Ortex
AWS Architecture for Next-Generation Financial Analytics
About Ortex
Launched in 2017, Ortex has established itself as a significant player in the global financial services sector. Headquartered in London, the company provides comprehensive financial analytics across 20 different categories, including ETFs, Index Funds, Currencies, Commodities, IPOs, and Credit default swaps.
Through their tiered service model – offering Free, Basic, and Advanced packages – they help investors identify and analyse market opportunities.
With 10-50 employees, Ortex continues to innovate through their proprietary Financial Analytics platform and their Securities Trading platform (which is in development).
The Challenge
Ortex faced several challenges in managing their AWS infrastructure:
AWS Account Structure
The need for a well-architected and scalable AWS account structure to allow for rapid and resilient development of their new Securities Trading platform
Security & Compliance
Managing an AWS multi-account organisation efficiently, securely, compliantly, and with appropriate governance. In the financial services sector, robust security and compliance are non-negotiable due to strict industry regulations and the sensitive nature of financial data.
Developer Practices & Cost Management
Simplifying developer practices and reducing the costs of several vital Cloud-based data import and message delivery tasks.
Organisational Alignment
Keeping AWS organisational best practices in line with business needs while meeting the demand for more insightful and timely data from Ortex services.
Innovation Balance
Balancing innovation with best practices in hosting, language, and stack selection, given the wide range of options available.
These challenges were particularly critical for Ortex as a financial services company
The need for unwavering system reliability, stringent data security, and the ability to process time-sensitive financial data magnified the importance of addressing these issues effectively. Solving these challenges was crucial for Ortex to maintain its competitive position and deliver high-quality analytics in a fast-paced, regulated industry.
The Solution
Ubertas Consulting delivered a comprehensive solution package, focusing on implementing AWS best practices and architecture for Ortex’s financial data analytics platforms. The project involved the design, deployment, and verification of an AWS Landing Zone in a well-architected structure, along with two pilot projects to improve developer practices and optimise Cloud-based tasks.
Key components of the solution included:
- AWS Landing Zone
Implemented a well-architected and scalable AWS account structure. The Landing Zone was crucial for establishing a secure, multi-account AWS environment, providing Ortex with the governance and security controls necessary for handling sensitive financial data. - Terraform Refactor
Existing Infrastructure as Code for the Securities Trading platform was reworked using Terraform. This choice allowed for better version control, easier collaboration, and more consistent deployments, crucial for maintaining the integrity of Ortex’s infrastructure. - Pilot One
Implemented Infrastructure and Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) code for isolated developer environments using Terraspace and GitLab CI/CD pipeline. This approach was selected to improve developer workflows and ensure consistent, reproducible environments, thereby accelerating development cycles and reducing errors. - Pilot Two
Developed infrastructure and illustrative application code for AWS Batch, Lambda, and Step Function services. These serverless and event-driven architectures were chosen to optimise Ortex’s CRON-based tasks, improving efficiency and scalability while reducing operational overhead.
Throughout the project, Ubertas Consulting utilised regular meetings with the customer to ensure alignment with Ortex’s business requirements and challenges. This collaborative approach ensured that all aspects of the solution were tailored to Ortex’s specific needs and aligned with AWS best practices to accelerate their platform development.
Key AWS Services
AWS Batch • AWS Lambda • AWS Step Functions • AWS Organizations • AWS Control Tower • AWS IAM • AWS CloudWatch • AWS CloudTrail • AWS Config • AWS SSO (IAM Identity Center)
The Benefits
The successful delivery of the project brought several significant benefits to Ortex:
- Secure, Scalable, and Compliant Foundation. Implementation of AWS Landing Zone provided a secure, scalable environment that adheres to financial industry regulations. This well-architected structure supports Ortex’s growth while maintaining best practices.
- Enhanced Operational Efficiency and Cost Management. AWS Batch and serverless technologies improved efficiency and reduced operational overhead. Centralised management led to optimised resource allocation and reduced costs for data import and content creation tasks.
- Accelerated Development and Deployment Process. Isolated deployment environments enabled faster development cycles and more robust code reviews. This resulted in increased productivity and reduced time-to-market for new features.
- Increased Resilience and Flexibility. The new AWS environment offers greater resilience and adaptability to changing business needs. This allows Ortex to quickly respond to market demands and incorporate emerging technologies.
- Improved Governance and Risk Management. Implementation of AWS best practices enhanced governance and risk management capabilities. The multi-account structure provides better control over access, security, and compliance, crucial for building trust in the financial services sector.
These benefits, achieved through Ubertas Consulting’s expertise in AWS architecture and best practices, have positioned Ortex for future growth and innovation. The robust, efficient, and compliant Cloud infrastructure allows Ortex to focus on delivering cutting-edge financial data analytics while supporting their ambitious expansion plans.
"As we embarked on the next evolution of our business, we were aware that we needed expertise that we did not have available in-house to be able to bring up-to-date best practices to our system design and ensure that our system design is cost-effective, maintainable and secure."
"Working with the Ubertas team was a great experience from initial enquiry to project completion. There is a deep technical competence within their ranks, but the engagement itself was meticulously planned and managed, so that all the deliverables were fully delivered on time."
"Ubertas has delivered for us a secure platform that will scale with our new business and meets the compliance requirements of the financial regulators. It acts as a template for us to migrate our existing services to a new structure which will improve our security and reliability."
"I would wholeheartedly recommend Ubertas to other businesses. Not only are they competent in technology and project management, they are a genuinely nice group of people to work with. We would be very happy to work with them again in the future."
Why Ubertas Consulting?
Ubertas Consulting, part of Devoteam, is a Premier AWS Partner specialising in helping organisations implement AWS best practices and architecture. With deep expertise in financial services and regulated industries, we focus on delivering secure, scalable solutions that meet stringent compliance requirements while enabling business innovation.
Our track record of successful AWS implementations in the financial sector, combined with our AWS competencies including Migration and DevOps, ensures we can help organisations like Ortex establish robust Cloud foundations while accelerating their platform development.
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