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.

The Solution

Devoteam 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, Devoteam 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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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 Devoteam’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.