Build or Buy? Making the Right Choice for Your Exchange Infrastructure Technology 

When it comes to launching an exchange or upgrading your technology as an existing exchange, exchange, many companies find themselves at a crossroads: should they invest time, resources, and expertise into building their exchange infrastructure from scratch, or should they take advantage of a ready-made solution? Let’s look at some of the factors worth considering when making the decision about the future of your exchange.

Building an Exchange from Scratch

Building an exchange from scratch can be an enticing prospect for companies that want complete ownership and control over their technology. In fact, some start-up exchanges believe that owning their infrastructure can enhance their ability to attract investors and differentiate themselves in the market. While building from scratch gives companies the freedom to customize every aspect of their exchange to align with their specific vision and business goals, they can often overlook the substantial time, expertise, and resources this approach requires.

Complex Challenges, Costly Solutions

Developing a robust and secure exchange infrastructure involves complex technical challenges, requiring expertise in areas such as architecture design, software development, and cybersecurity. Additionally, building means starting from ground zero, resulting in a lengthy development timeline. This can significantly delay your entry into the market, giving competitors using ready-made solutions a head start. 

Furthermore, we’ve found that companies tend to underestimate the ongoing maintenance and support required to keep the exchange operational and up to industry standards. The responsibility of keeping up with evolving regulatory requirements and addressing potential vulnerabilities lies solely on your shoulders, which can strain internal resources and divert attention from other critical aspects of the business, such as monetezation and customer acquisition.

Advantages of Using an Exchange Product like EP3™

When it comes to cost, time, and resource requirements, opting for an established exchange product offers significant advantages. A matching engine software product like EP3 allows you to bypass what can be a years-long development process and significantly accelerate your time-to-market and revenue realization.

Ready-made exchange products also minimize the need to hire a team of specialized business experts and engineering professionals. With a product like EP3, companies can tap into a wealth of existing knowledge and experience, freeing up resources to focus on their unique differentiators. More importantly, these products offer proven integrations with upstream and downstream service providers to simplify the complex web of interactions within the exchange ecosystem, ensuring smooth operations and reducing integration challenges.

Benefits of Modular Licensing 

While some companies may be tempted to build their exchange infrastructure to retain ownership of technology, exchange products can offer a compelling alternative. When looking for an exchange product, you can find one that ensures a fair balance between technology ownership and the support of a trusted vendor.

EP3 ensures a flexible and fair license agreement, that allows customers to pay only for what they need and add additional components as they grow. Connamara’s Discovery process provides detailed pricing and guidance that matches the exchanges tailored needs. This modular licensing structure means you only pay for the specific functionality and integrations your exchange requires, resulting in a more efficient and cost-effective path to market.

Focus on Features and Flexibility

A common concern associated with buying an exchange product is that the technology will not offer flexibility to customize your exchange when needed. When comparing exchange products, look for vendor partners that prioritize customer requests on their product roadmap and ensure that those enhancements align with your exchange business plan. Exchange products should offer APIs that empower exchanges to customize their offering and remain nimble in evolving market conditions. While Connamara provides in depth documentation that allows its customers to integrate, its Professional Services team can assist with development and integration as needed. 

The Choice Is Yours

Ultimately, the choice between building and buying depends on a number of factors, including business requirements, available resources, time constraints, and the trade-off between control and convenience. But if you’re looking to save time, money, and resources, with a market-proven product that provides you with flexibility, customization, and ongoing support while you focus on differentiators that bring liquidity to your market, an exchange product like EP3 can deliver.

Let’s Get Started

Whether you already have an order matching engine and need help optimizing your product, or you’re just getting started and need help figuring out your next steps, we’re here for you. Our Discovery process dives deep into your needs and provides you with a detailed roadmap for getting to the first trade for a fraction of the cost of a license.