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

Scale

Experience

Experience

Perspective

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.

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.  

Our vision is to provide the integrated infrastructure fabric that enables Global Capital Market innovation for the next 50 years

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.

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