Slow at market open
The legacy dashboard struggled under peak load, so traders waited for numbers exactly when speed mattered most.
Office
Unit 1, La Place Creole, Rodney Bay, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia
Fortgate Technologies delivers full-stack IT services, including websites, software, CRM and ERP, cloud, servers and cybersecurity, as one accountable team.
Case Study: Capital Markets
Modernising a market-data dashboard for an investment desk
An investment desk relied on spreadsheets and a legacy dashboard that slowed down at market open. Modernising it meant live data they could trust, without interrupting trading.
Client
Investment desk at a mid-sized asset manager
Industry
Timeline & Platform
Delivered in agile sprints alongside live trading. Real-time web dashboard on cloud infrastructure.
The Challenge
Decisions made on data that was already out of date
Portfolio managers and traders were stitching together prices, positions and risk from a legacy dashboard and a collection of spreadsheets. At the busiest moments of the day, the tools were at their slowest.
Spreadsheet sprawl
Critical calculations lived in personal spreadsheets with no version control, creating risk of errors and inconsistent figures.
No single source of truth
Positions, prices and risk came from different systems, so teams often debated whose numbers were correct.
Change without disruption
Any new system had to be introduced without interrupting live trading or retraining the whole desk overnight.
Our Solution
A real-time dashboard built around how the desk works
We worked side by side with traders and portfolio managers to understand their daily workflow, then rebuilt the dashboard in stages so the desk could switch over with confidence.
- 1
Workflow discovery
Shadowed the desk at market open and close to identify the views, calculations and alerts that mattered most.
- 2
Unified data layer
Consolidated market data, positions and risk feeds into one validated data layer so every screen shows the same numbers.
- 3
Real-time dashboard
Built fast, customisable web dashboards with streaming prices, live P&L, exposure views and configurable alerts.
- 4
Cloud infrastructure
Deployed on auto-scaling cloud infrastructure designed for peak-hour load, with encryption and role-based access.
- 5
Parallel run and rollout
Ran the new dashboard alongside the old one, reconciled the numbers, then moved teams over one at a time.
Technology used
- React
- WebSockets
- Python data services
- Time-series database
- AWS
- Role-based access
- Automated reconciliation
Final Outcomes
Live, trusted numbers when they matter most
The desk now works from one fast, reliable view of the market and its positions, including during the busiest trading periods.
Fast under pressure
The dashboard stays responsive at market open and during news-driven spikes in activity.
One version of the truth
Traders, portfolio managers and risk teams all see the same validated figures in real time.
Lower operational risk
Key calculations moved out of personal spreadsheets into tested, version-controlled code.
Zero-disruption switchover
The parallel run let the desk adopt the new tools without pausing trading.
Client Benefits
How the investment desk benefited
Faster, more reliable data gave the desk more time for analysis and more confidence in every decision.
- Less time reconciling numbers and more time analysing the market
- Consistent figures across trading, portfolio management and risk
- Infrastructure that scales automatically on the busiest days
- Access controls and audit logs that support compliance reviews
- A modern platform that new data sources and reports can plug into
This case study describes a representative Fortgate engagement. Client names and confidential details are withheld; ask us for references from completed work.
Facing a similar challenge?
Tell us about your project and we’ll show you how we would approach it, with a clear plan, timeline and quote.
Get a Free Consultation