Deriv Reduces Trading Latency by 50% with AWS Global Accelerator

Deriv is a high-frequency trading platform catering to a global clientele, with a strong presence in Africa and Latin America. The platform executes around six million trades daily and offers over 300 different contract types, including proprietary indices.

As Deriv's customer base grew in Africa, connectivity challenges became more apparent, particularly in remote regions. To maintain low-latency, high-reliability trading, Deriv needed a solution that could overcome these geographical challenges without the high costs typically associated with traditional networking solutions.

Since 2009, Deriv has utilized AWS for its computing, networking, and storage needs. The company identified an opportunity to innovate further by testing AWS Global Accelerator. Andreas Potamitis, senior engineering manager at Deriv, explains, “Our goal was to reduce the 400–500 millisecond latency seen among competitors particularly in Africa. During a three-week proof of concept, we evaluated how AWS Global Accelerator could integrate with our custom network protocols and provide consistent, low-latency communication. Throughout the process, our team focused on optimizing load balancing and monitored performance using Amazon CloudWatch Internet Monitor, selecting the AWS Regions closest to our customers.”

Arun Venkataraman, principal engineer of operations at Deriv, notes, “Our platform is quite unique in its architecture, and it’s not always compatible with most systems or protocols available on the market. The ease with which we could integrate AWS Global Accelerator into our platform and proprietary systems was impressive.” Throughout the testing and deployment phases, Deriv collaborated closely with its AWS technical account manager and AWS Enterprise Support to refine its architecture and implementation strategy. "AWS has been a strategic partner for all our major projects, helping us optimize and implement new solutions seamlessly," says Arun Venkataraman. Andreas Potamitis adds, “We’re grateful to the AWS team, who stood by us throughout the process. Their support was crucial in ensuring low-latency and reliable trading for our globally dispersed clients.”

By adopting AWS Global Accelerator, Deriv successfully met its latency targets while improving network reliability and data security—all at a lower cost than its competitors. “We took a different route compared to others who chose more traditional networking solutions,” explains Arun Venkataraman. “AWS Global Accelerator has proven to be a cost-effective solution, consistently outperforming other networking services currently available.” Deriv now facilitates trades in under 500 milliseconds from anywhere in the world, ensuring a fast and reliable trading experience. "In trading terms, we’re operating at near light speed," says Arun Venkataraman.

The implementation of AWS Global Accelerator has led to regional transaction time improvements ranging from 15 to 50 percent. "Previously, clients in remote markets waited up to five seconds for trades to complete. Now, they can execute more trades per day, with greater precision, compared to competing platforms or even our pre-Accelerator systems," he adds. This increase in trading volume boosts revenue for both Deriv and its customers.

Thanks to AWS Global Infrastructure, Deriv maintains 99.97 percent uptime, with network traffic automatically rerouted in case of regional server outages. Additionally, AWS Global Accelerator simplifies compliance with global Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) requirements, ensuring data encryption both at rest and in transit. “Our clients, regardless of their location, deserve a seamless trading experience. With AWS Global Accelerator, we have been able to significantly reduce latency and ensure reliable access to our platform, even in the most remote locations,” says Andreas Potamitis.

To learn more, visit aws.amazon.com/solutions/financial-services.