News Release, 24 April 2003

London Stock Exchange partners with Microsoft and Accenture to deliver key market data

Exchange aims to add to its range of information products and increase revenues using new Microsoft-based systems

London– The London Stock Exchange (the Exchange) has worked with Accenture and Microsoft to create key data solutions for the Exchange, Europe’s largest securities market. One solution is a new market information and data access system, which will greatly improve the richness and delivery speed of the Exchange’s market data, and should lead to increased revenue. The solution is an excellent example of the Exchange’s strategy to increase its range of products and services, cut costs and maintain high levels of customer service by using the latest technology.

The market information and data access system, which went live on the 14th April, was developed and implemented by Accenture to deliver real-time price and value-added information to both market systems and consumers at the highest speed possible. The Exchange believes that the new products and services delivered on this system have the potential to significantly increase the Exchange’s annual revenue.

The system, based on the Microsoft .NET Framework and hosted on Microsoft Windows Server 2003 which is officially launched today, consumes raw trading data from 350 institutions and publishes it in real-time. It also draws on a newly created corporate data warehouse that gives the Exchange’s customers access to a wide range of current and historical data going back 30 years.

“The value of stock market information depreciates faster than almost any other product in the world. Speed of delivery is vital,” says David Lester, CIO, London Stock Exchange. “Our reputation is staked on the value and timeliness of the data we deliver to our customers. We wanted the capability to process at least 500 messages a second, the flexibility to broaden our product range to add value for our shareholders, and the peace of mind that we had a solution we could rely on. Working with Microsoft and Accenture, we have delivered a system that gives us all this and more.”

Lester continues: “Accenture and Microsoft have demonstrated an in-depth understanding of our business needs and helped us take advantage of the latest technology without sacrificing resilience. Following stringent comparisons with other technologies, we made the decision to use Microsoft.”

David Slight, industry marketing manager for financial services at Microsoft comments: “Following stringent testing, the Exchange chose the Microsoft platform on the basis of its high performance, scalability, reliability and fast implementation times. Since implementing its Microsoft .NET-based market information and data access solution, the Exchange has already seen performance reach 3000 transactions per second.”

“Accenture has a long history with the Exchange and this project provides yet another example of how they have been bold in harnessing the potential of technology – realizing the business advantages that it can provide," says John Erik Ellingsen, a partner in Accenture's Financial Services operating group, responsible for the company's work at the Exchange. "Accenture teams with Microsoft regularly, and the combination of their technology focus and Accenture’s industry knowledge and delivery capability has proven to be a powerful alliance in terms of helping clients bring new services to market quickly and efficiently."

- Ends -

Contacts:

Zoe KnipeKate Reid

Write ImageWrite Image

+44 (0)207 959 5400 +44 (0)207 959 5400

Editor Notes

About Microsoft in financial services

Microsoft is a leading provider of software products and technology to the financial services industry. Its customers operate in every area of retail banking, insurance and pensions, and the financial markets.

Microsoft focuses on providing the security, scalability and reliability that the financial enterprise requires. ThroughMicrosoft .NET,the XML Web services platform,Microsoft enables customers to act on information anytime, any place and from any smart device.

Working with leading software vendors and systems integrators in the banking and insurance industries, Microsoft supports financial institutions in re-engineering core business operations, achieving straight through processing, better managing all aspects of risk and capital adequacy, increasing efficiency in branch banking operations, and establishing a new generation of telephone and internet-based financial services channels.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software - any time, any place and on any device.

Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries. Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

About the London Stock Exchange

The London Stock Exchange is one of the world's leading equity exchanges and a leading provider of services that facilitate the raising of capital and the trading of shares.

The London Stock Exchange is the most international equities exchange by trading in the worldand Europe's largest pool of liquidity. By the end of 2002, the market capitalisation of UKand international companies on its markets amounted to £3.1 trillion, with £4.6 trillion ofequity business transacted over the year.

The London Stock Exchange is a Recognised Investment Exchange (RIE) under the FinancialServices and Markets Act 2000 and is supervised by the Financial Services Authority.

About Accenture
Accenture is the world's leading management consulting and technology services company. Committed to delivering innovation, Accenture collaborates with its clients to help them realize their visions and create tangible value. With deep industry expertise, broad global resources and proven experience in consulting and outsourcing, Accenture can mobilize the right people, skills, alliances and technologies. With more than 75,000 people in 47 countries, the company generated net revenues of $11.6 billion for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2002. Its home page is