CME Group, Google Cloud to build new private Google Cloud region in Illinois

CME Group (CME) and Google Cloud (GOOG, GOOGL) announced plans to build a new private Google Cloud region, and a co-location facility, in Aurora, Illinois. The private Google Cloud region will host Google Cloud’s new, industry-first specialized platform designed to support global trading of CME Group’s futures and options markets, and offer derivatives traders cloud-based, ultra-low-latency networking, and high-performance computing. Locating the platform in the new private Google Cloud region in the Chicago area will allow CME Group’s clients to utilize existing connectivity options and access points to other global markets. Additionally, CME Group’s clients can choose between self-managed infrastructure in the co-location facility or Google Cloud’s specialized infrastructure-as-a-service offering, both with equal network latency to the exchange. The new specialized platform will enable a number of benefits for CME Group’s clients, including expanded flexibility, strengthened operational efficiencies, and increased access to cloud services, and artificial intelligence capabilities, all of which will deepen the value proposition for market users around the globe. For example, CME Group clients will be enabled to rapidly experiment, test, and deploy new strategies without impacting their production trading environments.