Kent Riboe, Managing Partner at MT Proxy, recently spoke with Paul Orford in an interview for the latest edition of Game Changers Magazine. We’re pleased to share the interview with you here.
Tell us about MT Proxy. What is it you do?
We help brokers offer their clients a better, faster trading experience. And we do this in a number of ways.
The first thing we do is help brokers get closer to their clients. You see, fast trading comes from fast data transmission. The closer brokers are to their clients, the faster they can send and receive data. And of course the faster they can process trades. We help by figuring out where the clients are and what the best server locations would be. We then find the best network routes based on client location. We also continually optimise pathways to meet growing client demand. This ensures clients are always connected via the best route, enabling brokers to offer clients the best possible trading experience.
The second thing we do is help brokers improve their overall performance. You see, fast trading also depends on server availability. The more brokers rely on their main servers, the more vulnerable they are to server overloads, outages, and even DDoS attacks. We help brokers reduce the load on their main servers by seamlessly moving client connections to our proxies. We also monitor all our proxies and their performance in real-time. This means brokers benefit from better connectivity, and their clients benefit from a better, more reliable service.
Why did you decide to start MT Proxy?
Brokers need the lowest possible latency in order to stay competitive. We started MT Proxy about a decade ago, because we saw a real need for a better, more affordable way for brokers to boost connectivity and speed up trading for their clients. Many brokers rely on VPS services for this, and it is very hard to find a VPS provider that offers the right level of stability, connectivity, and routing. It is also hard to find one that offers services in the right regions for the right price.
We felt that with MT Proxy we could bring something really unique to the market. We have an extensive network of proxy servers, so we can be wherever our partnering brokers need us to be. We also have the technology in place to optimise network routes, reduce latency, and monitor proxy performance. This means brokers can get the robust trading infrastructure they need, without having to invest a lot of time and resources in managing proxies. There are very few companies in the market that do what we do. We also provide a fully-managed service and we believe brokers see the value in that.
Although your company is the market leader at what you do, why do you keep such a low profile?
We’re not here to take the spotlight from brokers. They are the ones who have the relationship with the traders. We’re just here to make that relationship faster, better, and stronger. We’re a low profile partner who helps them deliver a better service, and we’re happy with that. And to be fair, we also work with world-leading CRM, bridge, and liquidity providers. We’re proud to share the spotlight with such amazing partners.
Many of the readers get endless calls from ‘solution’ providers. Why do I need your company at my brokerage?
Low latency has always been important to traders. The difference now is that traders are much more connected and able to share their trading experience with others. With more and more companies entering the market, brokers need to offer their traders the best possible trading experience. This means low latency trading and fast order execution. And no other provider in the market is as good as us when it comes to speeding up trading on the client-facing side.
Low latency will become even more important to traders in the future, as the industry moves towards 24/7 trading. Tools4Brokers for example, has already enabled weekend trading for forex and cryptocurrency markets via their bridge. I imagine other providers will soon do the same. This means brokers will need to be in a position to offer low latency trading across all markets at all times. No other provider in the market is as well equipped as us to help them do that.
How hard is it to integrate the technology?
It’s relatively simple actually. We can get everything set up in less than two working days, all the broker needs to do is to add our hostnames to their MT4/MT5 platforms, and this takes about 15 minutes. As the process is so straightforward, it also makes it very easy for us to offer free trials. We are currently offering a free two-week trial to brokers who want to try our services. The setup is seamless for clients and the performance benefit is immediate.
What are the common objections you get from a potential client not to sign up?
I think some brokers feel that this type of trading infrastructure is something that can be managed internally. And it’s true that there is nothing stopping brokers from setting up their own proxy servers. But setting things up is the easy part. The hard part is knowing how to find the best server locations and how to best optimise pathways. What we offer brokers is a fully-managed solution. We roll it out, we monitor it, and we make sure it works. We optimise the network, we maximise connectivity, and we boost the overall proxy performance. As such, we offer real value to brokers in terms of both the service they get, and the time they save.
We always felt your price was too cheap. Will you be raising the price soon to reflect the value that your product gives?
We are looking into price models this year. That said, we want our services to be affordable. We know what services are available on the market. And we know how much these services cost to run. We also know that MT Proxy adds value and we feel our prices reflect that. It is important to us that we can offer the same great service to all brokers, regardless of their size. And we want to be affordable to both new and established brands. That’s why our prices start at just 980 euros per month for a package of 5 proxies.
What makes you so special?
A lot of companies are about the bottom line, whereas we are very much about customer service and added value. We’re looking to build long-term relationships with all our brokers and partners. That’s why we do everything we can to help them improve their infrastructure and offer a better trading experience to clients. We’re really on the ball when it comes to monitoring our proxy performance and client connectivity. If there’s an issue, we know about it immediately and brokers can rely on us 24/7. We think it’s that high level of support that enables us to help brokers improve the trading experience for clients and that makes us stand out in the market.
With a particular business model being more aligned to financial gain of their brand rather than the client, does this work for them?
Yes, it does. It might even be more important for them. Financial gain comes from having great customer service. And you can’t offer great customer service without also offering great trading services. Financial gain also requires brokers to have great trading infrastructure. Brokers with high latency are much more vulnerable to latency arbitrage. It is in their best interest to invest in improving their infrastructure, speeding up trading, and protecting their business from latency abuse.
How can people contact you to get a better understanding?
Smoke signals when their server goes down! I’m joking, of course. They can also reach us via [email protected] or via our website mtproxy.io.
MT Proxy would like to extend its thanks to Paul and the team at Game Changers for inviting us to contribute to their highly-regarded industry publication. To read the full edition, visit the Game Changers website.
