Equity traders are concerned about how many "hops" their orders are taking in the electronic marketplace, so FIX message tags are a hot topic on the buy side.

In spinoff from ConvergEx, Eze Castle OMS and RealTick EMS will soon have a new financial backer, TPG Capital, focused on software. Will this impact buy side clients?

Mobile apps for iphones and tablets are starting to emerge in the OMS/EMS space, so that buy side traders can place a trade, rebalance a portfolio or check compliance.

Asset managers are wrestling with technology costs and are looking for ways to "rationalize" their expenses for order management and execution management systems.

Portware offers automated trading infrastructure in a one-stop shop.

We have been writing about the debate over integrating the order management and execution management systems for the past five years. And still the issue is unresolved.

I caught up with Harrell Smith, Head of Product Strategy for Portware yesterday. We chatted about the world of high frequency trading, of course, as well as what Portware is working on in the coming months. The company has a lot on its plate and according to Harrell, has experienced 40% growth this year despite the woes that most other technology and trading firms are experiencing. That growth is coming from smaller proprietary shops as well as larger sell side institutions. In fact, Harrell said Portware has recently signed on a European-based bulge bracket broker-dealer, which has helped to propel the firm's growth. He was not at liberty to disclose the firms name until the fall.