Define the liquidity requirement
Document instruments, expected flow, execution model, account structure, regions and operating hours before comparing connectivity options.
Pricing and market data
Specify symbol mapping, price precision, market hours, stale-price handling and what happens when a feed becomes unavailable.
Execution workflow
Document order types, routing, acknowledgements, rejects, partial fills and reconciliation. Operational teams need a clear interpretation of every execution state.
Connectivity
FIX is commonly used for institutional connectivity, but implementation details vary. Define sessions, authentication, message flows, throttling, recovery and certification requirements.
Aggregation and routing
If multiple venues are involved, specify how prices are normalized, how orders are routed and what controls apply during degraded conditions.
Monitoring and reporting
Measure session health, quote freshness, execution latency, reject rates and reconciliation exceptions. Avoid treating a single latency number as a complete quality metric.
Provider comparison
Compare commercial terms together with technical onboarding, support, documentation, reporting, failover options and the operational burden placed on the broker.