History
Building Excellence: The Options Technology 30-Year Fintech Legacy
30 Years of Innovation, Passion, and Excellence in Financial Technology
The Options’ journey began in 1991 when our founder, Nigel Kneafsey, then aged 14, entered a competition in Computer Magazine to build a high performance workstation. After winning the competition he received a call from the London office of Goldman Sachs who offered him a consulting opportunity to build hardware for the trading floor. A few years later in 1993, when Nigel was legally able to become a company director, Options was incorporated.
Fast forward 30 years and Options still has that same passion, entrepreneurial flair and winning attitude which has held it at the forefront of the Capital Markets IT since inception. With our strong heritage we are uniquely positioned to understand the complex demands of the financial services sector in the twenty first century, coupled with unparalleled experience and perspective in delivering world class IT infrastructure to trading firms.
The Growing Impact of Options Technology Over the Years
Scale
Experience
Perspective
At Options, we pride ourselves on our commitment to scale, backed by 30 years of experience and a unique perspective on the ever-evolving financial technology landscape.
2024
Vitruvian Partners Growth Investment
Purchased Packets2Disk
Launched Atlas Product Suite
Opened Sydney Office
Opened Dubai Office
Expanded Toronto Office
SOC Compliance for 13th Consecutive Year
Deployed Industry’s First Bergamo Tickerplant
Achieved Diamond Partner Status with Equinix
Achieved Microsoft Cloud Security Solution Specialization
Named Cybersecurity Project of the Year at The Belfast Telegraph IT Awards
2023
Launched Options StrataNet
100Gb Ultra Low Latency Connectivity via a Single Port
Opened Paris Office
Achieved 5 Microsoft Solutions Partner Designations
60+ Data Center Locations Globally
Announced the Creation of 200 New Jobs
Awarded Employer for the Future (SME) with The Irish News
Awarded ‘IT Team or Department of the Year’ at the Belfast Telegraph IT Awards
2022
Achieved 10 Microsoft Gold Partner Status Competencies
Continued rollout of VMware Cloud Verified Status across 40+ Data Centers
SOC Compliance for 12th Consecutive Year
440+ Employees Worldwide
Best Employee Development (SME) with The Irish News
2021
Purchase Fixnetix from DXC Technology
Recognised by the Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 For 5th Consecutive Year
Achieved VMware Cloud Verified Status
Achieved Microsoft Gold Partner Status
Announced ACTIV Financial Acquisition
2020
Achieved prestigious Microsoft Cloud Platform Gold Partner Status
8 industry awards across Infrastructure, Cloud and Security
Multi Cloud delivery
£250K raised for front line staff fighting COVID
35+ Options Hires Expansion into 30+ exchanges
2019
New Growth Investment From Abry Partners
New Colocation In Canada & Australia
Platinum Partner Status with Equinix
10 Wins Including ‘Best Overall Technology Firm’ at HFM European Technology Awards
3rd Consecutive Year Placed In Sunday Times HSBC FastTrack for International growth
2018
New Colocation At Nasdaq Stockholm
Market Data Expansion Connectivity With NYSE
12 Wins Including ‘Best Overall Technology Firm’ at HFM US Technology Awards
Drawdown Private Equity Service Awards: Best Overall For Cloud, Cyber & Compliance
2017
Bregal Sagemount Growth Investment
Named to Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 as UK Leading Growth Firm
Office Expansions In Toronto, Dallas & Geneva
2016
70% Sales Growth
3+ Regional Offices
50+ Options Hires
30+ Global Data Centre Footprint
4 Award Wins
2015
x2 Sales Growth
3 Office Expansions
35+ Options Hires
6 New Data Centers
1 Acquisition
200 Clients Milestone
2011
SOC Accreditation Introduced
One of first service providers accredited for:
- *Infrastructure
- *Managed Services
2008
Options Technology (Asia) Ltd.
2005
Options Information Technology LLC
2002
Pioneer of Private Financial Cloud:
Options Managed Platform Launched
1993
Options’ journey began in 1991 when founder, Nigel Kneafsey, then aged 14, entered a competition in Computer Magazine to build a high-performance workstation. After winning the competition he received a call from the London office of Goldman Sachs who offered him a consulting opportunity to build hardware for the trading floor. A few years later in 1993, when Nigel was legally able to become a company director, Options was incorporated as a hedge fund technology services provider.
Company Evolution
Today, Options is a global leader in financial technology managed services and IT infrastructure products.
We continue to embody the passion, entrepreneurial flair, and winning attitude that have characterized our journey.
Our commitment to understanding the complex demands of the financial services sector positions us as a trusted partner for the twenty-first century.
Options enables clients to operate world-class financial technology infrastructure while supporting business scalability and embracing new technologies for the future.