@Jno - no we had to deal with client algorithm automated trading systems , coming in via various different protocols. We were measured in sub millisecond response times. If you can count to 10,000 in 1 second , a trade would be completed by the time you counted to 5. The playing field had to be level and we had to meet FSA compliance that was regularly audited. You earned the bucks , but with that came the responsibility to mitigate risk and ownership of problems.
Downtime was not an option.
However we had no adverts lol