Reuters/Rich Launches Triarch 2000, Prism: Enhances Workstation Connectivity

By launching Trading Information Architecture (TRIARCH) two years ago, Rich. Inc. provided a way for users of its Composite Information System video switch to move into the digital era. Now Rich, a Reuters Holdings PLC subsidiary, is making it easier to use intelligent workstations in the trading room through TRIARCH 2000.

The second product in the Reuter 2000 family, TRIARCH 2000 marks the integration of Rich, a Chicago-based manufacturer of trading room systems, into Reuters' worldwide organization. TRIARCH was originally designed by Rich, but TRIARCH 2000 was developed at regional centers in the U.K., Japan and the U.S.

TRIARCH 2000 is Reuter/Rich's answer to the evolution of trading systems from video switches to datafeeds, servers, LANS and workstations. It will be demonstrated at Reuters Infoworld in London April 27-28.

If a TRIARCH customer decided to plug a Sun workstation into the digital communications network, it wouldn't blow up because they both support Ethernet. But TRIARCH 2000 includes software tools that enhance performance and connectivity with intelligent workstations.

In addition to supporting workstations from Sun Microsystems Inc. and Digital Equipment Corp., TRIARCH 2000 is available with the Reuter Intelligent Workstation (RIW).

The RIW can control up to five screens from a single keyboard or mouse. It includes one high-resolution main display that can be divided into multiple windows and used for graphics. A window on the main display controls four side screens that each can be split into three zones. Video information services are accessed through the main display control window and viewed on the side screens, while digital sources can be shown on any screen.

Reuters' IDR Inc. subsidiary built the 80386 box on which the RIW is based. The Reuter Dealer Trading System, a transactional product for futures, foreign exchange and government securities, has also been shown on the IDR 80386 workstation, but could run on another vendor's computer, a Reuter spokesman says.

Post Market Trade, the after-hours electronic trading system that Reuters is jointly developing with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, will use RDTS. So will Dealing 2000, a foreign exchange trading system that will be previewed at the Forex 88 exhibition May 23-25 in Hawaii. Reuters' first 2000 product was Equities 2000, a high-speed international equities quotation service that was unveiled last May.

Although software developers and consultants freely predict the demise of systems integrators such as Rich and Micrognosis Inc., Reuters is positioning TRIARCH as a platform that can change along with the needs of its customers.

Through its Integrated Data Network (IDN), Reuters will provide Marketfeed 2000, a 56 kbps feed of securities, futures and news. TRIARCH 2000 will store and manipulate this data as well as information from other vendors and in-house systems. Reuter/Rich software libraries will allow customers to write proprietary applications on intelligent workstations using real-time data.

Reuters claims TRIARCH 2000's open architecture means any computer system can be connected to the network, either directly or through a gateway. The TRIARCH 2000 local area network is built on three protocols -- Ethernet, TCP/IP and the Reuter/Rich Data Protocol, which ensures reliable broadcast of real-time data.

TRIARCH 2000 users can access external data sources at their workstation through two different gateways. A 3270 gateway server interfaces to IBM mainframe computers while an asynchronous gateway server communicates with modems, printers, terminal servers, cluster controllers and directly attached host computers.

 a Composite Page Manager that puts information from several vendors onto one user-defined page,

 a Page Editor that allows traders to create up to 500 pages of personal information that can be broadcast to any user on the network, and

 a Real-Time Spreadsheet that calculates rates and ratios using real-time market data.

Reuters says TRIARCH 2000 works equally well as a digital or hybrid solution, but not all firms have the option of building fully digital trading rooms because some datafeeds that they need are available in video form only.

Although it's not possible for some firms to go completely digital, the hybrid approach has sometimes proven awkward for CIS users who have installed the original TRIARCH on top of the video switch.

For firms that do not want to invest in technology destined to become obsolete, Reuters/Rich is offering the Programmable Integrated Switching Module (PRISM), which can be leased. In Europe, PRISM replaces the Reuters Hub.

PRISM can be used with TRIARCH 2000 to handle residual video datafeeds or it can act as a standalone system for small- and medium- sized trading rooms. PRISM's keyboard can control up to four color or 12 monochrome screens and accommodates up to 30 different sources, including in-house computer systems.