Published On : October 2026
Deployment model and modernisation stage are usually discussed as two separate segmentation questions, but across the Latin America capital markets trading platforms and exchange infrastructure market they move together closely enough that one is a reliable proxy for the other.
Four deployment models describe how an exchange runs its infrastructure: on-premise infrastructure, private cloud, hybrid cloud and managed exchange services. Four modernisation stages describe how far an exchange has progressed technically: legacy infrastructure, partial modernisation, fully electronic exchange and multi-market integrated exchange.
An exchange still running on legacy infrastructure is almost always doing so on-premise, since the same multi-year replacement cycle that keeps its core systems outdated also keeps it from having migrated deployment model. Conversely, a multi-market integrated exchange has typically already adopted private cloud, hybrid cloud or managed services for at least part of its stack.
This pairing matters for buyers because it means a deployment model decision is rarely reversible on its own. Choosing on-premise infrastructure for a new matching engine effectively also chooses a slower modernisation path overall, since the surrounding platform types tend to be built to match whichever deployment model the core trading system already runs on.
Vendors serving this market have adapted their commercial offerings to this pairing rather than fighting it, generally packaging a deployment model recommendation together with whichever platform types and technology layers a given modernisation proposal covers, rather than pricing deployment model as an independent line item an exchange chooses freely.
This report treats deployment model and modernisation stage as a single combined lens rather than two separate segmentation questions for exactly this reason: presenting them separately would suggest an exchange evaluates each independently, when in practice a modernisation proposal almost always specifies both together as one package.
On-premise infrastructure remains common among the region's smaller national exchanges, where the capital already invested in physical data centre infrastructure, and the operational risk of migrating a live trading system, both weigh against a near-term move to cloud deployment.
Private cloud deployment has become the more common next step for exchanges beginning modernisation, since it offers cloud-style elasticity and centralised management while keeping data and processing within infrastructure the exchange or a trusted regional provider directly controls, an important consideration given the region's fragmented regulatory requirements.
Hybrid cloud deployment, combining on-premise systems for latency-sensitive matching engine functions with private or public cloud for market data distribution, analytics and less time-critical workloads, has emerged as a practical middle path for exchanges unwilling to migrate matching infrastructure but eager to modernise everything built around it.
The choice between private and hybrid cloud generally comes down to how much of an exchange's infrastructure is genuinely latency-sensitive. An exchange whose matching engine handles a high message rate has a stronger case for keeping that specific function on-premise or in a tightly controlled private cloud, while everything downstream, market data distribution, analytics and reporting, can move more freely to a broader hybrid cloud arrangement without affecting execution speed.
Regulatory comfort with cloud deployment also varies by country across the eight markets this report covers, which is part of why hybrid cloud has gained more traction as a middle path than a full public cloud migration. An exchange operating under a regulatory authority still developing its own cloud-specific guidance generally finds it easier to justify a hybrid arrangement that keeps sensitive functions under direct control than to justify a fuller migration a regulator has not yet explicitly addressed.
Managed exchange services shift day-to-day operation of some or all trading infrastructure to a specialist provider, letting a smaller national exchange offer modern trading, surveillance and market data capability without building and staffing that infrastructure internally.
This model has particular appeal for the region's smaller markets, since it converts a large upfront infrastructure investment into an ongoing operating cost more proportionate to the exchange's own trading volumes. the national exchanges most likely to adopt them tend to be the same exchanges facing the steepest gap between what their trading participants expect and what their current on-premise infrastructure can deliver.
Managed exchange services do come with a trade-off that buyers weigh carefully: control over roadmap and customisation shifts partly to the provider, which matters more to an exchange planning to differentiate its own trading platform than to one primarily seeking reliable, modern baseline infrastructure.
Contract structure for managed exchange services also tends to differ from a traditional software licence, more often resembling the long-term technology partnerships and infrastructure outsourcing contracts this report tracks as distinct procurement models, with pricing tied to trading volume or a service-level commitment rather than a fixed upfront fee.
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PROCUREMENT INSIGHT Managed service agreements and infrastructure outsourcing contracts are becoming a realistic alternative to a full internal modernisation programme for smaller exchanges, not merely a stopgap, as providers extend managed offerings to cover surveillance and market data distribution alongside core trading and matching functions. |
Legacy infrastructure describes exchanges still running substantially manual or semi-automated processes for at least part of their trading, clearing or settlement workflow, typically the smallest markets among the eight this report covers.
Partial modernisation describes an exchange that has electronically automated its core matching function but has not yet extended that modernisation consistently across surveillance, market data distribution and post-trade processing, leaving a mix of modern and legacy systems operating side by side.
A fully electronic exchange has completed that extension, running matching, surveillance, market data and post-trade processing on integrated, largely automated infrastructure, though still typically as a single-market operation rather than one connected across borders.
Moving between these three stages is rarely a single procurement event. An exchange typically modernises one platform type at a time, most often starting with the matching engine given its central role, then extending automation outward to surveillance and market data before finally addressing post-trade processing, which explains why partial modernisation is the stage where most of the region's exchanges currently sit.
Multi-market integrated exchanges represent the most advanced modernisation stage this report tracks, combining trading, clearing and settlement across more than one market or asset class on a single, unified technology platform rather than running separate systems for each.
Reaching this stage generally requires sustained investment across several modernisation cycles rather than a single infrastructure project, which is why it remains concentrated among the region's largest exchange groups. the leading providers building multi-market integrated exchange platforms tend to be the same global exchange technology groups already supplying core matching and clearing infrastructure elsewhere in the region.
For a smaller national exchange, multi-market integration is typically an aspirational, multi-year goal rather than a near-term procurement decision, since it depends on first completing the legacy-to-fully-electronic transition described above.
The commercial case for multi-market integration usually rests on connectivity revenue rather than trading fees alone, since a unified platform spanning multiple asset classes or markets makes it easier for a single broker or asset manager connection to reach all of them, a convenience international participants increasingly expect before committing meaningful order flow to a given exchange group.
Strategic investment programmes aimed at multi-market integration also tend to attract closer regulatory scrutiny than a single-market modernisation project, since combining trading, clearing and settlement across markets or asset classes can raise cross-border data residency and systemic risk questions that a single-market upgrade does not, adding a further reason this stage takes longer to reach than the three earlier ones.
A practical takeaway for a technology buyer weighing where to start is that skipping stages is uncommon in this market. Exchanges evaluating deployment model and modernisation stage together consistently find it more effective to plan a sequence of achievable projects than to attempt a single leap from legacy infrastructure directly to multi-market integration.
Budget planning benefits from the same sequencing logic. An exchange board approving a modernisation programme one achievable stage at a time can point to a completed, working milestone before requesting the next round of funding, an easier internal case to make than requesting the full multi-year budget for a single leap to the most advanced stage up front
Four deployment models are common across the region: on-premise infrastructure, private cloud, hybrid cloud and managed exchange services, with the choice closely linked to how far an exchange has modernised overall.
A managed exchange service shifts day-to-day operation of some or all trading infrastructure to a specialist provider, letting a smaller exchange offer modern capability without building and staffing that infrastructure internally.
A partially modernised exchange has automated its core matching function but still runs a mix of modern and legacy systems elsewhere, while a fully electronic exchange runs matching, surveillance, market data and post-trade processing on integrated, largely automated infrastructure.
A multi-market integrated exchange combines trading, clearing and settlement across more than one market or asset class on a single, unified technology platform rather than running separate systems for each.
An exchange still running legacy infrastructure is almost always doing so on-premise, since the multi-year cycle that keeps its systems outdated also keeps it from migrating deployment model, while more modernised exchanges have typically already adopted cloud or managed deployment for at least part of their stack.
The matching engine plays the central role in a trading platform, since every other platform type depends on how it processes order flow, so exchanges typically automate it first and then extend modernisation outward to surveillance, market data and post-trade processing.
An exchange operating under a regulatory authority still developing its own cloud-specific guidance generally finds it easier to justify a hybrid cloud arrangement that keeps sensitive functions under direct control than to justify a fuller public cloud migration.