Data plays an essential role in decision-making, whether it’s navigating the high seas in a solo offshore race or managing complex FX trading strategies. Both environments demand a high-performance mindset built on precision, adaptability, and calm under pressure. In either scenario, leveraging accurate and timely data can mean the difference between success and disappointment.

Data in Offshore Racing: Navigating Risk and Optimisation

Offshore racing pushes skippers and their boats to the extreme. For sailors like Boris Herrmann and his boat the Malizia – Seaexplorer, data is pivotal to every decision – creating a fine balancing act between performance and risk management.

Key Data Inputs

• Environmental Data: This includes wind speed and direction, currents, wave height, and temperature, measured by onboard sensors. Skippers use this information to strategise when to jibe or tack, cross-referencing it with weather forecasts downloaded as GRIB files (weather files that offshore sailors download twice a day and view on a gridded map).
• Movement Data: Variables include boat speed, VMC (speed toward the mark), VMG (velocity made good), heel angle, or heading. These metrics help to guide the optimisation of the performance, management the course of the race, and the tactical decision-making process.
• Health Data: The Malizia – Seaexplorer team use load cells and fibre optics; two advanced sensors that track the boat’s structural integrity in real time, alerting Boris to potential failures. These systems give skippers confidence to push their boats to the limit while avoiding catastrophic breakdowns.

Decision-Making Under Pressure

With over 300 data variables onboard, half of which are fibre optics, Boris Herrmann’s Malizia – Seaexplorer processes a vast amount of information to guide both immediate actions, long-term strategies and Boris’ own state of mind. For instance, alarms triggered by load sensors prevent over-stressing the rigging, while GPS and other transponders help to inform tactical choices.

The data also informs the skipper’s mindset and stress levels. The more alarms ring, the more of Boris’ input is needed and the less he is going to sleep and rest. In some parts of the race, the wind will be up, so the boat will be less stable, and Boris will have to adjust the sails to control the alarms.

In the end, data in high-stakes races empowers sailors to carefully balance risks and rewards in their decision-making.

Data in FX Trading: Driving Precision and Compliance

As a leading global FX marketplace, 360T’s mission is to make the markets more transparent and support the growth and integrity of the global financial ecosystem as a whole. With this in mind, the trading venue has built out an award-winning suite of data products which provide market participants with valuable, independent and reliable data across Spot, Swaps, Forwards and Precious Metals.

In this way, 360T empowers its clients with real-time insights, driving fairer pricing, enhanced risk management, and improved market efficiency.

The Importance of High-Quality Data

Quality and actionable data is essential to supporting confident price discovery and competitive price determination.

Accurate data ensures better decision-making. For example, 360T’s flagship data product, the Swaps Data Feed (SDF), is sourced directly from the pricing engines of banks. It is aggregated, anonymised and sanitised using the DIGITEC D3 state-of-the-art pricing system to deliver mid-market prices devoid of credit considerations or client-specific spreads. This provides traders with reliable benchmarks for key dates, such as central bank meetings and quarter-end turns.

Buy-side clients at 360T use this high-quality data to benchmark execution, meet regulatory requirements, and assess liquidity more effectively. It provides an added layer of transparency that helps them navigate the markets. For sell-side clients, the  data supports accurate pricing across a broad range of currencies, even beyond their core competencies.

Enhancing Trading Strategies

Sophisticated FX market participants increasingly embed high-quality data into Execution Management Systems like the 360T EMS to optimise automated trading and improve compliance. With highly customisable platforms like the 360T EMS, clients can enhance their FX workflows to increase their productivity, minimise costs, reduce operational risks and streamline the execution process across the entire trade lifecycle.

For example:

• Tolerance Checking: Data-driven EMS systems ensure trades are executed within predefined limits from market midpoints.
• Historical Analysis: Accurate market data serves as a golden source for audits and regulatory compliance, providing transparency and accountability.

Parallels Between Two Data-Driven Worlds

Whether steering an innovative racing boat like the Malizia-Seaexplorer or navigating the complexities of FX markets as clients do with 360T technology, the principles of data utilisation create a striking parallel.

Timeliness: Real-time data feeds enable immediate and informed decision-making, whether it’s sailors adjusting sails in a storm or 360T clients placing trades in volatile markets.

Accuracy: High-quality data forms the foundation of trust, performance and transparency, ensuring that actions are based on reliable insights.

Risk Management: Data is used to monitor risks in both domains — be it to ensure the structural integrity of a racing boat or the dynamics of currency trading by clients.

Strategic Adaptability: In both worlds, data informs strategy, helping decision-makers adapt to changing conditions and optimise outcomes.

Data is a powerful enabler, but it’s not the only reason for success. Whether it’s the open ocean or the financial markets, nothing can replace human expertise and adaptability.