Managed IT & Cybersecurity for Financial Services Firms
FCA-regulated firms face unique cybersecurity obligations under PS21/3 and the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023. AMVIA delivers compliance-aligned IT infrastructure designed for the financial sector.
Cybersecurity in UK Financial Services
Why Financial Services Businesses Need Dedicated Connectivity
The FCA requires financial services firms to be operationally resilient — to identify, protect against, and recover from disruptions to important business services. SYSC 15A (Operational Resilience) requires firms to map their important business services and the supporting infrastructure, including IT and connectivity. Connectivity to trading platforms, client management systems, and regulatory reporting infrastructure is typically a critical dependency for most financial services business servi
IT Services Designed for Financial Services
Every element of our FS IT package is built around regulatory compliance, operational resilience, and the specific data sensitivity of financial information.
FCA Operational Resilience Requirements
The FCA requires financial services firms to be operationally resilient — to identify, protect against, and recover from disruptions to important business services. SYSC 15A (Operational Resilience) requires firms to map their important business services and the supporting infrastructure, including
Low-Latency Trading Platform Access
For financial services firms accessing trading platforms — whether equity, FX, or derivatives — latency matters. High-latency connections introduce delays between price data and execution, which can result in slippage and adverse fills. A dedicated leased line with consistent, low-latency routing to
Regulatory Reporting and Data Security
FCA-regulated firms submit regulatory reports — MiFID II transaction reports, CASS reconciliations, regulatory capital submissions — through FCA-connected systems. The integrity and reliability of these submissions depends on the underlying connectivity. Additionally, financial services firms handle
Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
A single internet connection is a single point of failure. Financial services firms — particularly those with Disaster Recovery obligations under SYSC 15A — should consider dual-path connectivity: a primary leased line supplemented by a secondary connection (a second leased line, or a 4G/5G backup c
Standard Dedicated Leased Line
A point-to-point fibre circuit providing symmetric, uncontended bandwidth — typically 100Mbps, 200Mbps, 500Mbps, or 1Gbps — with a defined SLA and priority fault response. The appropriate bandwidth depends on your user count, cloud application usage, trading platform data volumes, and VoIP telephony
Leased Line with SD-WAN
For financial services firms with multiple offices — a main office and satellite branches — SD-WAN provides intelligent traffic management across multiple connectivity circuits, optimising application performance and providing automated failover. SD-WAN overlays can prioritise time-sensitive traffic
FCA Cybersecurity Compliance Checklist
Key technical controls expected by the FCA under SYSC 13, PS21/3, and the FCA's cyber security guidance for small firms.
Business continuity plan tested annually
Including IT disaster recovery — failover scenarios tested, not just documented.
Critical system RTOs defined and met
Recovery time objectives for trading and client-facing systems documented and validated.
Third-party IT supplier risk assessed
All IT and cloud vendors in scope for TPCRM reviews, including due diligence and contractual controls.
Employee cyber awareness training current
At least annual training and phishing simulations for all staff with access to client data.
Penetration test completed within 12 months
By a CREST-accredited provider, covering both internal and external attack surfaces.
Cyber Essentials Plus certification held
Or equivalent higher-assurance certification — increasingly expected by institutional counterparties.
Frequently Asked Questions
FCA-regulated firms with operational resilience obligations, trading platform access, or strict data security requirements benefit significantly from a dedicated leased line. The guaranteed performance, defined SLA, and security advantages of a leased line over broadband align with FCA operational resilience requirements and support the documentation of technology risk management.
FCA operational resilience rules (SYSC 15A) require firms to document and test the resilience of important business services and their supporting technology. A leased line with a contractual SLA provides a measurable, auditable connectivity resilience standard. AMVIA's monitoring service provides the operational data needed to demonstrate resilience to FCA supervision.
Firms with important business services that depend on internet connectivity should have a secondary connectivity path — either a second leased line or a 4G/5G backup — with automatic failover. This ensures continuity of access to trading platforms, client systems, and regulatory reporting infrastructure in the event of a primary circuit failure.
Leased line installation typically takes 30–90 days, depending on the distance from your premises to the nearest fibre infrastructure and whether civils work is required. AMVIA manages the full installation process and provides regular updates on progress. See our [leased line installation time guide](/leased-lines/questions/leased-line-installation-time/) for detail.
Leased line installation typically takes 30–90 days, depending on the distance from your premises to the nearest fibre infrastructure and whether civils work is required. AMVIA manages the full installation process and provides regular updates on progress. See our [leased line installation time guide](/leased-lines/questions/leased-line-installation-time/) for detail.
Book a Financial Services IT & Compliance Review
Our FS-specialist engineers will review your current IT controls against FCA SYSC and PS21/3 requirements — and tell you exactly where you stand.
Get dedicated connectivity → Get a Leased Line Quote