October is an exciting month here at EFX. After nearly a year in development, Phase One of "Project Omega" is ready to be released to the public. We wanted to take a few moments and fill you in on some of the features of the first release of "Omega," and also let you know how the launch will occur.
Phase One
First of all, Omega is no longer called Omega. The release version of the product is the EFX Remote Trader. Let's talk first about the features that will be built into the Phase One launch, and then we'll talk about the process of moving accounts over to the new platform.
We sat down over a year ago and started thinking about how to build a platform from scratch, using the same execution that we already have, but completely redoing just about everything else. We designed from the ground up with the intent of making software that was easy to use, easy to support, and easy to change to our customers' needs. Over the next several months, we will be rolling out various pieces of the product. We feel confident that you'll be happy with the end result, whatever your style of trading might be.
The platform will no longer require a software download. Using a unique, proprietary, third-party tool, the main platform is a non-Java, web-based application. This eliminates all of the usual concerns that go into troubleshooting, such as firewalls, virus scanners, and which version of Windows a customer is using. The application will work in any Internet Explorer-enabled browser, including Mozilla with an IE plug-in. There are many benefits to our selecting this technology for the platform. First, if we do a version upgrade, all of our customers will have it the next time that they log in. Second, it should keep the number of issues in running the platform to a minimum, which helps decrease our need to spend time troubleshooting. That means that we can spend more time helping our customers learn to use the platform and less time helping them install it.
Within the platform, you can still stretch it across multiple monitors, run multiple windows, and save your layout. The next time that you log into your account, from any computer in the world, the layout will be immediately available. One of the central goals of our new platform was to free our traders to worry about their trading and not about having to be at one machine or about getting their software to work.
The initial launch interface will include all of the following:
One-click quote board trading (with preset Limit parameters so you aren't just running Market orders)
One-click Close and Reverse from the Positions window
The full array of existing EFX orders
Basic charting on multiple timeframes with six basic indicators
Bar, line, and candlestick charts
Fully customizable screen layouts, accessible from any web-enabled machine in the world
Global enhanced quote routing using Akamai technology to speed up your connection to us from anywhere
Level 2 windows to view displayed bid and ask sizes from banks and customers
Phase Two
Over the course of October and November, we will be adding a series of features that we call Phase 2. Some of them could come almost immediately as they are either in late development or already being tested. We don't have to wait for several to get done to integrate them into the software as the version upgrades are seamless to the end user.
Phase Two upgrades include:
Wireless Trading (in testing)Enhanced Charting with more indicators (late-development)
Managed Account Tool for money managers to control multiple accounts at once (in testing)Trade From the Chart charting (late-development)
So
New custom order types, including time-shifted, auto-re-entry, and ratcheting stops (late development)und Alerts (late development)
User-defined color schemes (late development)
Phase Three
The final phase of the platform will be a robust, English-based auto-trading and screening software piece that includes full back-testing, complex charting with hundreds of indicators, and the ability to encrypt indicator programs. Further details about Phase Three will come as we get closer to the release.
The Process
So, that's the product, now what is the process?
EFX is pleased to announce that we are upgrading more than just our platform. We're using technology to improve our customer service and support beyond what we already have. At the moment, our website is being reviewed for approval by the NFA. Since the EFX Remote Trader is a web-based application, you will log in from the website. Therefore, we must have our new site in place before we can put people on the new platform. We are hoping to have approval of the site over the next couple of weeks. The new website will also answer all of your questions about the product. We are in the process of recording full on-line tutorials for every aspect of the product so you can watch and learn on your own time. This is a section that we call DIY (Do-It-Yourself).
Once the site is approved, we will be expanding our customer service hours to 24 hours a day. That means that you can contact us with questions, trade issues, and software inquiries round the clock. We're also implementing several new options for interacting with our clients from both a support and an educational perspective. These include:
On-line chat support, including the ability for us to take control of your machine and walk you through an issue
VoIP phone systems that allow free Click-to-Call dialing between any computer around the world with speakers and a mic and our offices
Enhanced support and webinar room with all on-line access so you don't have to call to hear us give a presentation
All of these are set to be implemented on October 8. Assuming we have the website approved around that time, we will be going to 24-hour support and allowing our first traders onto the EFX Remote Trader at that time.
So, here is the moment that you have all been waiting for. The platform is currently being moved from the development servers to the live and demo production servers. We will be moving customers to Omega in an orderly manner, starting with the first 40 users that want it, then the next 40, etc. We do this to make sure that we control and balance the server load.
To register to be among the first people to use the new platform, send an e-mail to
justin@efxgroup.com with the title "Omega Beta." You must have a live account already in place to get your name in the list. Include your name in the e-mail. We will contact people back as we are ready to move them to the new platform in the coming weeks. Demo trading on the new platform will be available by November.
We feel that the EFX Remote Trader was designed with our customers' needs, concerns, and interests in mind. We hope that you will enjoy the final product.
Sincerely,
EFX Group
