Mechanical Failure

New technology is great, but there is always the risk of a system failure. Because these machines hold large quantities of information and can transmit it anywhere, they are very helpful. But for this same reason, any glitch can be tremendously harmful. Just recently, electronic trading at the Chicago Board Options Exchange was shut down on a Friday from 12:00 PM untill the close of the market. Only open outcry floor trading was available. As a result, the exchange traded 1.8 million contracts on that Friday compared to 2.8 million contracts the day before. This could have resulted in large losses in profits for heavy traders. Fortunately, the electronic orders were able to be electronicly routed to other exchanges. This was seen as officials at the other exchanges reported a spike in volume.
Eventually, if a larger mechanical failure occours, it is possible that the electronic markets will be shut down, resulting in large losses for those who can not access the live trading floor, like me. The best way to solve this is force companies to spend more money on server infrastructre, maintainence and security to ensure ample room for failure only in "clusters." This would greatly decrease the likelihood of a massive system failure.
Business Week: Electronic Trading Interrupted