one of the largest networks in the financial industry, and utilizes IPC’s voice network for providing cloud-based audio connectivity with a single click.”
Key features of ICE Voice include complete audio recording capabilities, with customisable retention policies and the ability to play back archived calls from any location. The platform will also offer integrated chat and voice logs, creating a unified record of communications that can support compliance efforts within trading desks and firms at large.
ICE Voice’s integration into the ICE Chat platform promises an optimised workflow for financial professionals, merging voice connectivity with advanced functionalities tailored to the trading community. These include ICE Chat’s AI-powered Smart Text Recognition, which converts text into actionable data, and the Message Blaster feature for distributing messages to multiple contacts at once.
IPC’s expertise in trading communications is underlined by its Connexus Unigy platform, a cloud-based solution that supports a wide range of voice trading community needs through advanced communications technologies and tools. IPC’s offerings encompass Service-as-a-Software solutions, on-premise and mobile trading communication products, and compliance and surveillance technologies, highlighted by the recent launch of the OneView Portfolio at the end of 2023.
“IPC’s collaboration with ICE to develop ICE Voice brings our industry leading Connexus Unigy cloud technology together with the ICE Chat network to create a single, seamless and powerful solution for traders,” said Tim Carmody, Chief Technology Officer, IPC Systems. “This solution reinforces both IPC and ICE’s focus on continuous innovation in trading communications and connectivity, and enhancing the experience of the global trading community through greater integration and interoperability between chat, voice and electronic platforms, applications and workflows.”
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