IIJ Upgrades Its SaaS FX Platform "IIJ Raptor Service" by Developing a New Cloud-Native System Core Adopting Container Technology for Greatly Improved Scalability, Performance, and Security

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TOKYO - February 5, 2024 - Internet Initiative Japan Inc. (TSE Prime: 3774), one of Japan's leading Internet access and comprehensive network solutions providers, today announced that it has developed and begun provision of a new system core, making use of container technology, in its IIJ Raptor Service, an FX platform for financial institutions. Thanks to a cloud-native architecture adopting container technology,(*1) the new system core achieves major improvements over the previous system in such areas as scalability, performance, and security functions, offering stable operation in forex markets, which have seen high liquidity(*2) in recent years. This system core has already been adopted as the forex trading service platform of Sony Bank Inc. and has been in operation since September 2023.

• (*1)Container technology: A technology enabling more efficient server use than a conventional virtual server architecture. By using it together with Kubernetes or other platform for container orchestration, automation of system management can be advanced.
• (*2)Liquidity: The extent of trading opportunities and volume in a market, such as for investment securities or forex. High liquidity means the market has many participants and buyers or sellers are readily found.

Background to development of the new system core

IIJ began offering the FX platform IIJ Raptor Service in 2010. As a system equipped with both high performance and stability, it has been adopted as a financial services platform by more than a dozen firms and has continued to provide stable service ever since. Meanwhile, the volume of forex trading by individual investors in Japan has been rising, exceeding 10 quadrillion yen in both 2022 and 2023,(*3) with the expectations of further growth in activity and volume of trading. In response to this situation, IIJ has developed a new system core for IIJ Raptor Service, with higher performance and scalability.

• (*3)Source: Bank of Japan, "Retail Foreign Exchange Margin Trading in Japan: An Analysis from the Developments in 2022" (September 13, 2023)
  https://www.boj.or.jp/en/research/wps_rev/rev_2023/rev23e07.htm

Features of the new system core for IIJ Raptor Service

The three main features of this system core are "cloud native," "improved performance," and "stronger security."

1. Realizes auto-scaling by means of a cloud-native system architecture

   Auto-scaling of system resources is made possible by the cloud-native architecture adopting Kubernetes-based container technology. This means trading servers can be quickly scaled out in response to market conditions, such as extreme market volatility or sudden surges in trading activity. Another advantage of the container technology is that it can be used in any environment, enabling speedy system deployment in various cloud environments, and can therefore meet diverse needs, for example, rapid deployment of a BCP environment not only on the main system but on an external cloud.

2. Improved performance

   The new system core greatly improves both server and network performance. By means of a load balancer and application container scale-out configuration, it is capable of handling simultaneous use by tens of thousands of investors, and tens of thousands of trades per second, stably and with no latency. In the midst of rising forex liquidity due to various market influences, it provides investors with a stress-free trading environment.

3. Stronger security

   As server attacks have become increasingly sophisticated, the methods for attacking financial systems have diversified. The new system core minimizes the risk of vulnerabilities by keeping software packages, including the container image, to the minimum necessary and by instituting automatic container vulnerability scanning. Security functions have been further strengthened by introducing a Web Application Firewall (WAF) as a measure against Web application vulnerabilities. Additional strengthening of security mechanisms of various kinds is planned, such as support for risk-based authentication.

IIJ will continue with stable operation and functional enhancement of IIJ Raptor Service, including support for the increasingly popular over-the-counter CFD (contract for difference) transactions, and will promote switching to and expanded sales of the new system core. IIJ is also committed to further supporting new business creation by customers, drawing on more than a decade of knowledge and experience in building and operating FX and crypto-asset trading systems.

The statements within this release contain forward-looking statements about our future plans that involve risk and uncertainty. These statements may differ materially from actual future events or results.

For inquiries, contact

IIJ Corporate Communications

• +81-3-5205-6310
• +81-3-5205-6377
• press@iij.ad.jp

• (*)All company, product, and service names used in this press release are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.